Thoroughly Modern Millie (musical)

Thoroughly Modern Millie is a musical with music by tress turned evil who now works for a white slavery ring in
Jeanine Tesori, lyrics by Dick Scanlan, and a book by Hong Kong, kidnapping pretty unsuspecting orphan girls
Richard Morris and Scanlan.[1] It is based on the 1967 and shipping them to the Orient, which she has just done
lm of the same name,[2] which itself was based on the to Millies hall mate, Ethel Peas. Mrs. Meers declares
British musical Chrysanthemum, which opened in Lon- that Millie has two minutes to pack, or nd her things
don in 1956. Thoroughly Modern Millie tells the story of on the street!" But then Millie meets the wealthy Miss
a small-town girl, Millie Dillmount, who comes to New Dorothy, who wants to learn how the poorer half lives
York City to marry for money instead of love a thor- (How the Other Half Lives), and wants a room in the
oughly modern aim in 1922, when women were just en- Hotel Priscilla. Millie, seeing this as a way to get her rent
tering the workforce. Millie soon begins to take delight inpaid, suggests that Miss Dorothy can room with her until
the apper lifestyle, but problems arise when she checks she can nd her own, but only if Miss Dorothy pays the
into a hotel owned by the leader of a white slavery ring inrent. Mrs. Meers, comes out of her oce, saying Millie
China.[3] The style of the musical is comic pastiche. Like can get a rent extension, and Miss Dorothy can take the
the lm on which it is based, it interpolates new tunes Nice, sunny room that just become available, right next
with some previously written songs. to Millies. When Millie asks what happened to her old
After previews at the La Jolla Playhouse in San Diego, neighbor, Ethel, Mrs. Meers says she got an acting job in
California in October 2000,[4] the show opened on the Orient. Millie and Miss Dorothy then go up to their
Broadway on April 18, 2002.[1] The production subse- rooms, tap dancing to get the elevator to start.
quently won six 2002 Tony Awards, including Best Mu- In the Hotel Priscilla laundry room, two Chinese immi-
sical.[5] Due to the success of the original Broadway pro- grants, Ching Ho and Bun Foo, are working for Mrs.
duction, there was both a United States tour[6] and a West Meers to earn enough money to bring their mother from
End production[7] launched in 2003, followed by a United Hong Kong over to the states (Not for the Life of Me
Kingdom tour in 2005.[8] The musical has since become [reprise]").
a popular choice for high school productions.[9]
After researching some of the richest and most eligible
bachelors in the world, Millie comes to Sincere Trust not
only looking for a job, but also to set her sights on the
companys boss, Trevor Graydon III (The Speed Test).
1 Synopsis Her lightning speed stenography easily lands her the job.
Meanwhile, Ching Ho attempts to capture Miss Dorothy
Act I for Mrs. Meers with a drugged apple but when he sees
Its 1922, and Millie Dillmount has just escaped to New her, falls in love with her instantly and then wants to save
York City from Salina, Kansas, and, determined to be- her from Mrs. Meers. Before Dorothy eats the drugged
come a success, tears up her return ticket (Not for the apple, Millie arrives, (Mrs. Meers has to act like she was
Life of Me). Bobbing her hair, she assumes the modern getting a stain out of the carpet with Soy Sauce) with the
look of a "apper" (Thoroughly Modern Millie). But good news that she has found a job and a boss to marry.
she is quickly mugged on the streets of New York, losing As the girls rush o to their rooms, Mrs. Meers thinks
her hat, scarf, purse and shoe. In a panic for someone to about how stupid the girls are to never realize shes an evil
help her, she trips bypasser Jimmy Smith, a handsome, mastermind trying to ship them to Southeast Asia (They
carefree young man who makes his way through life on Don't Know). To celebrate their success the girls go to a
whim and wits, who promptly lectures her on why she speakeasy, where they meet Jimmy, but the club is raided
needs to head back home: she is just another girl full of by the police. While waiting for his release in the jail cell,
false hopes who doesn't belong in the big city. Almost Jimmy realizes that he loves Millie (What Do I Need
taking his advice, she changes her mind and yells after with Love).
him, Who needs a hat? Who needs a purse? And who Jimmy asks Millie to a party hosted by famous singer
needs YOU, mister whoever-you-are?!" and soon takes a Muzzy van Hossmere, and she accepts. Before the party
room at the Hotel Priscilla for Single Women (Not for Muzzy sings of her love for New York (Only in New
the Life of Me [tag]"). York). At the party, Millie spills wine on Dorothy
A week later, Millie is confronted by the hotel propri- Parker's dress, which Millie tries to get out with soy sauce,
etress, the mysterious and sinister Mrs. Meers, an ac- following Mrs. Meers example. After the party, Millie

