Thoroughly Modern Millie is a musical with music by Jeanine Tesori, lyrics by Dick Scanlan, and a book by Richard Morris and Scanlan. It is based on the 1967 film of the same name, which itself was based on the British musical Chrysanthemum, which opened in London in 1956. Thoroughly Modern Millie tells the story of a small-town girl, Millie Dillmount, who comes to New York City to marry for money instead of love – a thoroughly modern aim in 1922, when women were just entering the workforce. Millie soon begins to take delight in the flapper lifestyle, but problems arise when she checks into a hotel owned by the leader of a white slavery ring in China. The style of the musical is comic pastiche. Like the film on which it is based, it interpolates new tunes with some previously written songs.
After previews at the La Jolla Playhouse in San Diego, California, in October 2000, the show opened on Broadway on April 18, 2002. The production subsequently won six 2002 Tony Awards, including Best Musical. Due to the success of the original Broadway production, there was both a United States tour and a West End production launched in 2003, followed by a United Kingdom tour in 2005. The musical has since become a popular choice for high school productions, but has garnered controversy over its racial stereotyping of its Asian characters, and has been described as "a piece [that] walks the line of being entertaining and highly offensive".
Contents
Synopsis
Act I
In 1922, Millie Dillmount arrives in New York City from Salina, Kansas. Determined to be successful, she tears up her return ticket ("Not for the Life of Me"). She bobs her hair for a modern "flapper" look ("Thoroughly Modern Millie"). She is soon mugged, losing her hat, scarf, purse and a shoe. Seeking help and in a panic, she trips bypasser Jimmy Smith, a handsome, carefree young man who goes through life on whims and wits. He lectures Millie on why she should return home: she is just another girl with false hopes who does not belong in the big city. Almost taking his advice, she changes her mind and yells after him, "Who needs a hat? Who needs a purse? And who needs YOU, mister whoever-you-are?!" and soon takes a room at the Hotel Priscilla for Single Women ("Not For the Life of Me [reprise]").
A week later, Millie is confronted by the mysterious and sinister Mrs. Meers, the hotel proprietress. A former actress, Meers now works for a white slavery ring in Hong Kong, kidnapping orphaned girls and shipping them to the Orient, which she has just done to Millie's hall mate, Ethel Peas. Mrs. Meers declares that Millie "has two minutes to pack, or find her things on the street!" Millie then meets the wealthy Miss Dorothy, who wants to learn how the poorer half lives ("How the Other Half Lives"), and asks to rent a hotel room. Millie suggests Miss Dorothy can room with her until another room become available, but only if Miss Dorothy pays the rent. Mrs. Meers says Millie can get a rent extension and Miss Dorothy can take room next to Millie's that just became available. When Millie asks what happened to Ethel, the former occupant, Mrs. Meers claims she got an acting job in the Orient.
In the hotel laundry room, two Chinese immigrants, Ching Ho and Bun Foo, are working for Mrs. Meers to earn enough money to bring their mother from Hong Kong over to the US ("Not for the Life of Me [reprise]").
After researching some of the richest and most eligible bachelors in the world, Millie comes to Sincere Trust, looking for a job and also to set her sights on the company's boss, Trevor Graydon III ("The Speed Test"). Her lightning speed stenography easily lands her the job. Meanwhile, Ching Ho attempts to capture Miss Dorothy for Mrs. Meers with a drugged apple but when he sees her, he falls in love with her instantly and wants to save her from Mrs. Meers. Before Dorothy eats the drugged apple, Millie arrives (Mrs. Meers has to act like she was getting a stain out of the carpet with "soy sauce") with the good news that she has found a job and a boss to marry. As the girls rush off to their rooms, Mrs. Meers thinks about how stupid the girls are never to realize her evil plan to ship them to Southeast Asia ("They Don't Know"). To celebrate their success the girls go to a speakeasy, where they meet Jimmy, but the club is raided by the police. While waiting for his release in the jail cell, Jimmy realizes that he loves Millie ("What Do I Need with Love").
Producers
Whoopi Goldberg is credited as one of the producers; the Tony win for Best Musical in 2002 earned Goldberg the "T" in her EGOT status.
