Beth Malone has returned to the title role of The Unsinkable Molly Brown for an industry reading presented by Roundabout Theatre Company. The Fun Home Tony nominee reprises her performance following star turns at the St. Louis Muny and the Denver Center Theatre Company.
Director-choreographer Kathleen Marshall and Dick Scanlan, who has penned a revised book to the Meredith Willson musical, also return to the title after collaborating on the previous two Malone-led engagements.
The reading is part of Roundabout’s continued efforts to present readings and workshops throughout the year, including 20 playwriting commissions as part of the company’s New Play Initiative. A representative for Roundabout Theatre Company told Playbill there are currently no plans for a future production of the musical.
The Unsinkable Molly Brown offers a fictionalized account of Margaret Tobin, an outspoken American socialite who survived the 1912 sinking of the Titanic. The musical premiered at the Winter Garden Theatre in 1960 and has yet to be revived on Broadway.
Scanlan boarded the 2014 Denver Center Theatre Company production to offer a more historically accurate depiction of the title role. Marshall told Playbill at the time, “[The original book by Richard Morris book] didn’t pay as close attention to the realities of her life. We want to concentrate on that a little more…have more depth about her relationship with J. J. Brown, her husband.”
Read: REVISED THE UNSINKABLE MOLLY BROWN STILL AIMING FOR BROADWAY