1
2 5 PRODUCTIONS

explains to Jimmy how she is going to marry Trevor. She station. Meanwhile, Ching Ho had already rescued Miss
also tells him o for being a skirt chaser and woman- Dorothy and won her heart.
izer. As they argue, Jimmy suddenly grabs Millie and Jimmy proposes to Millie, and, poor as he is, she accepts,
kisses her, then runs away. Millie realizes that she loves because if its marriage I've got in mind, love has every-
Jimmy (Jimmy). Millie returns to the hotel and over- thing to do with it. Jimmy turns out to be Herbert J. van
hears a conversation between Miss Dorothy and Jimmy, Hossmere III, Muzzys stepson, and one of the most eli-
I really want to tell her, shes my best friend You gible bachelors in the world. And Miss Dorothy turns out
know we can't. Millie sees Jimmy sneaking out of Miss to be his sister, an heiress named Dorothy Carnegie Mel-
Dorothys room after what appears to be a late-night tryst;
lon Vanderbilt van Hossmere, and (unlike the 1967 lm)
confused and horried, Millie decides she never wants she ends up not with the dismayed Trevor Graydon, but
anything to do with Jimmy ever again.
with Ching Ho. Muzzy reveals that to help Jimmy and
Act II Dorothy getting caught by fortune-hunters, she sent them
At Sincere Trust, Millie tells the other stenographers that out into the world so that they could nd spouses who
she is completely over Jimmy, then realizes she is still weren't in it for the money. Both Jimmy and Dorothy had
in love; the girls try to convince her to let him go (For- disguised their family name to avoid being found out as
get About the Boy). Millie places more conviction into society heirs. In a nal pairing, Bun Foo joins Graydons
marrying Graydon, but when Dorothy comes to visit Mil- company as a new stenographer after telling Graydon that
lie at work, Mr. Graydon is immediately smitten with her he can type fty words a minute. At the very end of the
instead (Ah! Sweet Mystery of Life"/"Falling in Love musical, Bun Foo and Ching Ho are once again reunited
with Someone). The two set up a date together. While with their mother.
Millie is brooding over her lost chances, Jimmy breaks
in through the window and asks her to dinner. She ini-
tially tells him o but then agrees (I Turned the Cor- 2 Principal roles
ner"/Falling in Love with Someone (Reprise)).
Back at the Hotel Priscilla, Mrs. Meers along with Ching 3 Cast Lists
Ho and Bun Foo gets ready to drug Miss Dorothy, when
Ching Ho refuses because he loves her. Mrs. Meers stops
his ranting by reminding them of why they work for her, 4 Song list
to raise money to see their mother again. She convinces
them to go along with the plan (Muqin). Songs are by Tesori and Scanlan, unless otherwise noted.
Jimmy nally declares his feelings for Millie while wash- An original Broadway cast recording is available on the
ing dishes to pay their tab at Cafe Society while Muzzy RCA Victor label.
is performing her hit (As Long I'm Here with You).
Millie is confused by her feelings for Jimmy and her de-
sire not to be poor and initially rejects him. She runs to
Muzzy, who tells her shes a fool for throwing away true
5 Productions
love for the sake of money. She tells the story of how she
met her late husband, a supposedly poor but goodhearted Broadway
man who gave her a green glass necklace. Regardless of
his income status, she loved him anyway, and she later The musical, directed by Michael Mayer, underwent sev-
realized that her green glass necklace was actually gen- eral workshops in New York in 1999. Included in the
uine emerald. Millie reconsiders her feelings and nally workshops casts were Kristin Chenoweth, Marc Kudisch,
realizes that she would rather have a green-glass love with and Beatrice Arthur.[10]
Jimmy (Gimme, Gimme).
It then played out-of-town tryouts at the La Jolla Play-
Just as she returns to Jimmy to confess her feelings, they house at University of California, San Diego in October
encounter Graydon, who was stood up by Miss Dorothy 2000 through December 2000.[4] Despite nurturing the
for their date, and is drunkenly singing, annoying Dexter role through the workshop process, Kristin Chenoweth
and his wife, Daphne, who are also on a date. Graydon did not continue with the role of Millie in order to lm her
tells Millie and Jimmy that Mrs. Meers told him Miss own sitcom. She was replaced by Erin Dilly, but prior to
Dorothy had checked out of the hotel. When Millie re- public previews, Sutton Foster, her understudy, was cho-
calls that several other tenants had also suddenly checked sen to assume the title role, a move that propelled her to
out, and that all of them were orphans, Millie, Jimmy, stardom.[4]
and Graydon realize what Mrs. Meers is doing. They
The musical premiered on Broadway at the Marquis The-
persuade Muzzy to pose as a new orphan in town to trick
atre on April 18, 2002 and closed on June 20, 2004 after
Mrs. Meers, who takes the bait, is exposed as the master-
903 performances and 32 previews. Directed by Michael
mind of the slavery ring, and is then taken to the police
Mayer and choreographed by Rob Ashford, orchestration
 3

