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Thoroughly Modern Millie

Thoroughly Modern Millie

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
Originally Produced for Broadway by
MICHAEL LEAVITT, FOX THEATRICALS, HAL LUFTIG,
STEWART F. LANE, JAMES L. NEDERLANDER,
INDEPENDANT PRESENTERS NETWORK, L. MAGES/M. GLICK,
BERNSTEIN/MANOCHERIAN/DRAMATIC FORCES
JOHN YORK NOBLE & WHOOPI GOLDBERG

This amateur production is presented by arrangement with
JOSEF WEINBERGER LTD on behalf of
MUSIC THEATRE INTERNATIONAL of New York

11 - 14 February 2015

7.30 p.m. each evening and 2.30 p.m. Saturday Matinee

Hind Leys Theatre
Forest St, Shepshed, Leics., LE12 9DB

 
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CAST
CREDITS
SYNOPSIS
MUSIC
 

CAST

PRINCIPAL ROLES

 

Millie Dillmount Charlotte

Jimmy Smith

George

Miss Dorothy Brown

Katie

Mr. Trevor Graydon

Jack

Mrs. Meers

Caitlin

Ching Ho

Brandon

Bun Foo

Tom M

Muzzy Van Hossmere

Danni

Miss Flannery

Mai-Lan

Priscilla Girls:- Ruth

Charley

                     - Gloria

Becca B

                     - Alice

Paige

                     - Cora

Olivia

                     - Lucille

Rosie

                     - Rita

Loren

   
OTHER ROLES (IN ORDER OF APPEARANCE)  
Mugger Alex H

Ethel Peas

Ellie

The Pearl Lady

Loren

The Letch

Sam

Policeman

Alex H

George Gershwin

Alex H

Dorothy Parker

Persephone

Rodney

Sam

Kenneth

Jacob B

Mathilde

Nicola C

Dishwasher

Bella

Daphne

Bronte

Dexter

Jacob L

New Modern

Olivia

Mama

Ellie L

Speed Tappists/Stenogs

Beth, Jemma, Loren, Olivia & Rosie

Muzzy's Boys/File Clerks

Alex, Jacob B, Jacob L, Jed, Oliver & Sam

Ensemble:
Moderns/Stenographers/
Speakeasy Denizens/ Prisoners/Party Guests

Alex, Bella, Beth, Bronte, Charlotte, Ellie L, Ellie M, Izzy, Jacob B, Jacob L, Jed ,Katie, Matilda, Oliver, Olivia, Rosie, Sam & Susie


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CREDITS & ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Producer & Director Adrian Dobson
Musical Director Hazel Needham
Choreographer Wendy Spencer
Assistant Choreographer Michelle Spencer & Helen Starkey
Costumes Sue Penver & Lorna North
Stage Management Lynsey Bloomfield
Stage Crew Adam Green, Alan Jamieson, Chris Marshall, David Wright, Howard Rogerson, Iona King, Judith Moulton, Katie Cooper, Kevin Spencer & Pete Yeomans
Set Provided By Ashley Moulton & Theatrical Resources
Lighting Charlie Kent & Harry Roustan
Sound & Technical James White
Properties Jane Whittle
Front Of House & Raffle Lorna North
Box Office Kimberley Halford
Photography Megan Haywood & Adrian Dobson
Poster & Programme Sam Beaumont
Publicity James White & Michelle Specer
Fundraising Sue Penver & Jane Whittle
Lead Chaperone Helen Starkey
Chaperones Sue Penver, Neil Brotherhood, Kimberley Halford
& Michelle Spencer & Jane Whittle
Videography Wallis Videos
Website Adrian Dobson
Additional Thanks Hind Leys College Principal, Caretakers, Theatre & Community Staff, in particular, Steve & Linda Dootson;
Christchurch Methodist Church; Our Patrons; Our Volunteer Front Of House staff; and anyone else who has assisted or supported us in any way for this production

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SYNOPSIS

Act One

Manhattan, 1922. Millie Dillmount steps off the train from Salina, Kansas. Surrounded by a throng of fabulous flappers, Millie's a fish out of water, until she bobs her hair and sheds her Sunday best for a higher hemline and a hotter look. As she walks along the street Millie is mugged. She seeks help from Jimmy Smith, but all he provides is unsolicited advice for her to make a U-turn and return home. A week passes, and we're at the Hotel Priscilla, where a bevy of stagestruck hopefuls are starting their day. Enter Miss Dorothy, and she and Millie quickly prove that opposites attract.

Meanwhile, in the laundry room, Mrs. Meers, the owner of the hotel, plots to kidnap Miss Dorothy. Why? Mrs. Meers runs a white slavery ring, targeting orphans whose sudden disappearance goes unnoticed, and Miss Dorothy fits the bill. Mrs. Meers barks instructions at her immigrant henchmen, Ching Ho and Bun Foo. The two brothers quarrel over Ching Ho's crisis of conscience, but Bun Foo reminds him that crime is the only career that pays well enough for them to bring their mother over from Hong Kong.

