ELY – The “Root Beer Lady,” Bob Cary’s biography of the iconic Dorothy Molter, the last resident of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, opens on the stage of the Fine Arts Theater this weekend at Vermilion Community College.

The Bottle Cap Volunteer Production will be presented Saturday, Nov. 26 at 7 p.m. and Sunday, Nov. 27 at 2 p.m. The event is free, however, VIP ticket donations that help support the future of the project, are available at the Kess Gallery.

“Root Beer Lady – the Musical,” with a cast of 10 talented local actors is directed by Sara Skelton with the assistance of Peta Barrett.

“The production is a ‘staged reading,’” said Barb Cary Hall, the Playwright/Producer. “That means it is a work in progress. The musical needs to go before the people of Ely for their input before it can be fine-tuned for regular performances next summer. Dorothy Molter is a well-known legend and I want to get it right.”

Susan Germek is directing the cast singing accompanied by Prairie Portage Trio (Cary Hall, Lynn Evenson and Beth Haakensen), while Johnnie Hyde has them performing unique choreography.

Barb Cary Hall, daughter of Bob Cary has spent almost six years writing the original music and script for the musical.

“A brand new play requires a staged reading or a rough draft of the actual performance,” Hall said. “Actors can read from the script, singers can read the lyrics and they will be accompanied by live music.” Sets and costumes are also be part of the staged reading.

“This original musical is a unique way to engage new and old audiences about the story of Dorothy Molter,” Cary Hall said. The “Root Beer Lady” tells the story through music and song and answers the questions of how she came to be on the Isle of Pines and why she was selling root beer there.

“Along the way, you meet characters that Dorothy knew and learn about her relationship with them,” she said. “There is humor and drama and toe-tapping songs. The musical is entertaining and uplifting for all the family.”

“Root Beer Lady” received a $1,000 quick start grant from the Arrowhead Regional Arts Council to support the purchase of an ultra-short-throw rear projector and the large screen it requires. Archival photos from the Dorothy Molter Museum will be projected on the screen from behind, allowing the production to use them as sets with actors dancing and singing in front of the images.

“My father was a personal friend of Dorothy’s,” Hall said. “His relationship with her tells a side that many never saw. The pure strength and will of this woman to live alone all year around in this challenging environment is inspiring.”

Barb Cary Hall is a member of the Board of Directors of the Dorothy Molter Museum. “It’s all about Dorothy,” she said. “The royalties from my father’s book go to the museum. We will copyright the ‘Root Beer Lady’ musical and turn it over to the museum to allow others to perform the play so the royalties go to the museum. That’s they way my father would have wanted it.”

Everyone attending the performance will be asked to fill out a short questionnaire giving their input. “Luckily for me, everyone involved is so enthusiastic that this has already gone beyond ‘staged reading’ level,” Cary Hall said. “Folks will certainly be entertained.”

The musical is seeing a local groundswell of support under the umbrella of several local non-profits including the Dorothy Molter Museum, NLAA, the Ely Folk School, and others.

Donations for the production of the “Root Beer Lady” can be mailed to Dorothy Molter Museum - Musical Fund, P.O. Box 391, Ely, MN 55731.

Who was Dorothy Molter?

Dorothy was born in 1907 in Pennsylvania, one of six children. After high school she chose a career in nursing which eventually led her to a lifetime of living in what would become the Boundary Waters Canoe Area, according to biographical material at the museum.

She first came to Knife Lake in 1930 when she was 23 years old. She came to stay in 1934 to care for Bill Berglund who owned the Isle of Pines Resort. She lived there for more than 56 years.

As a result of the Wilderness Act, her property was purchased by the government. Friends circulated petitions to allow her to stay. She was granted permanent tenancy in 1975 and she lived on the Isle of Pines until her death in 1986.

Her homestead was dismantled in 1987 and eventually moved to Ely where two of her cabins were reconstructed. The Dorothy Molter Memorial Foundation was formed to preserve and interpret her legacy.