jor theatres until November, when it closed as planned

in Nottingham. The tour starred Steele as Millie, Lesley
Joseph as Mrs. Meers, and Grace Kennedy as Muzzy Van
Hossmere.

School edition

The school edition of Thoroughly Modern Millie was pre-

miered at the International Thespian Festival on June 26,
2007. It was presented by the International Thespian
Cast. The production starred Elizabeth Elliott as Millie,
David King as Jimmy, and Rachel Buethe as Mrs. Meers.
The creators of the show also appeared at the festival to
help introduce the show.
At the Marquis Theatre, 2003

was by Doug Besterman and the late Ralph Burns, scenic 6 Awards and nominations
design was by David Gallo, costume design was by Martin
Pakledinaz, and lighting design was by Donald Holder.
6.1 Original Broadway production
The original cast included Sutton Foster as Millie, Marc
Kudisch as Trevor, Angela Christian as Miss Dorothy,
Gavin Creel as Jimmy, Harriet Sansom Harris as Mrs. 6.2 Original London production
Meers, Sheryl Lee Ralph as Muzzy Van Hossmere, Ken
Leung as Ching Ho, Francis Jue as Bun Foo, and Anne 7 See also
L. Nathan as Miss Flannery.
Replacements later in the run included Susan Egan Roaring Twenties
as Millie, Leslie Uggams as Muzzy, Delta Burke and
Dixie Carter as Mrs. Meers, Christian Borle as Jimmy,
Christopher Sieber as Trevor Graydon, and Liz McCart- 8 Notes and references
ney as Miss Flannery. At the April 2, 2003 performance,
Meredith Vieira appeared in three minor roles for a seg- [1] Internet Broadway Database: Thoroughly Modern Mil-
ment later broadcast on her daytime talk show The View. lie. The League of American Theatres and Producers.
Retrieved 2007-06-18.
The original Broadway production won six Tony Awards
and ve Drama Desk Awards, including the win for Best [2] Lefkowitz, David (April 17, 1998). Report: Bridges
Musical at both award ceremonies. Michael Mayer To Modernize Millie For B'way. Play-
bill, Inc. Retrieved 2007-06-21.
London
[3] The Guide to Musical Theatre: Thoroughly Modern Mil-
lie. David Lewis. Retrieved 2007-06-21.
In 2003, the original creative team reunited to stage the
show in London's West End at the Shaftesbury Theatre. [4] Jones, Kenneth and Robert Simonson (October 8, 2000).
It began previews on October 11 and opened on Octo- Millie Wows La Jolla Audience in Makeshift Concert
ber 21. Well-known UK TV personality Amanda Holden Reading October 6. Playbill, Inc. Retrieved 2007-06-
starred in the title role, with Maureen Lipman and Marti 21.
Webb alternating as Mrs. Meers and Sheila Ferguson as [5] The American Theatre Wings Tony Awards Ocial
Muzzy Van Hossmere. When Webb subsequently left the Site by IBM. IBM Corp., Tony Awards Productions. Re-
production to join Tell Me on a Sunday, Mrs. Meers was trieved 2007-06-18.
played by Anita Dobson, and when Holden was forced to
[6] Jones, Kenneth (July 15, 2003). Beat the Drums, Here
take time o due to illness, her understudy Donna Steele
Comes Millie on Tour, Starting July 15. Playbill, Inc.
took over the role to great acclaim. Despite positive re- Retrieved 2007-06-21.
views and booking periods extended to January 2005,
Thoroughly Modern Millie failed to catch the UK publics [7] Simonson, Robert (September 24, 2003). Full Cast of
attention and closed on June 26, 2004.[11] London Millie Announced; Begins October 11. Playbill,
Inc. Retrieved 2007-06-21.
UK tour [8] Jones, Kenneth (June 20, 2004). Thoroughly Modern
Millie Ends Broadway Run; National Tour Continues and
A UK tour beginning in March 2005 fared much bet- U.K. Tour Expected. Playbill, Inc. Retrieved 2007-06-
ter and successfully toured many of the countrys ma- 21.
4 9 EXTERNAL LINKS

