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| UNSINKABLE MOLLY BROWN IS SINKABLE AFTER ALL | |
| Posted by: NewtonUK 09:51 am EST 02/17/20 | |
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| First off, its a revisal, not a revival. They have jettisoned half the score, and the entire book, and all the characters except for Molly and Johnny. But they are changed, especially, Johnny, beyond recognition. Meredith Willson, whom I met, realized writing the MUSIC MAN, that all the songs in his back catalog and 'trunk' that he thought would be the entire score were unusable. Long before juke box musicals, he realized you cant just pull songs out of a box and write a story around them. So he wrote an original score. A Damn fine one. This wisdom of Willson didnt stop Kathleen Marshall and Dick Scanlan from dropping half the score of UMB, and digging thru Willson's 'trunk' for songs that they could write new lyrics to to suit their new plot & characters and social agenda. Beth Malone is fabulous (though Marshall basically only asks her to do one thing for 2 hours and 25 minutes. But its a good thing.) At the drop of a hat, the orchestra plays 'I aint down yet', the best song in the score, still. And we are treated to lessons about the evils of capitalism, importance of labor unions, importance of immigrants, importance of one's early life freinds, stupidity of the rich, women's solidarity, suffragettes, racial and heritage prejudice, and on and on. Johnny and Molly's best friends in Leadville are an Italian, a German, and a Chinaman. (Their word, not mine). When they are introduced in exactly this way to Molly & Johnny's spunky African American maid in Denver, she immediately says 'walk into a bar' ... and the audience breaks into gales of laughter. That's what we've come to. Their other best friend is a woman from Cornwall. Covering all the bases. Horace Tabor - the Leadville Mine owner, is a kind of a villain, but Marshall and Scanlan don't have the heart to really make him one. They give him a comic wife, a close cousin of Eulalie McKechnie Shinn in the MUSIC MAN, who makes all his decisions for him. So that every awful thing Tabor does is erased by a comic punch line from his wife. They do mention is passing that Tabor's wife is called Baby Doe - Tabor built an opera house, which still stands in Leadville. Of course, Opera House back then didnt mean opera. It was a generalterm used especially in the Western US for 'grand' theatres where touring theatres and artistses played. In the late 1950's Douglas Moore and John Latouchewrote THE BALLAD OF BABY DOE - about Baby Doe Tabor, which premiered at teh Central City Opera House. So the revisal, 11 years after Ms Marshall began working on it in Denver with Kelly O Hara and Mark Kudisch in the leads, has morphed into a musical episode of The West Wing. Its worth it for Ms Malone, and some energetic dancing (and some endless superfluous ballroom dancing in Act 2, which seems really unfinished - odd after 11 years of work). And the show ends up with a whimper which kind of is reminding us to vote out Trump, in a not too subtle way, The original Unsinkable Molly Brown was no great work of art, but it had no pretensions to be, and it entertained us mightily. This revisal tries to have it all ways at once, but has no focus, no real reason for being. As a colleague once said wisely about Broadway bound projects, 'You need to know when to walk away'. |
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| re: UNSINKABLE MOLLY BROWN IS SINKABLE AFTER ALL | |
| Last Edit: CCentero 11:08 am EST 02/17/20 | |
| Posted by: CCentero 11:01 am EST 02/17/20 | |
| In reply to: UNSINKABLE MOLLY BROWN IS SINKABLE AFTER ALL - NewtonUK 09:51 am EST 02/17/20 | |
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| What's the "one thing" that Malone plays? The same "one thing" that Reynolds played? Didn't see Grimes. | |
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| re: UNSINKABLE MOLLY BROWN IS SINKABLE AFTER ALL | |
| Posted by: NewtonUK 11:28 am EST 02/17/20 | |
| In reply to: re: UNSINKABLE MOLLY BROWN IS SINKABLE AFTER ALL - CCentero 11:01 am EST 02/17/20 | |
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| Yes - the spunbky optimism. The same as Reynolds and Grimes (who I saw). I would have thought, since they were making so many changes, they would have given her a few more colors to play. | |
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| re: UNSINKABLE MOLLY BROWN IS SINKABLE AFTER ALL | |
| Last Edit: CCentero 01:42 pm EST 02/17/20 | |
| Posted by: CCentero 01:25 pm EST 02/17/20 | |
| In reply to: re: UNSINKABLE MOLLY BROWN IS SINKABLE AFTER ALL - NewtonUK 11:28 am EST 02/17/20 | |
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| Sorry to hear that it's still one-note. I actually thought it might be goal #1 in a revisal of this material. I've only seen the movie and find Molly to be mostly insufferable and her social climbing story arch to be tedious. I can see why it might have seemed "entertaining enough" on stage given the goodwill created by The Music Man and Grimes given the chance to dominate the proceedings when she seemed fresh and different than the conventional musical theatre star. No surprise: Karen Morrow was apparently sensational in the part on the national tour.. |
