STAGE REVIEW : Unsinkable Reynolds, Presnell Surface Again at Pantages

Debbie Reynolds and Harve Presnell are back in “The Unsinkable Molly Brown,” this time at the Pantages in Hollywood, following an engagement in May in Long Beach.

Let’s hear it for spunk.

Spunk--and unsinkability--are Molly Brown’s attributes. They’re also qualities that any 57-year-old movie star would like to embody on stage. But few such stars can do this as well as Reynolds.

Whether Molly, the Colorado gold digger and social climber who later became famous as a survivor of the Titanic disaster, has any other qualities is an issue that the show’s creators--and Reynolds, who produces as well as stars--preferred not to examine.

Compare “Molly Brown” with “Evita,” another musical about an ambitious lower-class woman who is determined to marry up and then beat the hometown snobs at their own game.

In “Molly Brown,” we’re supposed to smile tolerantly at Molly’s greed and mindlessness (she hides $300,000 in the oven, where it’s promptly burned). When Molly seeks social validation in Europe, she charms the pants off everyone without really trying.

By contrast, “Evita” explores its protagonist’s dark side as well as her seductive powers. And judging from the two shows, Eva Peron could have taken lessons from Molly Brown in how to impress European society.

Of course, the real Molly didn’t matter as much as the real Eva, who helped run a country. So perhaps it’s just as well that writer Richard Morris and composer Meredith Willson didn’t take Molly’s troubles too seriously. This is musical comedy in the frothy, old-fashioned sense of the phrase.

Even on those terms, though, the show would have been zestier if it didn’t keep reassuring us what a great gal Molly was.

Reynolds doesn’t suggest anything to the contrary. But a framing device added for this production makes a token stab in that direction. We first meet Molly on the Titanic, taking a moment to ponder. While she doesn’t reach any particular insights, at least we see her in reflection, rather than in the fast-forward motion that propels most of the show.

That action begins with the next scene, when Reynolds does a convincing take on a spirited teen-ager. She doesn’t kick quite as high as the chorus boys on each side, but her voice is full of grit, and her performance is focused and snappy.

Presnell soon shows up as Molly’s suitor, reprising the role he created in 1960, and he couldn’t be better. He’s like a newfangled Marlboro Man--one who has given up smoking and taken up singing. His voice fills the hall like cigarette smoke never could.

The rest of director John Bowab’s ensemble is up to snuff. So are the sets (by Randy Wright), costumes (Paco Macliss), and musical direction (Joey Singer).

The opening was delayed because of problems fitting the show into the Pantages, and there were occasional signs of the strain on opening night--a couple of recalcitrant curtains, some set changes that lingered too long.

But generally this is “Molly Brown” straight-up, and the show’s fans won’t regret bellying up to the bar.

At 6233 Hollywood Blvd., Tuesdays through Saturdays at 8 p.m.; Wednesday and Saturday matinees at 2 p.m.; Sunday matinees at 3 p.m., through Oct. 8. Tickets: $16-$37.50; (213) 410-1062 or (714) 634-1300).