Thoroughly Modern Millie at Ritz Theatre Company is Thoroughly Good

Theater: Ritz Theatre Company
Show Title: Thoroughly Modern Millie
Opened: January 17, 2008
Seen: January 20, 2008
Reviewer: Ryan Bunch
Submitted: January 25, 2008

The Ritz Theatre Company bills itself as the premiere professional theater in South Jersey, and on the merits of its current production of Thoroughly Modern Millie, it’s easy to see why. The show sparkles from beginning to end with technical brilliance and engaging performances.

Millie Dillmount (Sarah Duvall Pearson) is a small town girl from Kansas who has just arrived in 1920s New York City to seek out the “modern” life. In this particular case, modernity means marrying for money, not love, so she determines to get a job and marry her future boss. She finds lodging in a boarding house for aspiring actresses run by the mysterious Mrs. Meers (Ellen Sheinkin), who we soon learn is in the business of kidnapping orphaned young woman to sell into white slavery in the orient. She has coerced into her plot Ching Ho and Bun Foo (Tom Streeper and Paul McGrath), who are trying to bring their mother to the U.S. From China. Millie lands a job as a stenographer but her plans to seduce her boss are complicated when she keeps running into (and falling for) a paperclip salesman named Jimmy Smith (AJ Garcia), who in turn may be getting involved with her new best friend Dorothy (Allyson Jean Malandra). Meanwhile, Mrs. Meers has learned that Dorothy is an orphan and is surreptitiously trying to poison her. Add to the mix the glamorous cabaret star Muzzy van Hossmere (Lisa DiBruno), in whose penthouse Millie has an unfortunate encounter with Dorothy Parker (Kaylan Wetzel), and what you’ve got is a pastiche of 1920s and 1930s musical theater conventions with misplaced romance, hidden identities, heirs to fortune, and improbably happy resolutions to sticky situations.

The flavor of the piece is established from the start by the elements of production and vigor of the performances. The set is an assemblage of historical advertisements and signage spreading across the stage to create a general impression of urban bustle. This is the New York into which Sarah Duvall Person‘s Millie, freshfaced yet confident, strides first alone, then joined by the chorus, who are dressed in muted colors setting off her bright yellow flapper dress and allowing the lighting design to effect changes of mood and hue. The dancing is impeccably tight, and while the orchestra is small, its sound measures up to the largeness of the musical numbers.

Vivid costumes, dazzling footwork and spot-on vocal performances dominate from here on out. The scene in which Millie applies for a job is a highlight of the show as stenographers in dark suits and red stockings work their machines in time to their own tap-dancing. This is also the first scene to feature her new boss Mr. Grayden, played with winning impishness by Brian Rivell.

The remainder of the cast, virtually to a person, turn in strong performances as well. AJ Garcia is tall, handsome and polished as the caddish Jimmy; Jaclyn Kay Baker as Millie’s caricature-conservative work supervisor is a hoot; and Tom Streeper and Paul McGrath charm with their Chinese-language version of a certain classic song (I’ll withhold the surprise for the sake of those new to the show), complete with English surtitles.

This is as good a chance as any for newcomers and oldtimers alike to see a rousing production of this award-winning musical.

Thoroughly Modern Millie runs through February 16 at the Ritz Theatre Company, 915 White Horse Pike, Haddon Township, NJ. For tickets call 856-858-5230. Information at www.ritztheatreco.org.

Ryan Bunch is a vocal instructor, writer and composer specializing in musical theater and theater for young audiences. He has provided voice training, musical direction, songwriting, script development and educational services for the Opera Company of Philadelphia, Mainstage Center for the Arts, Center Stage Productions, Chichester School District, West Chester Summer Stage, Renaissance Artist Puppet Company, and the Players Board of Chestnut Hill Academy and Springside School. For additional information visit www.ryanbunch.com.