‘Molly’s’ Fraternal Twin, ‘Man’

Like a child overshadowed by a more famous older sibling, “The Unsinkable Molly Brown” has been passed over by many musical theater companies eager to mount Meredith Willson’s other musical, “The Music Man.”

Jan Duncan, director of the Fullerton Civic Light Opera’s production of “The Unsinkable Molly Brown,” says the need for strong leads and the high cost of the sets explain the relative scarcity of “Molly Brown” productions.

“It does require such specific people because the characters are so well defined,” she said. “Johnny needs to be a big guy with a big voice, and Molly needs to be a little spitfire with a big voice, and the show has many different sets. It’s not an inexpensive show to produce.”

Willson wrote the book, music and lyrics for “The Music Man” in 1957. For “The Unsinkable Molly Brown,” TV writer Richard Morris provided the book and, along with producer-director Dore Schary, brought Willson in to write the music and lyrics.

Before he died in 1984, Willson told the New York Times that the book fit his interests: “period Americana and the love story of two characters I could like.”

Still, he stipulated, Morris and Schary would first have to do some adjusting.

“I said, ‘If you’ll take the cussin’ out of there and be mindful of beautifyin’ the love story, I’m your boy.”

Duncan sees similarities in “Molly Brown” and “The Music Man.”

“You hear the same themes and patterns. Like ‘Trouble in River City’ [from ‘The Music Man,’ Molly’s song] ‘I Ain’t Down Yet’ is very similar in that you have to be right on the beat or it ruins the whole thing.”

Susan Dohan, the actress who portrays Molly, agrees.

“It’s very much like ‘The Music Man’ and a hard thing musically to do. Willson is sort of like the original rap artist.”

Duncan fondly recalls the time Willson came to see the Fullerton Civic Light Opera’s production of “The Music Man” in 1974.

“He was a very charming, delightful man . . . who told me that he enjoyed taking stories about real-life people [and setting them to music].”