Molly Brown Character Wins Kudos

Here’s the verdict: A great Molly Brown, but only a pretty good “Molly Brown.”

By that I mean the actress who plays Molly Brown, Bobbi Kotula, is an utter delight, while the overall production of this Meredith Willson musical is not quite up to the usual standards of the Coeur d’Alene Summer Theatre.

Since the standards of this professional summer-stock company are so high, that still means the show is entertaining and full of fine performances. But the show seems to lack a certain spark. Its nearly threehour running time (including intermission) does not exactly race by.

First, the good news, and there is plenty of it. Both of the lead performers, Kotula and Frank Jewett, as Molly’s husband Leadville Johnny Brown, are terrific.

In fact, this is an ideal vehicle for Kotula, an immensely talented and intelligent comic actress. She has just the right kind of hick tomboy swagger in the opening scenes in which she is a Missouri hillbilly rasslin’ with her brothers. And later in the play, when she becomes one of the richest women in America (thanks to husband Johnny’s good luck with gold and silver) she gains an elegance and cool self-confidence. Yet Kotula always retains the earthy good sense which makes Molly such an endearing character.

Her plucky behavior in the lifeboat of the Titanic seems perfectly in character. Kotula has a CarolChanning-like ability to create laughs out of nowhere (watch her attempt to play the piano in the saloon), but she also has the ability to summon up dignity when required.

Jewett is also a good comedian, but here he demonstrates that he is a spectacularly good singer. His voice is disciplined, expressive and totally pleasing. He shows it off to greatest effect in “Colorado My Home” and “If I Knew.”

The rest of the cast, even in the smaller roles, is strong. Many of these performers are familiar from past seasons, and most of them will be showcased in bigger roles in the theater’s upcoming shows: Stu Cabe, Laura Seable, Scarlett Hepworth, Cheyenne Jackson, Julie Powell and Jennifer Niederloh.

I have to single out Nancy Emerson for her work as both Princess Delong and as part of the dance ensemble. This woman stands far above the pack as a dancer and singer. When is somebody going to get smart and cast her in a lead role?

With all of these good performances, why doesn’t this show always click? Part of the problem is the play itself. Willson has written some memorable tunes (“Belly Up to the Bar, Boys”) but he and writer Richard Morris don’t exactly come up with a seamless narrative. Scenes come and go for no apparent reason. Can anybody explain the singin’, dancin’ cops of the “Denver Police” number?

Reviewers on opening night in 1960 complained about the exact same things: “lapses of momentum” and “untidy segueing” from one scene to another.

However, director Jason Fortner doesn’t help matters by some static staging. For instance, in “Colorado, My Home,” Jewett is given exactly nothing to do except stand in one spot on an empty stage and sing. His singing is so good, we’re able to ignore how lonely and awkward he looks up there. Still, it would have been nice if this show had a bit more directorial imagination.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color Photo

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: “The Unsinkable Molly Brown” Continues through July 15, at the Coeur d’Alene Summer Theatre at North Idaho College; call(800) 4-CDA-TIX or (208) 769-7780