Musical Success In
Sunderland
Thoroughly Modern Millie ★★★★
Sunderland Empire
Tuesday 10th - Saturday 14th April 2018
An entertaining musical has rolled into Sunderland
this week. It looks fabulous, has a strong storyline and a great ensemble cast.
It is also funny how the ideas of what made up a “modern” girl in the ‘20s
still resonates today.
Millie Dillmount (Hayley Tamaddon) has arrived in New
York and is excited about being in a big city. Her plan is to use her short
hand writing skills to find a job as a stenographer and then marry the rich
boss. Quickly she is robbed of her money and a shoe. In distress she literally
trips over paperclip salesman Jimmy Smith (Michael Colbourne) and asks for
help. He suggests spending a night at the Hotel Priscilla, which takes in
single girls. Rather than heading home she looks for work.
The other girls in
the hotel are discussing the newspaper heading about “White Slavery” whilst the
owner, Mrs Meers (Lucas Rush) appears to be more interesting in offering
orphans a cup of tea in her back office before they quickly disappear. Millie’s
money troubles appear solved when Miss Dorothy Brown (Lisa Bridge) checks into
the hotel and she finds work at Sincere Trust Insurance with unmarried boss Mr
Graydon (Richard Meek).
Before she knows, Millie finds herself in a world of
illegal drinking dens, lavish parties with hosts like Muzzy Van Hossmere (Nicola
Blackman). The action is often kept
light hearted. Millie is very much a glass half full type of person who sees
the good in everyone. The journey is through her naïve eyes as she tries to set
her standards against what she thinks a modern “flapper” girl should.
The natural
chemistry between the cast helps make the light hearted moments work resulting
in plenty of laughter from the Sunderland crowd. For example, the discussion
between landlady Mrs Meers and her 2 Chinese employees Ching Ho (Guy Salim) and
Bun Foo (Patrick Jeremy) uses surtitles on a screen to translate. Director
Racky Plews handles the potentially tricky matter in a humorous and even handed
way, avoiding the possible pit falls.
The themes of Thoroughly
Modern Millie are still relevant today. It is set in 1922 and is based upon
a 1967 movie, starring Julie Andrews, which in turn is based upon a British
musical from 1956 called Chrysanthemum,
yet it covers the issues of marrying for money, human trafficking and abuse of
women. Indeed Miss Dorothy Brown’s tale of being groped during an audition will
resonate with the #MeToo movement.
Overall though, Thoroughly
Modern Millie is a well-paced and funny tale. The outfits look suitable glamourous
and the set sparkles in its Art Deco splendour. Musical director Chris Peake
leads a live band that add energy to the dance routines. The choreography even
includes tap dancing whilst sat down at typewriters which was novel.
The show also features some great musical
performances from the singers. Hayley Tamaddon, Richard Meek and Natalie
Spriggs combined impressively during The
Speed Test. Nicola Blackman has star quality in her big number Only In New York.
Thoroughly
Modern Millie was an entertaining,
well produced romp that is blessed with a great cast.
Review by Stephen Oliver
Creatives:
Book by Richard Morris and Dick Scanlan
New Music by Jeanine Tesori
New Lyrics by Dick Scanlan
Original Story and Screenplay by Richard Morris for
the Universal Pictures Film
Presented by arrangement with Music Theatre
International (Europe) Limited
Director and Choreographer Racky Plews
Musical Director Rob Wicks
Executive Producer David King
Casting Director Sue Talbert
Executive Director Graham King
Tickets:
Tickets available in person at the Box Office on
High Street West, from the Ticket Centre on 0844 871 3022* or online from our
affiliate ATG tickets: http://bit.ly/TMMillieSund*
*Calls cost 7p per minute plus your plus your phone
company's access charge. Booking and transaction fees may apply.
Group Bookings: 0330 1027531
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