Review: 'Molly Brown' Doesn't Sink At The Wagon Wheel
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By David [email protected]
By the time Wagon Wheel Theatre's production of the show was over opening night Wednesday, I found that I had enjoyed the musical. In fact, I was ready to drive to Fort Wayne for a little dancing myself because of the chipper mood the show put me in, only I had to write this review instead.
Sure, I had a few issues with the musical itself, which I'll get to later, but once again the cast delivers with its acting, singing and footwork. If you're on the fence whether or not to go, I'd say go. Have fun, because you will.
"Molly Brown" is based on a true American, Margaret Tobin. Born in the 19th century to Irish immigrants, her mother died, leaving "Molly" to be raised by her father and a bunch of brothers in Hannibal, Mo. Determined to rise above the poverty she grew up in, she traveled to Colorado, met and married J.J. "Leadville Johnny" Brown despite his lack of wealth, and J.J. struck it rich in the mines.
The couple moved to Denver, Colo., but the social elite looked down on them. She made J.J. go to Europe with her, she went back to Denver after becoming friends with royalty in Europe, went back to Europe without Johnny, and then returned home on the Titanic. She survived the sinking of the Titanic, earning her nickname.[[In-content Ad]]Before I get to the great job that Sarah Goeke did as Molly Brown, let me rave about the performance of Brandon Springman as Johnny Brown. Springman did an outstanding job as the Tin Man in "The Wizard of Oz," but in "Molly Brown" he really breaks out. He's not a supporting actor or an ensemble member, but a lead actor. And he is more than capable of leading. It was when he took the stage for his bow that the standing ovation began Wednesday.
Springman's J.J. is an everyman who just happens to strike it rich. He comes off as approachable, a fun-loving guy that you could have a beer with or would buy one for at the local pub. It's the perfect portrayal of Johnny Brown that anyone could ask for in the show.
And then Springman sings, and it's "wow." Whether he's belting "I'll Never Say No," "If I Knew" or "Chick-a-pen," audiences will love to hear his voice.
This is Springman's first season at the WWT. Let's hope Springman will return to the Wagon Wheel for future summer seasons.
Also enjoying her first season at the Wagon Wheel is Goeke. Off the stage, Goeke is a small, blonde, attractive, young woman who you might not guess could pull off such a fierce role as Molly Brown. But she does.
In her first scene on stage, Goeke, as Molly, is wrestling with her three brothers, Michael (Mark Ayesh), Patrick (Jose Sepulveda) and Aloysius (Shay Dixon) Tobin. She's all tomboy in the scene, wearing jeans and plaid. Goeke pulls that rumble-tumble look and attitude off, never giving up to her brothers.
By the end of the show, Goeke has Mrs. J.J. Brown all proper and ladylike, and she pulls that off well. She even gets to play Molly a bit like a diva, which she also scores points on. Perhaps more importantly though, Goeke never forgets that the country tomboy still lives within Molly Brown, and she lets Molly Tobin peak out from underneath the fancy red silk dress.
Together, Goeke and Springman have great chemistry on stage. Tony Humrichouser directed and staged this adaptation of "Molly Brown," and he couldn't have done better with the casting of the two main leads.
Of course, very few shows have only two roles or two actors in them. Thankfully, the supporting actors in "Molly Brown" help make the musical fun and lively.
Particularly satisfying is Crystal Vanartsdalen as the wealthy, snobby, judgmental socialite Mrs. McGlone. Molly does everything she can to get into the graces of Mrs. McGlone, but Mrs. McGlone is wound so tight, Molly doesn't have a chance. Vanartsdalen is a very friendly and warm person herself, so seeing her play the snob, and doing it so well, is a treat. Vanartsdalen is as at home backstage as she is onstage, but her performance in "Molly Brown" is a showcase as to why she should be seen more onstage.
After having done so well in "Guys & Dolls", Ben Dicke and Jennifer Dow have smaller roles in "Molly Brown," but they're memorable enough for some kudos.
Dicke plays Burt, a backwards friend of Johnny's from Leadville, Colo. In Act II, just before the big fight scene breaks out, Dicke steals the show for a couple of minutes. Watch him closely, it's a hoot.
The fight scene itself, in slow motion, is hilarous. Humrichouser did a great job with direction on that slo-mo scene.
