'Molly Brown' opens Friday

SOAP LAKE — A tale of love and money on the Colorado frontier comes to the Masquers stage this weekend. The curtain rises on “The Unsinkable Molly Brown” at 7:30 p.m. Friday at the Masquers Theater, 322 E. Main Ave. in Soap Lake.

Performances continue at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 2 p.m. Sunday, through Nov. 11. There is no matinee Oct. 21.

The play tells the story of Molly Tobin (Allison Pheasant in the Masquers production) a poor girl from the mountains of early 1900s Colorado. Molly never gives up, never gives in, and really wants to get an education – and for that matter, she wants to get rich.

Her goal is Denver, school, and a rich guy, but a poor guy comes along first. Johnny Brown (Jeremy Hansen) is working his way to riches in a Colorado mining town when he meets the pretty waitress at the cafe run by Christmas Morgan (Adam Zaleski). It’s not one of those cute meetings (she whacks him with a broom when he gets fresh) but that’s it for Johnny. He’s hooked.

And then Johnny gets rich, and Molly gets her wish for that upscale life. It includes a trip to Europe and hobnobbing with High Society. Eventually Molly returns home on the new luxury ocean liner, the Titanic – a trip that doesn’t go at all as planned, and Molly learns that all that glitters might not be gold after all.

“The Unsinkable Molly Brown” is directed by Patty Jardine, with a cast that includes Masquers veterans Cheri Barbre, Mark and Cynthia Beyer, Darryl Pheasant, Andrew Covarrubias and Joey Hernandez.

The musical premiered on Broadway in 1960 and ran for about 18 months. The movie version, starring Debbie Reynolds, was released in 1964.

Tickets are $18 per person and are available through the Masquers website.

Cheryl Schweizer can be reached via email at education@columbiabasinherald.com.