Former NYC madam's 'Happy Hooker' tale coming to a stage near you

Kappock/News

Former New York madam Xaviera Hollander's best-selling memoir 'The Happy Hooker' may soon be coming to a theater near you in a Broadway production.

"The Happy Hooker" is looking for clients on Broadway!

A musical adaptation of Xaviera Hollander's best-selling 1971 memoir is in the works, according to Yvonne Dunleavy, one of Hollander's co-authors and ex-wife of tabloid legend Steve Dunleavy.

Long before the empowered sex-worker likes of Kristin (The Manhattan Madam) Davis and Sasha (The Girlfriend Experience) Grey, Hollander was a young woman in New York delighted to be making a living having sex.

After coming to the city from Amsterdam (by way of a broken engagement in South Africa), Hollander realized that plenty of men were willing to pay for her favors ? and soon became a leading madam, and the proprietor of her own "Vertical Whorehouse."
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Her book "The Happy Hooker" has sold 20 million copies (earning it a spot on Wikipedia's all-time bestseller list), and inspired the 1975 movie of the same title, starring Lynn Redgrave.

Now, writer Richard Hansom and composer Warren Wills are developing a stage musical version of Hollander's opus.

It has been previewed at London's Drury Lane Theatre, and last Wednesday Dunleavy and husband Joost Schiereck hosted a New York preview at their Fifth Ave. home. The evening's program of excerpts from the show attracted about 40 investors and Broadway production types.

Hansom and Wills were in town from the U.K., and Hollander herself flew in from Amsterdam. The crowd also included one-time publishing star Judith Regan, who rereleased "The Happy Hooker" while she ran Regan Books.

Regan deemed the show "outstanding," according to Dunleavy, who also reports that investors have already expressed "substantial" interest.

The show follows roughly the same arc as Hollander's book, and includes songs like "Don't Mention the Name," which is about how Hollander will never reveal the secrets of her little black book, and "There's Nothing Like an Older Man," which is presumably self-explanatory.

But just as Broadway brought out a crowd-pleasing side of raunchy "South Park" creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone ? whose "Book of Mormon" has recently drawn raves ? the Great White Way seems likely to bring out the sunny side of selling sex. "The Happy Hooker" certainly won't be "The Lion King," but Dunleavy does compare its retro appeal to a show like "The Jersey Boys."
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While the book once earned "notoriety," its story is now more likely to be perceived as a "merry little romp with an insouciant young lady." Dunleavy is quick to point out that this is evergreen material ? it's "as contemporary as sex," she says.

Contact Gatecrasher:
Frank DiGiacomo: fdigiacomo@nydailynews.com
Carson Griffith: cgriffith@nydailynews.com
Molly Fischer: mfischer@nydailynews.com

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