The Unsinkable Molly Brown is a 1960 musical with music and lyrics by Meredith Willson and book by Richard Morris. The plot is a fictionalized account of the life of Margaret Brown, who survived the sinking of the RMS Titanic, and her wealthy miner-husband. A musical film version, also titled The Unsinkable Molly Brown, with screenplay by Helen Deutsch, was released in 1964.
Contents
Productions
The original Broadway production opened at the Winter Garden Theatre on November 3, 1960, and closed on February 10, 1962, after 532 performances and 1 preview. It was directed by Dore Schary and choreographed by Peter Gennaro. The opening cast included Tammy Grimes, Harve Presnell, and Jack Harrold. Grimes won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical. Grimes appeared in the US national tour in 1962, including Los Angeles and San Francisco in April and June 1962, respectively.
Presnell reprised his stage role for the 1964 film, also titled The Unsinkable Molly Brown starring Debbie Reynolds. The two starred in a 1989-1990 national tour. Argentina had also a version in 1991 starring TV star Susana Giménez.
The first West End production, with Abi Finley and Sean Pol McGreevy in the leading roles, opened in May 2009.
Revised versions
While the 1989–1990 touring production stayed closer to the original show than subsequent rewrites, there were some minor dialogue differences. The main change was the overhaul of the music. This version of the show begins with a prologue on the RMS Titanic including a brief voiceover by Molly Brown before going back in time to the opening scene with Molly and her brothers. The songs "Denver Police", "Beautiful People of Denver", "Are You Sure", "Bon Jour", and "Keep-a-Hoppin" were all deleted, while "Chick-A-Pen" was moved to Act 1 after the money burns up in the stove. "Colorado My Home" (which was left out of the original Broadway show but reinstated for the 1964 movie) was included as Johnny's introductory song in Act 1, and "He’s My Friend" was added into Act 2, replacing Molly's bad piano playing before the big fight. The Act 2 finale was also reworked to be a reprise of Johnny's Soliloquy and a counterpoint duet of "My Own Brass Bed" and "I'll Never Say No".
A reading of Molly Brown, the first of the revised versions by Dick Scanlan, took place in Denver at the Denver Center Theatre Company's Colorado New Play Summit in February 2009. The show was directed by Kathleen Marshall and starred Kerry O'Malley as Molly, Marc Kudisch as James Joseph "J.J." Brown, William Parry as Horace Tabor, and Linda Mugelston as Polly Pry. The story was revised "to use more elements from the real-life story" of Molly Brown.
A reading of the musical was held in May 2010. The show was directed/choreographed by Kathleen Marshall, music supervision by Michael Rafter, with Sutton Foster as Molly and Craig Bierko as J.J. Brown. This reading had only Molly and J.J. as characters, cutting out all others that were in the previous version.
Another reading of the musical by Scanlan was staged in December 2011. The creative team was the same as in May 2010, and it starred Foster and Kudisch again, Teal Wicks, Francis Jue and Zachary James, among others. About half the score is from the original musical and "the rest of the 'new' score is made up of songs from the late Willson's catalog."
Opening September 12, 2014, a full production of the Dick Scanlan revisioning was produced at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, running through October 26. The production featured Beth Malone, Burke Moses and David Abeles. The plotline differed significantly from the original production, opening with Molly in the Titanic lifeboat, and then flashing back to follow her life from her first visit to Leadville. The production received favorable reviews from local reviewers and a notice in the New York Times, "A New Crew Salvages Old Molly Brown."
Plot
The following plot is that of the original 1960 Broadway production
In the early 20th century, feisty tomboy Molly Tobin wrestles with her three younger brothers and tells them and her father that she wants to learn to read and write and to find a rich husband ("I Ain't Down Yet"). Molly makes her way to the Saddle Rock saloon in Leadville, Colorado and applies for a job. On the way to Leadville, Colorado she meets J.J. "Leadville" Johnny Brown, who falls in love with her and promises to give her whatever she wants ("I'll Never Say No"). After they marry, Johnny sells a claim and provides Molly with the money she wants, enough to enter the high social life in Denver ("Beautiful People of Denver"). Molly and Johnny, now dressed in gaudy finery, are made fun of by the Denver society people she wants to impress, and they travel to Europe, against Johnny's better instincts.
The couple, and especially Molly, are welcomed and accepted by European royalty, but the attentions of Prince DeLong towards Molly upset Johnny and he returns to Leadville alone. Molly realizes that Johnny is her true love, and she sails for home on the RMS Titanic ("Dolce Far Niente"). As the Titanic sinks and the tragedy unfolds, Molly survives in one of the lifeboats. She finally is reunited with Johnny, who has built Molly her own "castle", a beautiful home in the Rocky Mountains.
The following plot is that of the 2020 rewrite (taken from MTI's website):
Act One
Prologue: May 29, 1912, Mrs. Margaret "Call Me Molly" Brown is testifying before the United States Senate about the sinking of the Titanic, which took place six weeks earlier. As Molly challenges the Senators, the hearing descends into chaos.
In the small mining town of Leadville, Colorado in 1886. Molly is arguing with the miners, who claim women bring bad luck to the mine ("I Ain't Down Yet"). J.J. Brown, the mine manager, faces off with Molly, only for their confrontation to be interrupted by an explosion in the mine.
Molly visits Julia Gerrard, the pregnant widow of a miner who died in the explosion. Guilt-ridden over bringing "bad luck" to the mine, Molly offers to help Julia and the baby ("The Wonderful Plan"), and Julia promises to teach her to read and write. J.J. arrives with money from the mine to assist Julia. He and Molly almost make amends, only for her to infuriate him all over again. As months pass, Molly and J.J. continue to bicker as Julia gives birth to a baby boy, and they attend his baptism as his godparents ("Just Becuz"). Obvious to everyone but Molly, a bond is growing between the two.
Musical numbers
2020 Off-Broadway Version:
Act 1
I Ain't Down Yet - Molly and Male Ensemble
The Wonderful Plan - Molly and Julia
Just Becuz - The Trio and Ensemble
I've A'ready Started In - JJ Brown and The Trio
A Dancing to the Saddle Rock - Dancing Girls
Belly Up to the Bar, Boys - Company
I've A'ready Started In (Reprise) - JJ Brown
I'll Never Say No / My Own Brass Bed - JJ Brown and Molly
He's My Friend - The Trio and Ensemble
Are You Sure? - Molly and JJ Brown
Act 2
Beautiful People of Denver / The Sacred 36 - Molly, JJ Brown, and Ensemble
Share the Luck / He's My Friend (Reprise) Molly and Ensemble
I'd Like to Change Everything About You - JJ Brown and Molly
Cuppa Tea - Julia, Molly, Female Ensemble
If We Can-Can - Dancing Girls
The Dolce Trio - The Trio, JJ Brown, and Molly
Wait for Me - Molly
In popular culture
The song "I Ain't Down Yet" became a popular standard. Musicians who recorded it included Dinah Shore in 1961, Lester Lanin and his Orchestra in 1962, and John Gary in 1966. A version by Andre Kostelanetz was used as the theme for the children's TV show Wonderama, in which children in the audience waved their raised arms back and forth in time to the music during the opening credits.
The Gemini 3 capsule was nicknamed Molly Brown in reference to this musical, as Commander Gus Grissom's previous space capsule sank after splashdown.