Besides being involved in the ensembles, Dow plays Princess DeLong. I'm always trying to see how long an actor can hold their accent, if they slip and forget it, or if they switch from German to Russian to Irish or whatever. While playing the princess, Dow maintained hers opening night. That deserves a kudo.
Also, for maintaining his, Tanner Bollinger deserves a kudo as Prince DeLong. Even when Bollinger had to sing "Dolce Far Niente," Bollinger maintained the correct accent and sang really well, not an easy feat.
Now to two quick annoyances for me about the show.
There were a couple of song or dance numbers that seemed to pop out of nowhere. Was this how the show was written, or were there changes made to the show? Specifically, I'm talking about the first time the character of Johnny Brown sang "Colorado, My Home" and when the four Denver police danced to the orchestra's performance of "Denver Police."
Springman sang "Colorado, My Home" just fine. But the number came out of nowhere. At first, we're in Hannibal, Mo., the lights then go down, Springman sings the song, and the lights go down again. If there was a transition to and from the song, I missed it. The song just came out of left field. What's the purpose of that song there? If someone knows, please e-mail me at my personal e-mail at [email protected]
Then there's the "Denver Police" number. Again - what was that? Did I miss something? The dancing was fine. But, again, the number just came out of thin air, it seemed. A space filler? E-mail me about that one, too.
A second issue for me Wednesday night was the technology problems. The mics weren't the greatest again, and the signs above the stage reading what city the characters were in did not work all the time. At one point, the sign in front of Section 1 said just Colorado and never moved all the way or changed to Monte Carlo. If you're going to use technology, make sure it works.
But let's not leave this review on a downbeat because the show really was a lot of fun to watch. The cast this summer just keeps getting better and better with each show, the orchestra did well, costume designer Martin Chapman-Bowman is on top of his game, and the staff at the Wagon Wheel this summer have been some of the nicest people.
So go see "The Unsinkable Molly Brown" and have fun. After the show, go through the zoo line, shake the actors' hands and let them know they put on a good show.
My rating (out of four): 3.50.
"Molly Brown" is at the WWT now through Aug. 2. To order tickets, call 574-267-8041, toll free at 866-823-2618 or visit online at www.wagonwheeltheatre.com
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By the time Wagon Wheel Theatre's production of the show was over opening night Wednesday, I found that I had enjoyed the musical. In fact, I was ready to drive to Fort Wayne for a little dancing myself because of the chipper mood the show put me in, only I had to write this review instead.
Sure, I had a few issues with the musical itself, which I'll get to later, but once again the cast delivers with its acting, singing and footwork. If you're on the fence whether or not to go, I'd say go. Have fun, because you will.
"Molly Brown" is based on a true American, Margaret Tobin. Born in the 19th century to Irish immigrants, her mother died, leaving "Molly" to be raised by her father and a bunch of brothers in Hannibal, Mo. Determined to rise above the poverty she grew up in, she traveled to Colorado, met and married J.J. "Leadville Johnny" Brown despite his lack of wealth, and J.J. struck it rich in the mines.
The couple moved to Denver, Colo., but the social elite looked down on them. She made J.J. go to Europe with her, she went back to Denver after becoming friends with royalty in Europe, went back to Europe without Johnny, and then returned home on the Titanic. She survived the sinking of the Titanic, earning her nickname.[[In-content Ad]]Before I get to the great job that Sarah Goeke did as Molly Brown, let me rave about the performance of Brandon Springman as Johnny Brown. Springman did an outstanding job as the Tin Man in "The Wizard of Oz," but in "Molly Brown" he really breaks out. He's not a supporting actor or an ensemble member, but a lead actor. And he is more than capable of leading. It was when he took the stage for his bow that the standing ovation began Wednesday.
Springman's J.J. is an everyman who just happens to strike it rich. He comes off as approachable, a fun-loving guy that you could have a beer with or would buy one for at the local pub. It's the perfect portrayal of Johnny Brown that anyone could ask for in the show.
And then Springman sings, and it's "wow." Whether he's belting "I'll Never Say No," "If I Knew" or "Chick-a-pen," audiences will love to hear his voice.
This is Springman's first season at the WWT. Let's hope Springman will return to the Wagon Wheel for future summer seasons.
Also enjoying her first season at the Wagon Wheel is Goeke. Off the stage, Goeke is a small, blonde, attractive, young woman who you might not guess could pull off such a fierce role as Molly Brown. But she does.
