THE UNSINKABLE MOLLY BROWN, Rodgers Memorial Theatre, Centerville, through Feb. 14 (298-1302). Running time: 2 hours, 15 minutes (one intermission).
CENTERVILLE — Spunky, feisty and a little rough around the edges. That describes both Molly Tobin Brown and this energetic production of Meredith Willson's musical.
Based on the true-life, turn-of-the-century adventures of Molly — an uninhibited backwoods girl from Missouri who aims for Denver society — this production showcases a strong cast directed by Karen Whiting and choreographed by Jim Christian.
The Saturday night ensemble, which also performs on Tuesdays and Thursdays, is headlined by two especially strong talents — Jennie Whitlock in the title role and Monte Garcia as Colorado prospector Leadville Johnny Brown. The chemistry between these two superb performers creates enough sparks to start a fire in their log cabin's pot-bellied stove.
While they're both skilled vocalists, they also display solid acting when the tension between Molly and Johnny surfaces during a dramatic confrontation (Molly wants to flee to Europe after being shut out of Denver's hoity-toity high society circles; Johnny would rather just hightail it back to the comfort zone of Leadville.)
Beyond these two, this production is pretty much a big, fast-paced ensemble piece, punctuated by barroom brawls and elegant soirees.
Dave Hill is nicely cast as Molly's hard-drinking Irish pa, Shamus Tobin, and Darin Beardall, Don Luff and Ron Cox (the latter pinch-hitting from the alternate cast) enter the fray as Molly's rough-and-tumble brothers. (Cox, who is a student in Christian's Weber State University musical-theater program, is a newcomer on the Utah scene and a talent to keep your eye on. He gets to sing a poignant duet — "Dolce far Niente" — when he tackles another role as debonair Prince de Long.)
Attention to detail was fairly lax on Saturday night. The pages on a calendar on one side of the stage — supposedly to help the audience keep track of the time frame — were several days behind from scene to scene. (Further confusing the issue was the playbill, which listed the first scene as being set "in the early 1900s," while the calendar showed 1885.)
And those familiar with the show may be perplexed by one odd switch in casting. Saddle Rock Saloon owner Christmas Morning, usually played by a male, is a female in this version — a role shared by Meredith Gibson and Debi Martin.
But it's still well worth the drive to Centerville — just to see Whitlock and Garcia. Their energy should heat up the chilly air and maybe even melt some of the endless snow.
E-MAIL: ivan@desnews.com