BWW Reviews: THOROUGHLY MODERN MILLIE at the Ogunquit Playhouse is Thoroughly PERFECT

The annals of music theatre are dotted with plenty of amazing and award winning shows. Shows that have become classics, and part of the "Golden Age" of music theatre. Thoroughly Modern Millie may be a recent Broadway hit, but this masterpiece deserves it's place alongside the classics of American musical theatre, and the cast of Millie at the Ogunquit Playhouse deserves more than a mere footnote in this show's history.

The year is 1922, and like many "moderns" and flapper wannabes, our fearless heroin Millie Dillmount (Becky Gulsvig) steps off a bus from her home town of Salina, Kansas, to find herself in the Big Apple. Determined to never return home, she tears up her return bus ticket, and begins her transformation into a modern '20's woman. No sooner has she begun the celebration of her new life in the big city, when her purse, hat, scarf and left shoe are stolen. Desperate for someone to help her, she trips by passer Jimmy Smith (Matt Lutz), a dashing young man who promptly lectures her on why she needs to head back home. He feels he has done his "good deed for the decade" by giving her the address of the Hotel Priscilla, a place she can hang her non-existent hat for a while. Not thwarted, but annoyed with Jimmy, she goes along her way, determined to stay in the city that never sleeps.

At the Hotel Priscilla, Millie is surrounded by girls very similar to her: young, broke ("not poor! That sounds so permanent. Broke can be fixed") and modern. Millie reveals her end goal; to get a job and marry her boss. Trouble is....she doesn't have a job yet. We are introduced to Mrs. Meers (Sally Struthers), the proprietress of the Priscilla, who is a former actress in hiding because of her criminal past; working for a Hong Kong-basEd White slavery ring. By kidnapping the orphan girls who come looking for rooms, with help from her Chinese "henchmen" Ching Ho (Christopher Shin) and Bun Foo (Carl Hsu), Meers has an endless supply and a revolving door of unsuspecting victims. Threatened with eviction, Millie meets Miss Dorothy Brown (Julie Kavanagh) who sees the VACANCY sign flashing from the Hotel Priscilla (due to the disappearance of Millie's next door neighbor Ethel Peas (Elish Conlon)). Miss Dorothy intends to see how the poorer half lives, and Millie sees an opportunity to pay her rent and also make a fast friend. Mrs. Meers decides to give Miss Dorothy a room, and an extension on Millie's rent.

After researching some of the richest and most eligible bachelors in the world, Millie heads to the Sincere Trust Company in search of a job and setting her sights on the company's boss, Trevor Graydon III (Burke Moses). Her speedy stenography easily lands her the job and she hopes, the man. Meanwhile, Ching Ho attempts to capture Miss Dorothy for Mrs. Meers with a poisoned apple but instead falls head over heels for her, and decides to do his best to save her (and learn a little English). Before Miss Dorothy can eat the apple, Millie arrives (Mrs. Meers has to act like she was getting a stain out of the carpet with soy sauce (trust me, this becomes important), rather than the chloroform bottle she had in hand) with the good news that she has found a job and a boss to marry. To celebrate Millie's success the ladies of the Priscilla head to a speakeasy, where they meet Jimmy outside. Remembering their first meeting, he is reluctant to help Millie and the girls in, but he relents; however, it isn't long before the police show up and arrest the lot. Jimmy nearly escapes, but stays because he realizes his true feelings for Millie.

Jimmy and Millie start spending a lot of time together, despite Millie's plan to marry her boss. Jimmy invites her to a party hosted by famous singer Muzzy van Hossmere (Terry Burrell). Millie and Muzzy become fast friends, but through the course of the evening Millie spills wine on a woman's dress which she tries to get out with soy sauce, following Mrs. Meers' example. Humiliated, Millie runs away and is hunted down by Jimmy. They argue about Jimmy's freewheeling attitude and Millie's plan to marry her boss. As they argue, Jimmy suddenly grabs Millie and kisses her, then runs away. Millie comes to the realization that she is in love with Jimmy, and as she floats back to the Priscilla, sees Jimmy sneak from Miss Dorothy's room....and the curtain falls on Act 1.

