Grade: A
There isn't much meat to “Thoroughly Modern Millie.” There are no potatoes or vegetables, for that matter.
So have your dinner and then see the Merry-Go-Round production of the play for dessert.
This show is a confection; stuffed with sweet voices, delectable dancing and topped off with a pair of the best comic performances you'll see anywhere.
“Millie” is good and good for you.
Director Ed Sayles has put together a top drawer cast and a first-class production team that work in perfect harmony.
Together with choreographer Jen Turey and musical director Corinne Aquilina, Sayles has put together a dream of a show, heavy on perfectly-executed tap along with marvelous vocal work and nimble pacing.
The plot, written perhaps on a sieve, is: Girl with plan meets boy who derails plan, love ensues, suffers, triumphs and the Chinese type pretty well.
Don't worry, by the time you grasp it, it won't matter.
The show sucks you into its insane world with scenes that are deft and broad at the same time, and everything happens to lead into the next song - and is worth it.
Kimberly Burns is Millie, and Andy McLeavey is Jimmy, and their chemistry is palpable, their acting superb, their dancing sure and their voices remarkable.
Bethany Moore and Megan Thomas are terrific as Millie's new best friend and her villainous landlady.
There are fine performances from Dwayne Tan and Christopher Shin as her henchmen, Thomas. Tan and Shin are an absolute riot with “Muqin.”
Add in the fine performance of Joy Lynn Matthews as Muzzy and the rock solid chorus, and you have a really good production.
Add Geno Carr and Andrea A. McCullough, and you have a stellar production. The pair steal the show as Millie's boss and his dour office manager. McCullough is really effective throughout the first act, playing it straight with a supercilious mean streak, but when she joins the other office girls in the brilliantly staged “Forget About the Boy,” she brings down the house.
Carr is as fine a comic actor as you're likely to find anywhere, and for the last few seasons we've been fortunate to find him at the Merry-Go-Round.
His vocal abilities are flawless, his dancing is assured and his acting is impeccable. He has a presence that is enormously appealing - an everyman quality that endears him to an audience, although there is nothing everyday in his ability. His “Speed Test” and “Sweet Mystery of Life” are worth the price of admission.
The technical team for “Millie,” scenic designer Robert John Andrusko, lighting designer Robert Frame, costumer Travis Lope and hair and makeup designer Lisa Rokicki have put together a striking production that is detailed, inventive and utile.
Stage manager Patrick Lanczki and his crew move the play along without a hitch.
There is nothing objectionable for families.
If you go
What: “Thoroughly Modern Millie”
When: Continues through Aug. 17
Where: Merry-Go-Round
Playhouse, Emerson Park
For tickets: Call 255-1785
So have your dinner and then see the Merry-Go-Round production of the play for dessert.
This show is a confection; stuffed with sweet voices, delectable dancing and topped off with a pair of the best comic performances you'll see anywhere.
“Millie” is good and good for you.
Director Ed Sayles has put together a top drawer cast and a first-class production team that work in perfect harmony.
Together with choreographer Jen Turey and musical director Corinne Aquilina, Sayles has put together a dream of a show, heavy on perfectly-executed tap along with marvelous vocal work and nimble pacing.
The plot, written perhaps on a sieve, is: Girl with plan meets boy who derails plan, love ensues, suffers, triumphs and the Chinese type pretty well.
Don't worry, by the time you grasp it, it won't matter.
The show sucks you into its insane world with scenes that are deft and broad at the same time, and everything happens to lead into the next song - and is worth it.
Kimberly Burns is Millie, and Andy McLeavey is Jimmy, and their chemistry is palpable, their acting superb, their dancing sure and their voices remarkable.
Bethany Moore and Megan Thomas are terrific as Millie's new best friend and her villainous landlady.
There are fine performances from Dwayne Tan and Christopher Shin as her henchmen, Thomas. Tan and Shin are an absolute riot with “Muqin.”
Add in the fine performance of Joy Lynn Matthews as Muzzy and the rock solid chorus, and you have a really good production.
Add Geno Carr and Andrea A. McCullough, and you have a stellar production. The pair steal the show as Millie's boss and his dour office manager. McCullough is really effective throughout the first act, playing it straight with a supercilious mean streak, but when she joins the other office girls in the brilliantly staged “Forget About the Boy,” she brings down the house.
Carr is as fine a comic actor as you're likely to find anywhere, and for the last few seasons we've been fortunate to find him at the Merry-Go-Round.
His vocal abilities are flawless, his dancing is assured and his acting is impeccable. He has a presence that is enormously appealing - an everyman quality that endears him to an audience, although there is nothing everyday in his ability. His “Speed Test” and “Sweet Mystery of Life” are worth the price of admission.
The technical team for “Millie,” scenic designer Robert John Andrusko, lighting designer Robert Frame, costumer Travis Lope and hair and makeup designer Lisa Rokicki have put together a striking production that is detailed, inventive and utile.
Stage manager Patrick Lanczki and his crew move the play along without a hitch.
There is nothing objectionable for families.
If you go
What: “Thoroughly Modern Millie”
When: Continues through Aug. 17
Where: Merry-Go-Round
Playhouse, Emerson Park
For tickets: Call 255-1785
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