Hello ‘Millie’
Anybody who was alive and alert in 1967 should remember the movie version of “Thoroughly Modern Millie,” in which Julie Andrews played a Roaring ‘20s flapper.
The film won an Oscar and was nominated for six others. Carol Channing and Mary Tyler Moore had supporting roles.
However, in the present decade, “Thoroughly Modern Millie” has become better known for its surprise resurrection as a smash Broadway musical. It ran from 2002 to 2004 and was a bigger hit than the original movie. It won six Tony Awards, including Best Musical.
Now the Coeur d’Alene Summer Theatre, the region’s professional summer-stock theater, kicks off its 2007 season with this campy, energetic stage musical, which opens Saturday.
“It’s perfect for summer theater,” said Roger Welch, the producing artistic director. “It’s funny, it’s campy, there’s tap-dancing and it has a great score.”
It’s about Millie, a farm girl from Kansas who goes to New York in the ‘20s and decides to become a modern girl and marry her boss. Meanwhile, she discovers that her boarding house is actually a front for a forced-prostitution ring. Millie and her friends hatch a harebrained plot to expose the ring.
This is all delivered with a lot of snappy music and dancing.
The theater is bringing back two familiar names from years past.
Bobbi Kotula, a favorite from such 1990s productions as “Hello Dolly!” and “The Unsinkable Molly Brown,” will play Mrs. Meers, the sinister boarding house owner.
Tralen Doler, who once danced in the ensemble at the CdA Summer Theatre, returns from a successful career in New York to direct.
“He has been going all around the country directing ‘Thoroughly Modern Millie,’ ” said Welch. “He’s a ‘Thoroughly Modern Millie’ specialist.”
The title role will be played by Krystle Armstrong, who Welch discovered in a Village Theatre production of “Once Upon A Time in New Jersey” in Seattle. Welch hired Armstrong, Kotula and several other players out of that cast.
Other familiar names are Kathy Doyle Lipe as Miss Flannery and Mark Cotter as Trevor Graydon. Christian Duhamel will play Jimmy Smith, Millie’s love interest. N’Kenge, a star performer out of Washington D.C., has dropped out of the show for an understandable reason: She was cast in a Broadway show.
“Thoroughly Modern Millie” will also boast one of the CdA Summer Theatre’s top selling points: an 18-piece pit orchestra. That’s a bigger orchestra than you’ll find at most of the national tours that come through the region. Steven Dahlke is the musical director.
The theater, celebrating its 40th anniversary, has developed a national reputation. USA Today recently named it one of the top regional summer theaters in the country.
The rest of the season lineup includes:
“”The Full Monty,” June 30-July 14 – The musical based on the movie of the same name about some unemployed steelworkers who decide to make some quick cash, the Chippendales way. Ellen Travolta portrays their piano player. Welch said this is by far the biggest-selling show of the season so far.
“”Putting It Together,” July 19-29 – A collection of Stephen Sondheim’s best songs, put together by Sondheim himself to form a new story about love and relationships.
“”Kiss Me Kate,” Aug. 4-18 – The revival of the Cole Porter musical, combining elements of “The Taming of the Shrew” with a modern backstage tale. Niké Imoru will direct.
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