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| re: UNSINKABLE MOLLY BROWN IS SINKABLE AFTER ALL | |
| Posted by: NewtonUK 02:03 pm EST 02/17/20 | |
| In reply to: re: UNSINKABLE MOLLY BROWN IS SINKABLE AFTER ALL - CCentero 01:25 pm EST 02/17/20 | |
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| She's no longer really a social climber - she just wants to live in Denver. Its not clear why she goes to Europe (alone, after separating from, Johnny) - and the passage of time is really unclear in the new Act 2 | |
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| re: UNSINKABLE MOLLY BROWN IS SINKABLE AFTER ALL | |
| Posted by: musicaldirny 08:26 am EST 02/19/20 | |
| In reply to: re: UNSINKABLE MOLLY BROWN IS SINKABLE AFTER ALL - NewtonUK 02:03 pm EST 02/17/20 | |
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| Not having seen the Revisal, it sounds like they have gone back to Molly's REAL story for the changes. | |
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| re: UNSINKABLE MOLLY BROWN IS SINKABLE AFTER ALL | |
| Posted by: NewtonUK 10:36 am EST 02/19/20 | |
| In reply to: re: UNSINKABLE MOLLY BROWN IS SINKABLE AFTER ALL - musicaldirny 08:26 am EST 02/19/20 | |
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| For some, but they have left in much of the fiction, and added plot points that arent true - so its a mish mosh | |
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| re: UNSINKABLE MOLLY BROWN IS SINKABLE AFTER ALL | |
| Posted by: CCentero 02:35 pm EST 02/17/20 | |
| In reply to: re: UNSINKABLE MOLLY BROWN IS SINKABLE AFTER ALL - NewtonUK 02:03 pm EST 02/17/20 | |
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| The whole revisal sounds like a stress dream. Apparently the real story (not that it matters all that much in this show especially) is that "Molly" was in Paris to visit her daughter who was studying at the Sorbonne when she received word that her grandson in Denver was seriously ill. She booked passage on the Titanic to travel back home. Are any of those characters in the show, or would that simply interfere with the hijinks that ensue? | |
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| re: UNSINKABLE MOLLY BROWN IS SINKABLE AFTER ALL | |
| Posted by: NewtonUK 05:09 am EST 02/18/20 | |
| In reply to: re: UNSINKABLE MOLLY BROWN IS SINKABLE AFTER ALL - CCentero 02:35 pm EST 02/17/20 | |
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| None of those characters are in the show. She returns from Paris because Johnny has had a stroke. (and somehow, even tho she is heading to Colorad) he manages to get to the Pier in NY to meet her so there can be a final tableau. | |
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| re: UNSINKABLE MOLLY BROWN IS SINKABLE AFTER ALL | |
| Posted by: dlevy 05:21 pm EST 02/17/20 | |
| In reply to: re: UNSINKABLE MOLLY BROWN IS SINKABLE AFTER ALL - CCentero 02:35 pm EST 02/17/20 | |
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| In this version, she goes to Europe to get away from Johnny after their fight. The fight was caused because she sided with her mining friends against him in a union dispute, and while she was doing that, he was having an affair. Their children are in the show, but in this version, it's Johnny himself who is ill, and that's what prompts Molly to return to the US on the Titanic. |
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| If she's no longer a social climber... | |
| Posted by: Amiens 02:23 pm EST 02/17/20 | |
| In reply to: re: UNSINKABLE MOLLY BROWN IS SINKABLE AFTER ALL - NewtonUK 02:03 pm EST 02/17/20 | |
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| What causes the rift between her and Johnny? Where's the conflict? | |
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| re: If she's no longer a social climber... | |
| Posted by: NewtonUK 07:31 am EST 02/18/20 | |
| In reply to: If she's no longer a social climber... - Amiens 02:23 pm EST 02/17/20 | |
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| They move to Denver because he strikes it rich in gold. Johnny later has a one nighter with a married dance hall girl/hooker, and a reporter sets him up to make a good story making Johnny a co-respondent in a divorce action between the hooker and her husband. Maggie/Molly leaves him.Tortured to be sure. In real life Maggie (not Molly) and Jim (not Johnny) Brown separated in 1909. Maggie/Molly didnt go to Europe until 1912. JJ died of a heart attack, intestate, and Maggie/Molly fought with her children over the estate. She was an educated woman who spoke at last 6 languages, and while never let into the top strata of Denver Families (the 36), she was very active philanthropically, and her friendship and company was accepted. When traveling in Europe from Paris to the Titanic, she was with the John Jacob Astor party. None of this, apparently, makes a good musical. The original musical and much of this one, were based on 1930's newspaper articles inventing a fiction life and name for 'Molly' Brown - with a few nods to facts. | |
