I read reviews on Show Score that said this should be on Broadway. I saw it last night and said to my friend, "If this had gone to Broadway, it would be massacred." There seems to be a very subtle socialist agenda attached to the new book which I felt awkward, and Malone's closing line left me cold. The stand-out is David Aron Damane as J.J. who reminded me of a young Norm Lewis. The marriage battle duet (I can't think of the name right now) is fabulous, reminding me of "You're Just in Love" from "Call Me Madam" and "Old Fashioned Wedding" from the revival of "Annie Get Your Gun", as well as "All For You" from "Desperate Measures".
It can extend at Abron Arts Center and fill the house, but having seen the tour with Debbie Reynolds and Harve Presnell in 1989 at the Pantages in Hollywood, I prefer the original book which if missing the social points this new book is trying to make is far more entertaining. They tried to shove too much material of importance in a 2 1/2 period of time, and it never really flowed. That being said, if there is ever a mini-series about the real life of Molly Brown (with or without songs), I'd love to see the whole story. This version will completely split the audience. For those who read the show score reviews, their ranking percentage for "Positive" is far too low (70%) where it should be 85% and above. There are "Molly Brown" reviews at 71% marked positive where the user gave it a mixed review. That's the reason I stopped reviewing on there because it really doesn't reflect what people think accurately. It will be interesting to see what the Times has to say when it opens in two weeks.
One Grecian Ern