At Sincere Trust, Millie tells her coworkers, including the stern Miss Flannery (Jessica Sheridan) that she is over Jimmy, and places more conviction into marrying her boss, Mr. Graydon. But when Miss Dorothy comes to visit Millie at work, Mr. Graydon is immediately taken with her instead. Millie is forced to set up a date for the two, and laments her loss; just as Jimmy gets her attention from outside her window...on the ledge. They realize their feelings are mutual, and we are headed toward what seems to be a happy ending. Ahh.....not so fast.

Back at the Hotel Priscilla, Mrs. Meers along with Ching Ho and Bun Foo, prepare to poison Miss Dorothy. Mrs. Meers threatens the lovestruck Ching Ho with the brothers not being able to see their mother again. They relent, and Miss Dorothy is drugged and headed for certain doom. Jimmy and Millie decide to celebrate their newly realized feelings by attending Muzzy's performance at the Café Society. Unfortunately, Jimmy can't cover the tab, and while the two wash dishes to cover their meal, Millie runs off. She and Muzzy talk about love, and Muzzy assures her that her love for Jimmy is truly what matters, and that she needs to abandon the hope of marrying a man for money. Millie realizes that love, is indeed what she wants.

Just as she returns to Jimmy to confess her feelings, they encounter Mr. Graydon, who was stood up by Miss Dorothy for their date. He tells Millie and Jimmy that Mrs. Meers told him Miss Dorothy had checked out of the hotel. When Millie recalls that several other tenants had also suddenly "checked out," and that all of the missing tenants were orphans, Millie, Jimmy, and Mr. Graydon realize what Mrs. Meers is up to ("So sad to be all alone in the world"). The trio persuades Muzzy to pose as an orphan to expose Mrs. Meers. Mrs. Meers takes the bait and is hauled off to jail. Ching Ho, having already rescued Miss Dorothy, tells her of his love and she falls desperately in love with her savior. Jimmy proposes to Millie, and, poor as he is, she accepts. Muzzy reveals that Jimmy is actually Herbert J. van Hossmere III, her step son, and Miss Dorothy is his sister Dorothy Carnegie Mellon Vanderbilt van Hossmere. Muzzy had sent the two out on their own with $25 each in the hope that they would find their own way, and find a partner they truly loved. Bun Foo and Trevor Graydon are left partnerless until it is revealed that Bun Foo can type 50 words a minute. And there, my friends, is your complete happy ending.

I really don't know where to begin, in the best way. But, where I think I will start is with the fantastic ensemble, comprised of Jessica Azenberg, Elish Conlon, Joseph Fierberg, Tim Grady, Bryan Thomas Hunt, Drew King, Christopher Lengerich, Brent McBeth, Lauren Paley, Lizzy Palmer, Phoebe Pearl (look for her as the Cyd Charisse look alike in the speakeasy) and Amy Van Norstrand. Often the ensemble of a musical can become more what I like to call "stage parsley"; more of a set dressing, or utilized as stage crew. Every member of this ensemble shines. It's not that they stand out; nor do they blend in. They all seem to be perfectly cast, and there was not one missed step, one sour note. The women, particularly, add wonderful characterization to the inhabitants of the Priscilla, the stenogs at Sincere Trust, and sultry speakeasy dancers.

But, above all, not nearly enough can be said about Becky Gulsvig in the title role. The moment she walks on stage you fall in love with her; she is endearing, quirky, loveable and her voice is flawless. It is rare that she gets a break from stage, and for the audience's sake it's probably a good thing; they might start throwing things and calling her name. She is exactly what you need and seek in a leading character; you are rooting for her every moment, and you share in her joy, and feel her pain. Her performance was MORE than worth the price of admission. And if that wasn't enough....