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| re: UNSINKABLE MOLLY BROWN IS SINKABLE AFTER ALL | |
| Posted by: JohnDunlop 11:05 am EST 02/17/20 | |
| In reply to: re: UNSINKABLE MOLLY BROWN IS SINKABLE AFTER ALL - CCentero 11:01 am EST 02/17/20 | |
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| And the "one thing" that Tammy Grimes played to make the musical a hit? | |
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| re: UNSINKABLE MOLLY BROWN IS SINKABLE AFTER ALL | |
| Posted by: NewtonUK 11:32 am EST 02/17/20 | |
| In reply to: re: UNSINKABLE MOLLY BROWN IS SINKABLE AFTER ALL - JohnDunlop 11:05 am EST 02/17/20 | |
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| As above - spunky optimism - exactly what America was looking for in 1960. America was the beacon of the free world, and 5 days after UMB opened, JFK was elected. Optimism. Camelot. It was the perfect show for the spirit of the times. I would argue that our times are different, and that more shading, especially with the myriad of social and political issues that have been layered on the story, would be helpful. Here, spunky Molly gets a customs official to tear up the rule book, and let indigent immigrants into the country. A good idea - but 45 seconds of spunky talk is all it takes? That's a n1960 musical talking, not one in 2020. | |
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| When in doubt, let your story make your thematic points. | |
| Last Edit: Delvino 12:03 pm EST 02/17/20 | |
| Posted by: Delvino 12:00 pm EST 02/17/20 | |
| In reply to: re: UNSINKABLE MOLLY BROWN IS SINKABLE AFTER ALL - NewtonUK 11:32 am EST 02/17/20 | |
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| Haven't seen it, but I'd argue that a percentage of the sociopolitical points are takeaways from the original narrative, simply by following the storytelling, without placards and agitprop lite. Admittedly, the second act was a thin, drama-free (will she get Johnny back? Gee, I wonder) digression -- all of those Europeans who school her. But the show had those songs. I still listen to "Are You Sure" (Is it intact?) The songs were gold, and they compensated. Reconfiguring them to score in 2020 terms feels contrary to the whole point: a specific grand American myth. By the way: I've met one of her descendants, who saw the show in Denver. She's a rabid Republican. One wonders how this will go over. To paraphrase someone in the public eye: I don't really care, do you? But I do care about Willson's songs. Probably a pass for me. |
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| re: When in doubt, let your story make your thematic points. (spoilers) | |
| Posted by: NewtonUK 02:30 pm EST 02/17/20 | |
| In reply to: When in doubt, let your story make your thematic points. - Delvino 12:00 pm EST 02/17/20 | |
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| Are You There is still there I havent listened to the OBC lately to see if its intact or rewritten. Molly's father and brothers are gone. SHe visits the Leadville silver mine for a reason I cant recall. The men want her to leave because women are unlucky at mines - actually they are only considered unlucky working IN mines. In any event, there is a mine fire, and a man is killed, and so she meets cute the widow and forms a lifelong bond. As you do. Then America goes iff the silver standard to the gold standard, and the mine is worthless. But Jonny figures out how to dig a gold mine, and makes himself (and Horace Tabor) richer still. Now much is made of the production going back to more true details off Molly's life. But Horace Tabor never owned a goldmine. And the loss of the gold standard did nothing to the value of silver. Horace Tabor and Baby Doe became even richer with their second silver mine, 'The Matchless'. The show talks about the Gold Standard being established in 1892, when Grover Cleveland beat William Weaver for President. They fail to mention that Weaver was not a serious candidate. Grover Cleveland 46% and Benjamin Harrison 43% were the real candidates. Weaver giot 8.5% of the vote. While Horace Tabor (he's not in the original UMB) became rich with two silver mines - Johnny Brown never worked for him, and Tabor never switched to gold mining. Johnny worked for a mining conglomerate, and DID invent the safe straw based way of constructing gold mine shafts. Not quite sure why the new version added characters who weren't really involved in Molly and JJ's story. And on and on .... |
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| re: UNSINKABLE MOLLY BROWN IS SINKABLE AFTER ALL | |
| Last Edit: FinalPerformance 10:53 am EST 02/17/20 | |
| Posted by: FinalPerformance 10:52 am EST 02/17/20 | |
| In reply to: UNSINKABLE MOLLY BROWN IS SINKABLE AFTER ALL - NewtonUK 09:51 am EST 02/17/20 | |
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| I saw it last week and thought it was well done, but I agree with your observations, especially her husband Johnny. He had a good voice though. I may add both Molly Brown and husband are buried on eastern Long Island, not Colorado, which suprised me. | |
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