Cast lists
Notable replacements
Millie Dillmount: Susan Egan, Catherine Brunell (u/s)
Jimmy Smith: Christian Borle, Cheyenne Jackson (u/s), Darren Ritchie (u/s)
Mrs Meers: Delta Burke, Dixie Carter
Miss Dorothy Brown: Kate Baldwin (u/s), Megan McGinnis (u/s)
Mr Trevor Graydon: Christopher Sieber, Ben Davis, Kevin Earley, Cheyenne Jackson (u/s)
Muzzy Van Hossmere: Leslie Uggams
Ching Ho: Francis Jue (u/s)
Lucille: Megan McGinnis
Song list
Songs are by Tesori and Scanlan, unless otherwise noted.
+ not included in Broadway Cast Recording
An original Broadway cast recording is available on the RCA Victor label.
Productions
Broadway
The musical, directed by Michael Mayer, underwent several workshops in New York in 1999. Included in the workshops casts were Kristin Chenoweth, Marc Kudisch, and Beatrice Arthur.
It then played out-of-town tryouts at the La Jolla Playhouse at University of California, San Diego in October 2000 through December 2000. Despite nurturing the role through the workshop process, Kristin Chenoweth did not continue with the role of Millie in order to film her own sitcom. She was replaced by Erin Dilly, but prior to public previews, Sutton Foster, her understudy, was chosen to assume the title role, a move that propelled her to stardom.
After a long production history, the musical premiered on Broadway at the Marquis Theatre on April 18, 2002 and closed on June 20, 2004 after 903 performances and 32 previews. Directed by Michael Mayer and choreographed by Rob Ashford, orchestration was by Doug Besterman and the late Ralph Burns, scenic design was by David Gallo, costume design was by Martin Pakledinaz, and lighting design was by Donald Holder. 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. Meers, Sheryl Lee Ralph as Muzzy Van Hossmere, Ken Leung as Ching Ho, Francis Jue as Bun Foo, and Anne L. Nathan as Miss Flannery.
Replacements later in the run included Susan Egan as Millie, Delta Burke and Dixie Carter as Mrs. Meers, Christian Borle as Jimmy, Christopher Sieber and Kevin Earley as Trevor Graydon, Leslie Uggams as Muzzy, and Liz McCartney as Miss Flannery. Cheyenne Jackson also joined the cast as ensemble and an understudy for the two male leads. At the April 2, 2003 performance, Meredith Vieira appeared in three minor roles for a segment later broadcast on her daytime talk show The View.
The original Broadway production won six Tony Awards and five Drama Desk Awards, including the win for Best Musical at both award ceremonies.
London
In 2003, the original creative team reunited to stage the show in London's West End at the Shaftesbury Theatre. It began previews on October 11 and opened on October 21. UK TV personality Amanda Holden starred in the title role, with Maureen Lipman and Marti Webb alternating as Mrs. Meers and Sheila Ferguson as Muzzy Van Hossmere. When Webb subsequently left the production to join Tell Me on a Sunday, Mrs. Meers was played by Anita Dobson, and when Holden was forced to take time off due to illness, her understudy Donna Steele took over the role to great acclaim. Despite positive reviews and booking periods extended to January 2005, Thoroughly Modern Millie failed to catch the UK public's attention and closed on June 26, 2004.
Awards and nominations
Racial stereotyping controversy
Since the musical became a popular choice for high school productions due to its Tony awards and multiple roles for boys and girls, controversy has arisen about the racial stereotyping of Asian people. The subplot of the show in which Mrs. Meers, a white woman, disguises herself as a Chinese woman and runs a white slavery ring with assistance of two recent Chinese male immigrants, Ching Ho and Bun Foo, plays on the close differences between satire and racism. According to the musical play writer, Dick Scanlan, the musical aims to shatter racist stereotypes and allows the audience to experience “the chasm between the stereotype and the real thing”. The original actor for Bun Foo, Francis Jue, also said “this show can be done racist but it doesn’t have to and actually it can actually be anti-racist…And the Chinese guys are the heroes of the story”. A 2020 Encores! production was announced starring Ashley Park in the title role with book revisions by playwright Lauren Yee. The proposed revisions sought to address some of the racist and sexist elements of the show, but the production was canceled due to COVID-19.