In her first scene on stage, Goeke, as Molly, is wrestling with her three brothers, Michael (Mark Ayesh), Patrick (Jose Sepulveda) and Aloysius (Shay Dixon) Tobin. She's all tomboy in the scene, wearing jeans and plaid. Goeke pulls that rumble-tumble look and attitude off, never giving up to her brothers.
By the end of the show, Goeke has Mrs. J.J. Brown all proper and ladylike, and she pulls that off well. She even gets to play Molly a bit like a diva, which she also scores points on. Perhaps more importantly though, Goeke never forgets that the country tomboy still lives within Molly Brown, and she lets Molly Tobin peak out from underneath the fancy red silk dress.
Together, Goeke and Springman have great chemistry on stage. Tony Humrichouser directed and staged this adaptation of "Molly Brown," and he couldn't have done better with the casting of the two main leads.
Of course, very few shows have only two roles or two actors in them. Thankfully, the supporting actors in "Molly Brown" help make the musical fun and lively.
Particularly satisfying is Crystal Vanartsdalen as the wealthy, snobby, judgmental socialite Mrs. McGlone. Molly does everything she can to get into the graces of Mrs. McGlone, but Mrs. McGlone is wound so tight, Molly doesn't have a chance. Vanartsdalen is a very friendly and warm person herself, so seeing her play the snob, and doing it so well, is a treat. Vanartsdalen is as at home backstage as she is onstage, but her performance in "Molly Brown" is a showcase as to why she should be seen more onstage.
After having done so well in "Guys & Dolls", Ben Dicke and Jennifer Dow have smaller roles in "Molly Brown," but they're memorable enough for some kudos.
Dicke plays Burt, a backwards friend of Johnny's from Leadville, Colo. In Act II, just before the big fight scene breaks out, Dicke steals the show for a couple of minutes. Watch him closely, it's a hoot.
The fight scene itself, in slow motion, is hilarous. Humrichouser did a great job with direction on that slo-mo scene.
Besides being involved in the ensembles, Dow plays Princess DeLong. I'm always trying to see how long an actor can hold their accent, if they slip and forget it, or if they switch from German to Russian to Irish or whatever. While playing the princess, Dow maintained hers opening night. That deserves a kudo.
Also, for maintaining his, Tanner Bollinger deserves a kudo as Prince DeLong. Even when Bollinger had to sing "Dolce Far Niente," Bollinger maintained the correct accent and sang really well, not an easy feat.
Now to two quick annoyances for me about the show.
There were a couple of song or dance numbers that seemed to pop out of nowhere. Was this how the show was written, or were there changes made to the show? Specifically, I'm talking about the first time the character of Johnny Brown sang "Colorado, My Home" and when the four Denver police danced to the orchestra's performance of "Denver Police."
Springman sang "Colorado, My Home" just fine. But the number came out of nowhere. At first, we're in Hannibal, Mo., the lights then go down, Springman sings the song, and the lights go down again. If there was a transition to and from the song, I missed it. The song just came out of left field. What's the purpose of that song there? If someone knows, please e-mail me at my personal e-mail at [email protected]
Then there's the "Denver Police" number. Again - what was that? Did I miss something? The dancing was fine. But, again, the number just came out of thin air, it seemed. A space filler? E-mail me about that one, too.
A second issue for me Wednesday night was the technology problems. The mics weren't the greatest again, and the signs above the stage reading what city the characters were in did not work all the time. At one point, the sign in front of Section 1 said just Colorado and never moved all the way or changed to Monte Carlo. If you're going to use technology, make sure it works.
But let's not leave this review on a downbeat because the show really was a lot of fun to watch. The cast this summer just keeps getting better and better with each show, the orchestra did well, costume designer Martin Chapman-Bowman is on top of his game, and the staff at the Wagon Wheel this summer have been some of the nicest people.
So go see "The Unsinkable Molly Brown" and have fun. After the show, go through the zoo line, shake the actors' hands and let them know they put on a good show.
My rating (out of four): 3.50.
"Molly Brown" is at the WWT now through Aug. 2. To order tickets, call 574-267-8041, toll free at 866-823-2618 or visit online at www.wagonwheeltheatre.com
Have a news tip? Email [email protected] or Call/Text 360-922-3092