Later that afternoon, Millie begins her job hunt, or rather husband hunt: Millie's "modern" plan is to find work as a stenographer to an eligible bachelor and wind up his wife. On her list of potential bosses/hubbies is Trevor Graydon III at the Sincere Trust Insurance Company.

Back at the hotel, Mrs. Meers tries to dope Miss Dorothy with a poisoned apple, but is repeatedly interrupted. Millie takes the Priscilla girls out on the town to celebrate her new job, and she runs into Jimmy Smith. He gets them into a speakeasy, and though Millie is initially standoffish, they eventually join in a dance. By the time they are raided and land in jail, Jimmy reconsiders his assessment of Millie. Jimmy asks Millie to a Yankees game, but she reveals her plan to marry her boss. Saving face, Jimmy pretends that his interest is platonic, suggesting that she bring Miss Dorothy along. A trio is formed for nightly excursions to Coney Island, Central Park and the glamorous penthouse of Muzzy Van Hossmere, Manhattan's most celebrated chanteuse.

Later that night, on Muzzy's terrace, Jimmy needles Millie about her plan to marry a man who thinks of her as "a typewriter on legs." Their quarrel escalates until, unable to control himself, Jimmy kisses Millie passionately. He exits in a panic, leaving her alone to sort out her feelings. She returns to the Hotel Priscilla in a state of bliss, which is quickly shattered when she sees Jimmy sneaking out of Miss Dorothy's room after what appears to be a late-night tryst.

Act Two

The next morning, Millie is miserable . She wills herself into wasting no more time on Jimmy Smith. Instead, she redoubles her efforts to seduce Mr. Graydon, until Miss Dorothy drops by and she and Mr Graydon are immediately smitten. Jimmy appears on the window ledge outside of Millie's office, where he declares his feelings for her. Millie, too, is falling in love, as are Mr. Graydon, Miss Dorothy and Ching Ho, whose heart has belonged to Miss Dorothy since the moment they met. Meanwhile, Mrs. Meers is more determined than ever to get Miss Dorothy. Ching Ho tries to stop her, but she reminds him of her promise to import their elderly, ailing mother in exchange for their evil-doings.

Millie and Jimmy go to Café Society to hear Muzzy sing but they can't pay the bill so they are put on dishwashing duty. Millie realises that the unemployed Jimmy is as far from her plan to marry well as a girl can get, so she flees the kitchen and heads to Muzzy's dressing room for some sound advice. Muzzy explains that though she herself married a multi-millionaire, she had no idea he was rich until after their engagement, when a green glass brooch he gave her turned out to be emeralds. Muzzy leaves Millie alone in the dressing room to mull over her advice.

Mr. Graydon shows up at Café Society in a drunken stupor: Miss Dorothy has checked out of the Hotel Priscilla with no forwarding address. Putting their heads together, Millie, Jimmy and Mr. Graydon realise that Mrs. Meers must be running a white slavery ring. They persuade Muzzy into checking in as a new-orphan-in-town. Mrs. Meers takes the bait and is exposed as the mastermind criminal she is.

With Mrs. Meers out of the way, Miss Dorothy is revealed in Ching Ho's arms: he rescued her from an unspeakable fate and won her heart into the bargain. Jimmy proposes to Millie, and, poor as he is, she accepts, "because if it's marriage I've got in mind, love has everything to do with it." Jimmy reveals himself to be Herbert J. Van Hossmere III — Muzzy's stepson, Miss Dorothy's brother and one of the most eligible bachelors in the world. The two couples kiss as a throng of fabulous flappers appears. Through them walks another girl from nowhere, ready to take her chances in the never-ending tale that is New York City.

 


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MUSICAL NUMBERS

ACT ONE  
Overture Orchestra
Not For The Life Of Me Millie
Thoroughly Modern Millie Millie, Moderns
Not For The Life Of Me Tag Millie, Lucille, Rita, Alice, Cora, Gloria & Ruth
How The Other Half Lives Millie, Miss Dorothy
Not For The Life Of Me (Reprise) Ching Ho, Bun Foo
The Speed Test Mr Graydon, Millie, Miss Flannery & Ensemble
They Don't Know Mrs Meers
The Nutty Cracker Suite Orchestra
What Do I Need With Love Jimmy
Only In New York Muzzy
Jimmy Millie
   
ACT TWO  
Forget About The Boy Millie, Miss Flannery & Ensemble
Ah! Sweet Mystery Of Life/
I'm Falling in Love With Someone
Mr Graydon & Miss Dorothy
I Turned The Corner Jimmy & Millie
Falling In Love (Reprise) Millie, Jimmy, Mr Graydon & Miss Dorothy
Muqin Mrs Meers, Bun Foo & Ching Hoo
As Long As I'm Here With You Muzzy, Millie & Muzzy's Boys
Gimme Gimme Millie
Gimme Gimme Tag Mr Graydon
The Speed Test (Reprise) Millie, Mr Graydon, Muzzy & Jimmy
Ah! Sweet Mystery (Reprise) Miss Dorothy & Ching Ho
Finale Jimmy, Miss Dorothy & Moderns
Bows Ensemble

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