Her love interest, Matt Lutz as the millionaire-in-disguise Jimmy; it's not hard to see why Millie ends up falling for him. Though she may not see it at first, he is never the snake in the grass that she takes him for. And the audience can see that from the beginning. Because, similarly to Millie, Mr. Lutz is loveable and endearing. Never swarthy, but suave, he adds the boyish charm necessary to the role. And his voice soars fluidly, and sparkling clean above the audience. Sally Struthers (yes, THAT Sally Struthers) is delightfully funny and equally cunning as Mrs. Meers. Don't let her diminutive stature fool you; she is a fireball of energy, and convincingly makes her residents and assistants cower. And, when she opens her mouth to sing, look out. Her powerful voice tears through her vaudville-esque songs with aplomb. Think Mama Rose, if she replaced all of her R's with L's, and L's with R's. Her "henchmen" Bun Foo and Chin Ho (Carl Hsu and Christopher Shin, respectively) nearly steal the show. Mr. Hsu with his older brother wisdom (he is fluent in Mandarin, which certainly helps) and Shin with his puppy love for Miss Dorothy are a pleasure to watch each and every time they appear. High points are certainly their musical numbers (all sung in Mandarin, with super titles) but especially their trio with Ms. Struthers: "Muquin (Mammy)".

Burke Moses lends his robust, Gaston-like baritone (afterall, he did create the role on Broadway and in Los Angeles and London) to the vocally demanding Trevor Graydon. His voice is so powerful and rich that it's a wonder he needs any artificial amplification. His starched-collared Graydon is equally hilarious and domineering. My one criticism would be that at times in the second act, Mr. Moses' became a little too cartoony and Jerry Lewis-tinged for my taste. Particularly when Miss Dorothy stands him up for their date.

Miss Dorothy (Julie Kavanagh) is the antithesis of Millie's character, but Ms. Kavanagh's performance is equally as delightful. She has a wonderful naïve charm, and though much more legit as the role requires, her voice is strong, clear and gorgeous. Her duet with Graydon, "Falling In Love" is a high point in her portrayal, and in Mr. Moses'. Terry Burrell's Muzzy is sexy and sinewy treat. Her musical numbers are dazzling and evoke the most pleasant remembrance of a young Lena Horne. Her motherly musings with Millie are extremely touching and so real, you can tell she and Ms. Gulsvig are connected and in the moment. I was brought to tears as she remembered her long lost husband having given her a brooch of green glass she later found to be a giant emerald.

Not to be left out Jessica Sheridan as Ms. Flannery is perfectly cast. Not only does she make the most of her turns as the spilled on Dorothy Parker and a Plaza dinner guest, but her tapping skills are first rate. Her comedic timing impeccable, her authoritative hold on her stenogs on point. I may or may not have cried laughing when she started talking about her elbows; you have to see it to understand.

The first-rate orchestra under the music direction of Ken Clifton float and bounce through the jazzy score. With not an audible miscue, they sound 10 times larger than they are, and that is NOT due to the masterful sound design by Jeremy Oleska, but to their mastery of their instruments. In fact, the sound was so pristine, there was not one line or note missed. It was truly a pleasure to listen to.

Kirby Ward's direction and choreography as well as Michael Schweikardt's set, Richard Latta's brilliant lights, Martin Pakledinaz's stunning rainbow of colorful costumes and Leah Munsey-Konops' wigs come together with no visible seams. They give a nod and wink to the original Broadway production, but without ever being a copy or imitation. They all understand the world they are presenting, and have done so in a way that is a tribute to their communication and collaboration.

If all of this isn't enough to get you to take the scenic journey to experience Ogunquit Playhouse's 81st season and their stunning presentation of Thoroughly Modern Millie, I'm not sure what will. A moving, entertaining evening that left this performer/reviewer wanting more. And, I think, so will you.

To get your tickets to Millie, or for any of the shows in Ogunquit's 81st season, please visit www.ogunquitplayhouse.org

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