[9] Zoglin, Richard (May 15, 2008). Bye Bye, Birdie. Hello,
Rent". Time Inc. Retrieved 2009-07-08.

[10] Jones, Kenneth and Christine Ehren (October 14, 1999).

Modern Millie Will Sing in NYC Workshop Reading Oc-
tober 15. Playbill, Inc. Retrieved 2007-06-21.

[11] Archive for Thoroughly Modern Millie albemarle-london,

retrieved February 26, 2010

9 External links
Thoroughly Modern Millie at the Internet Broadway
Database
Information about the show with links to songs and
other materials
CurtainUp review

Thoroughly Modern Millie at the Music Theatre In-

ternational website

Thoroughly Modern Millie JR. (a version for younger

performers) at the Music Theatre International web-
site
 5

10 Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

10.1 Text
Thoroughly Modern Millie (musical) Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thoroughly_Modern_Millie_(musical)?oldid=780723134
Contributors: Docu, Oknazevad, Discospinster, Rich Farmbrough, SFTVLGUY2, Wtmitchell, AndreasPraefcke, Woohookitty, DavidK93,
GVOLTT, Emerson7, Kbdank71, Rjwilmsi, Alaney2k, JanSuchy, CarolGray, No Swan So Fine, Design, Banaticus, Warpedmirror, Ryright,
Ryoji.kun, Mugunth Kumar, Omtay38, SmackBot, Binx~enwiki, Hmains, Decltype, Oceanh, Tim riley, J.smith, Towsonu2003~enwiki,
MusicMaker5376, Ser Amantio di Nicolao, RomanSpa, The Man in Question, Grandpafootsoldier, SammyNWA, Iridescent, Bgmack,
Cydebot, Aristophanes68, Ssilvers, Figgie123, TonyTheTiger, Ancientanubis, AntiVandalBot, Darklilac, MER-C, Jmomaf, Lawikitejana,
Digitalblue, DerHexer, Flami72, MartinBot, Kiore, J.delanoy, Markhh, Mtleslie, Skier Dude, Urcolors, Seth.mutchler, SPIKEY89, Danny-
james0529, Bovineboy2008, Soulnoid, Asdf12345678910111213141516, Thechris353, Theatrigal, Noelm, Angelic-alyssa, Tolkienfreak,
MearsMan, Softlavender, HiDrNick, Zukosre5, Broadwaygal, RHodnett, Nubiatech, Hello71, Sambianchi900, ClueBot, Niceguyedc,
Psantry, Johnhock, Kbdankbot, Addbot, Vanished user zdkjeirj3i46k67, Blethering Scot, TutterMouse, Vikiizer, West.andrew.g, Tassede-
the, Ondewelle, 7h3 4r7ist, Zorrobot, Legobot, Mikebloom819, Abqactor, AnomieBOT, DemocraticLuntz, Jim1138, Broadwaylover,
Xqbot, Iluvecuador, KingNothing63, FrescoBot, Rosecleareld, Rotideypoc41352, Musicalthespian22, FoxBot, LawBot, Kareinha, Go-
ingBatty, AOC25, Unreal7, ClueBot NG, Worser~enwiki, Randomwae23, Reify-tech, Mamma Rose, KristiLuWh0, DNOMN8R3.14,
Pinkygurl23, Epicgenius, NYEditorial, AdamRC98, Boneymau, Tommyg85, Crystallizedcarbon, NoNdEaTh42, Xyda13, Crosby1951 and
Anonymous: 240

10.2 Images
File:Marquis_Theatre_NYC_2003.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/ce/Marquis_Theatre_NYC_2003.
jpg License: CC BY 3.0 Contributors: Own work (own photograph) Original artist: Photo: Andreas Praefcke

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