Home  Entertainment Reviews "Thoroughly Modern Millie" at Popejoy Hall
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"Thoroughly Modern Millie" at Popejoy Hall |
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Written by ABQjournal staff
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last updated Wednesday, February 28, 2007, at 15:49:54
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The last touring Broadway musical that Popejoy Hall presented was the hit "Chicago," which plunged the audience into the free-wheeling 1920s rife with con artists and murderers. The hall's current touring Broadway show, "Thoroughly Modern Millie," is set in 1920s' New York City, but the atmosphere here is decidedly up-beat, though the plot is slow to develop in the first act.
The storyline is one you've heard before. Girl from Smalltown USA tries to make it in the Big Apple. But this single young girl, a "modern" gal for the ’20s, must overcome the obstacles thrown in her way. In "Millie," they are the barriers are the gritty city, the naysayers and Mrs. Meers, the mean-spirited hotel manager who provides the story's conflict. Alex Ellis is the Girl, Millie Dillmount. Ellis' hearty voice and perky disposition fit the role to a T. Millie's best friend is the kittenish Miss Dorothy Brown, portrayed by Courtney Elise Brown, who has an astonishingly beautiful singing voice. The male leads are the cartoonish Trevor Graydon (Jason Fleck), who sings endearingly and stiffly as a melodrama's hero both in the imitative Gilbert & Sullivan songs and Victor Herbert operettalike numbers; and there's the all-American Jimmy Smith played by David Allen Fox. Millie wants to marry Trevor because of his money. Though Jimmy stumbles, he persists. The audience doesn't learn Jimmy's true identity until the conclusion. Trevor, meanwhile, falls for Miss Dorothy, but in another surprise, she ends up with an anti-hero. Trevor, as well as Mrs. Meers' accomplices in a subplot, Bun Foo and Ching Ho (Fang Du and Arthur Kwan, respectively), provide the comic relief. Memorable was the pair's Chinese version of Al Jolson's "Mammy" with English supertitles. The "Millie" ensemble of singers and dancers is as professional and vibrant as those in "Chicago." And the stylish period sets and costumes are equally sumptuous. "Millie" may not carry the popularity that "Chicago" does, and it may not have a guest of star quality to help sell tickets (i.e. Tom Wopat), but "Millie" is an exuberant musical that will leave Popejoy audiences feeling that the 2 hours they were in the darkened theater were well spent. "Millie" opened Friday and concludes with two performances today. If you go: WHAT: The musical "Thoroughly Modern Millie" WHEN: 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Nov. 20 WHERE: Popejoy Hall, Center for the Arts, UNM campus HOW MUCH: Tickets range from $30 to $50 depending on performance. Tickets available at tickets.com outlets, online at www.unmtickets.com or call 925-5858 or toll-free (800) 905-3315 or at the Center for the Arts box office.
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About Reviewers D.S. Crafts (Website) Composer Daniel Steven Crafts came to New Mexico from San Francisco where he had hosted a classical music radio program on KPFA. His first commission from opera star Jerry Hadley, "The Song & the Slogan" based on texts by Carl Sandburg was made into a TV program for the PBS network winning an Emmy for Best Music. His opera La Llorona, a collaboration with novelist Rudolfo Anaya will be presented by the National Hispanic Cultural Center in October, 2008. In 2007 the New Mexico Symphony commissioned him to write the commemoration piece for its 75th anniversary. Collaborating with cartoonist Shannon Wheeler, he created the satiric/comic opera Too Much Coffee Man which premiered in 2006. His music has been recorded by the Kiev and Czech Philharmonics and the Prague Radio Symphony Chorus and Orchestra for the Masterworks of the New Era series available on the ERM label. Two CDs of his music, Contemporaries (short, satirical keyboard works) and ARIAS (excerpts from operas) have been released on the BACAT label.
David Steinberg David Steinberg has covered state government, the courts, city and county government in Santa Fe for the Albuquerque Journal. He's been an arts writer for the past 20 years, and serves as the book editor, for the Journal. Over the years, he's also acted in plays, sung in choruses and played trumpet.
Jennifer Noyer Jennifer Noyer has been writing dance reviews for the Albuquerque Journal for 17 years, as well as contributing articles for Dance Magazine and other art journals. She trained in dance with Hanya Holm in New York City and Colorado Springs, and studied several dance techniques at the graduate level at the University of Michigan. After teaching dance at Wayne State University she entered and completed a Masters Degree in Humanities there. In New Mexico Ms. Noyer has taught, directed, and choreographed contemporary dance for several years. Her writing on dance includes a monograph accompanying the video of choreographer Bill Evens’ ballet “The Legacy.” An overview of Evans’s world wide career, it was written and published during his tenure at the University of New Mexico. Ms. Noyer’s studies in the humanities, and her studio dance work influence her approach to dance as an integrative art form in the United States.
Barry Gaines Barry Gaines has taught Shakespeare in the University of New Mexico English Department for over twenty-five years and has received two outstanding teaching awards. He has written theater reviews for the Journal since 2000. He has attended theater all over the world including Shakespeare productions in Russia, South Africa, Denmark, and Poland. He has also served as literary advisor for two professional theater companies and written performance reviews for Shakespeare Quarterly. Gaines has taken two years of acting with Paul Ford and appeared in small parts in three plays at the Albuquerque Little Theater. He believes that he is probably a better reviewer than actor.
Joanne Sheehy Hoover Joanne Sheehy Hoover, music critic emeritus of the Albuquerque Journal, has written for NPR, PBS, the Lyric Opera of Chicago, the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Symphony, among others. She has also been a music lecturer for the Smithsonian Associates and a music critic and arts writer for The Washington Post. She was director of the Levine School of Music, one of the country’s largest community music schools, in Washington, D. C. 1980-1993. She and her husband moved to Corrales, New Mexico in July 1993. Also a poet, her fifth collection, “Einstein in New Mexico,” was published in 2002.
Marissa Greenberg Marissa Greenberg is a member of the faculty of the University of New Mexico English Department, where she teaches Shakespeare and early English literature. A prior guest reviewer for the Albuquerque Journal, Greenberg will be reviewing theater while Barry Gaines is out of town. She also composed and edited the program notes for last year’s Albuquerque Shakespeare Festival and has written performance reviews for Shakespeare Bulletin. A graduate of Columbia University and the University of Pennsylvania, Greenberg has been performing and studying drama for most of her life. She is thrilled to have this opportunity to review for the Journal.
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