For her 1986 appearance at the theatre, Debbie Reynolds was joined in The Debbie Reynolds Show by Harve Presnell, who co-starred with her in the film The Unsinkable Molly Brown. It was convenient for Presnell to join her in the show, as he was residing at the time at 8356 Sunburst Trail, Parker, Colorado.
On the opening night performance, while patrons of the park cleared out from under a heavy rain, the Elitch Theatre faithful, sheltered under umbrellas, remained to see Debbie Reynolds, their favorite entertaining star.
They were rewarded with a warm dose of nostalgia and comedy from Reynolds, whose strong suit is a genuine sense of comic timing and an apparent ease in front of a damp and disheartened audience. Reynolds immediately chased the clouds away.
While performing at Elitch, Miss Reynolds stayed at the Oxford Hotel and was present in the hotel when the fire alarm went off at 2:30 on a Sunday morning. She shared the event with Alan Stem, the Denver Post drama critic.“All the guests were in the lobby in our pajamas and nightgowns … What were we going to do, stare at each other? So we all went into the bar and I started singing. Pretty soon everybody was joining in with ‘Roll Out the Barrel.”‘
Stern commented that it sounded “like a scene from The Unsinkable Molly Brown, in which Reynolds – playing Colorado’s leading legend – kept up morale in the lifeboat after the Titanic sank.”
After the final performance of Never Too Late (another show from the 1986 season,) Debbie Reynolds and Harve Presnell were brought back by popular demand for 6-days of their Las Vegas style of singing entertainment.
[Borrillo, Theodore A., (2012). Denver’s historic Elitch Theatre : a nostalgic journey (a history of its times). pp. 336-337.]
Seasons at the Theatre
- 1970
- 1986
Notable Roles, Awards, and Other Work:
- Nominee: 1951 Golden Globe Awards New Star of the Year – Three Little Words
- Nominee: 1965 Academy Awards for Best Actress — The Unsinkable Molly Brown
- Nominee: 1965 Golden Globe Awards Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy — The Unsinkable Molly Brown
- Nominee: 1973 Tony Awards Best Actress in a Musical — Irene
- Won: 2014 Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award
- Won: 2015 Academy Awards Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award
Elitch Theatre Connections:
- In 1989, Debbie appeared in Perry Mason: The Case of the Musical Murder (TV Movie) with HET Alum, Raymond Burr.
Wikipedia Link:
