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"Millie" receives rave reviews
The Dinner Theatre's production of "Thoroughly Modern Millie" receives rave reviews from the Montgomery Advertiser.
Review: Faulkner's "Thoroughly Modern Millie" is "enjoyable on many levels"
February 23, 2009 - Montgomery Advertiser
A welcome return to buffet dining, and with a lot of new found talent from Alabama Christian Academy, the Faulkner University Dinner Theatre's bubbly musical "Thoroughly Modern Millie," is an affectionate pastiche tribute to the 1920s flapper era that originated as a film in 1967 and went on to be a Tony Award winning "Best Musical" in 2002.
Co-directed by Jason Clark South and Angela Dickson, this two-and-a-half-hour production serves as a delightful confection to end the buffet meal. It is sweet without being cloying, an innocent romp with sophisticated dialogue and lyrics, and enough modernity to transcend its period charm.
Millie Dilmount (Rachel Pair) arrives in New York with dreams of a successful career that she intends to match by marrying the ideal man, whoever he might be, provided he is rich and handsome. On her arrival from the country, she meets Jimmy Smith (Tyler Eads), who is struggling like her to make ends meet, but whose callous attitude repulses her. So, she sets her sights on her boss, Trevor Graydon (Brandtley McDonald), who meets all her criteria.
In the Hotel Priscilla that caters to young women boarders, she befriends Miss Dorothy Brown (Anna Sailors), another naive new arrival among the crowd of ladies searching for jobs and husbands in the new female workforce of the 1920s.
Unbeknownst to all, Mrs. Meers (Merelee Robinson), a frustrated actress disguised as a Chinese woman, runs the Hotel Priscilla as a front for trafficking in "white slavery," dispatching some of the more vulnerable hotel residents to distant lands with the assistance of henchmen Ching Ho (Chris Kelly) and Bun Foo (Tony Davidson).
Plenty of complications, both romantic and sinister, drive the plot forward and are abetted by a delightful musical score that reflects song styles of the period. Marilyn Swears directs the five-piece orchestra, seamlessly connecting the music with the characterizations and the plot.
All the principal actors are equipped with strong singing voices, a real plus to the score, and are complemented by their acting skills. Both Pair and McDonald have solid musical-comedy voices that fill the house with seeming ease and control. Clear, rich tones and animated performances make them easy to watch and to care about. Sailors and Eads have lighter voices that fit their characters well, and they too develop characters completely.
Robinson, with Kelly and Davidson, add some politically incorrect comic relief, and do it with enough flair to reduce the potential negative criticism of their roles.
Novelty numbers like "The Speed Test," in which Millie demonstrates her skills at stenography, and "Muquin," a Chinese version of the Al Jolson favorite, "Mammy," bring down the house. And the charming duet, "How the Other Half Lives," Jimmy's lament, "What Do I Need With Love," and the combined "Ah! Sweet Mystery of Life/I'm Falling in Love with Someone" give the principal actors opportunities to showcase their vocal skills.
The large, multi-leveled set is used to represent a variety of distinct locations, with only a few lengthy scene changes, and one wonders how it can accommodate the 44 cast members in the big production numbers; yet it does.
Enjoyable on many levels, "Thoroughly Modern Millie" keeps the audience engaged throughout, largely due to the energy and commitment of the actors.
-- Michael P. Howley (mhowley@alasu.edu) is a member of the American Theatre Critics Association. He teaches English and humanities at Alabama State University and serves on the Board of Directors of the Alabama Conference of Theatre and the Southeastern Theatre Conference.
February 23, 2009 - Montgomery Advertiser
A welcome return to buffet dining, and with a lot of new found talent from Alabama Christian Academy, the Faulkner University Dinner Theatre's bubbly musical "Thoroughly Modern Millie," is an affectionate pastiche tribute to the 1920s flapper era that originated as a film in 1967 and went on to be a Tony Award winning "Best Musical" in 2002.
Co-directed by Jason Clark South and Angela Dickson, this two-and-a-half-hour production serves as a delightful confection to end the buffet meal. It is sweet without being cloying, an innocent romp with sophisticated dialogue and lyrics, and enough modernity to transcend its period charm.
Millie Dilmount (Rachel Pair) arrives in New York with dreams of a successful career that she intends to match by marrying the ideal man, whoever he might be, provided he is rich and handsome. On her arrival from the country, she meets Jimmy Smith (Tyler Eads), who is struggling like her to make ends meet, but whose callous attitude repulses her. So, she sets her sights on her boss, Trevor Graydon (Brandtley McDonald), who meets all her criteria.
In the Hotel Priscilla that caters to young women boarders, she befriends Miss Dorothy Brown (Anna Sailors), another naive new arrival among the crowd of ladies searching for jobs and husbands in the new female workforce of the 1920s.
Unbeknownst to all, Mrs. Meers (Merelee Robinson), a frustrated actress disguised as a Chinese woman, runs the Hotel Priscilla as a front for trafficking in "white slavery," dispatching some of the more vulnerable hotel residents to distant lands with the assistance of henchmen Ching Ho (Chris Kelly) and Bun Foo (Tony Davidson).
Plenty of complications, both romantic and sinister, drive the plot forward and are abetted by a delightful musical score that reflects song styles of the period. Marilyn Swears directs the five-piece orchestra, seamlessly connecting the music with the characterizations and the plot.
All the principal actors are equipped with strong singing voices, a real plus to the score, and are complemented by their acting skills. Both Pair and McDonald have solid musical-comedy voices that fill the house with seeming ease and control. Clear, rich tones and animated performances make them easy to watch and to care about. Sailors and Eads have lighter voices that fit their characters well, and they too develop characters completely.
Robinson, with Kelly and Davidson, add some politically incorrect comic relief, and do it with enough flair to reduce the potential negative criticism of their roles.
Novelty numbers like "The Speed Test," in which Millie demonstrates her skills at stenography, and "Muquin," a Chinese version of the Al Jolson favorite, "Mammy," bring down the house. And the charming duet, "How the Other Half Lives," Jimmy's lament, "What Do I Need With Love," and the combined "Ah! Sweet Mystery of Life/I'm Falling in Love with Someone" give the principal actors opportunities to showcase their vocal skills.
The large, multi-leveled set is used to represent a variety of distinct locations, with only a few lengthy scene changes, and one wonders how it can accommodate the 44 cast members in the big production numbers; yet it does.
Enjoyable on many levels, "Thoroughly Modern Millie" keeps the audience engaged throughout, largely due to the energy and commitment of the actors.
-- Michael P. Howley (mhowley@alasu.edu) is a member of the American Theatre Critics Association. He teaches English and humanities at Alabama State University and serves on the Board of Directors of the Alabama Conference of Theatre and the Southeastern Theatre Conference.
