Review: THOROUGHLY MODERN MILLIE at Marquee Theater Company

Marquee Theatre Company and Producer Miles McKee proudly present the musical Thoroughly Modern Millie at the West Boca Performing Arts Theater. Based on the 1956 British musical Chrysanthemum, the successful film version of Thoroughly Modern Millie in 1967, starring Julie Andrews, Mary Tyler Moore, Carol Channing and Beatrice Lilly, sparked a bit of a cult following that paved the way for an equally successful stage version. While the movie musical featured music by George and Ira Gershwin, Sammy Cahn, Jimmy Van Heusen, and Elmer Bernstein, the stage musical, features music by Jeanine Tesori, lyrics by Dick Scanlan, and a book by Richard Morris and Dick Scanlan. After previews at the La Jolla Playhouse in San Diego, CA in 2000, Thoroughly Modern Millie opened on Broadway at the Marquis Theatre on April 15, 2002. It ran for 903 performances, receiving six Tony Awards and five Drama Desk Awards.

Set in 1922, Thoroughly Modern Millie tells the story of small-town girl Millie Dillmount (Alex Frost), who has come from Salina, Kansas to New York City determined to get ahead by marrying for money instead of love. She embraces becoming "thoroughly modern" by bobbing her hair, donning clothing in the style of a flapper, joining the work force as a stenographer and setting herself up in a room at the Hotel Priscilla for Women. Though Millie plans to marry her wealthy boss at the Sincere Trust Insurance Company, Trevor Graydon III (Michael Cartwright), she finds herself taken with a poor, madcap paper clip salesman named Jimmy Smith (Bruno Faria).

Frost is vivacious and engaging as Millie. Though early in the show she cracked a couple of times while singing, there was absolutely no evidence of any vocal issues the rest of the show. Her voice rang out loud and clear, especially in her thrilling second act delivery of the song "Gimme, Gimme". Cartwright is far funnier in his comedic melodramatization of the character than one could ever hope for. He is not the cookie-cutter, plastically handsome version of Trevor we normally see. He does some delightfully shameless mugging in bits designed to mimic the style of Nelson Eddy and Jeanette MacDonald, and is possessed of a big, booming baritone voice to match. Faria is handsome and knowing as the mischievous Jimmy, and does a great job singing "What Do I Need With Love". I found the take on the character a tad off, as Jimmy is supposed to be a polished, ne'er do well, playboy living in the Big Apple. Faria plays him less polished and more like a playboy character out of The Sopranos. While he has a certain suave appeal, it's not quite the same style of appeal as one may be expecting.

Millie befriends a wealthy, aspiring actress named Miss Dorothy Brown (Shalia Sakona) who is also staying at the Hotel Priscilla, where hotel owner Mrs. Meers (Jordana Forrest) is secretly running a white slavery ring. Mrs. Meers preys on the young women staying in her hotel, selling those without any family into white slavery in China after drugging them. Mrs. Meers is only able to do this with the help of her hotel employees, brothers Bun Foo (Sven Ballarte) and Ching Ho (Mark Hernandez), whom she has promised will be rewarded with their mother being brought to the United States. The girls staying at the hotel end up at the penthouse of the glamorous nightclub singer Muzzy van Hossmere (Nicole Dikun) after a night on the town. The story unfolds from there to a rightfully happy ending with a few surprise twists along the way.

Sakona sings the role of Miss Dorothy prettily enough, but comes off as less experienced on stage than some of her other castmates. Miss Dorothy is inherently a vapid character, so it can be a difficult role to play unless one goes as full out as her romantic partner in crime, Michael Cartwright as Trevor Graydon III. A big and brassy Forrest as Mrs. Meers has her funny moments, but is largely unintelligible when speaking in pigeon Chinese, and tends to speak and sing everything as loudly as she can. While I appreciate a Broadway belt as much as the next guy, she'd be much funnier is she'd relax, engage the audience, and use dynamic variances in both her singing and speaking voice. Dikun is charming as cabaret singer Muzzy van Hossmere. With a smooth singing voice, she oozes maturity, beauty and class when she sings. The song "Only In New York" capitalizes on her mellow tones and strong stage presence.

Brothers Bun Foo (Sven Ballarte) and Ching Ho (Mark Hernandez) admittedly look nothing alike, but work well together, and Ballarte has a disarming innocence as Bun Foo that makes the character altogether likeable. They are hindered by some technical issues with the overhead projection of the English translation of their spoken Mandarin, as from where I was seated in the fourth row, as all of the words were not legible. The recorded instrumental tacks used in place of live musicians fit the show nicely, and I was never aware of any balance, quality, or cue issues. Sound and lighting design is uniformly good. There were just two moments of mic interference. There is a need for more overhead downstage lighting in a couple of the large dance numbers however as the front row of dancers is more darkly lit than the others.

This production features a beautifully costumed and choreographed ensemble of dancers. It is a pleasure to see the stage used to showcase the size and skill level of that ensemble. I also noticed how strong the bevy of girls who live at the hotel are in their setting the style of the piece, and providing acting responses to what was going on around them. Allow me to quote the late South Florida director Bob Bogdanoff when he would be handling group scenes: "Acting is REACTING!". So, thank you from both me and Bob (directing angels up in heaven) for giving us an active and present ensemble in this production of Thoroughly Modern Millie, along with some wonderful costuming and enjoyable choreography. It may be the welcome light-hearted fare you're looking for as an alternative to the sea of serious Sondheim musical offerings in South Florida this Summer.

This Marquee Theater Company production of Thoroughly Modern Millie will be appearing through August 6, 2017, at the West Boca Performing Arts Theater. Mainstage productions are housed in the West Boca Performing Arts Theater at 12811 Glades Rd. in Boca Raton FL. Educational offerings are through Next Level Performing Arts located at 7533 N. St. Rd. 7 in Parkland FL. For tickets and information, you may contact them by phone at 954-464-8249 or online at www.marqueetheatercompany.com.

Cast:
Millie Dillmount: Alex Frost
Jimmy: Bruno Faria
Miss Dorothy: Shalia Sakona
Trevor Graydon III: Michael Cartwright
Mrs. Meers: Jordana Forrest
Muzzy Van Hossmere: Nicole Dikun
Miss Flannery: Alissa Kane
Bun Foo: Mark Hernandez
Ching Ho: Sven Ballarte
Ensemble: Elisa Dannielle, Sean William Davis, Mandy Nikole Figueroa, Meg Frost, Sean Gogan, Hailey Hendrickson, Don Jeanis, RYan Lim, Bella Lopez, Kassie Meiler, Gianina Mugavero, Sabrina Mugavero, Mark Parello, Jr., Sarah Rose, Alyssa Trapani

Crew:
Director: Andrew Shultz
Music Director: Paul Reekie
Choreographer: Ben Solmor
Scenic Design: Mike Versetti
Lighting Design: Andrew Shultz
Sound Design: Traci Watkins
Costume Design: Ben Solmor
Stage Manager: Jonathan Louis Rindner

Pic: Bruno Faria and Alex Frost / Photo by Bachi Frost