2002 Tony Award-Winning Broadway Smash!!  

EXTENDED through August 16th, 2009

Book by  Richard Henry Morris
Music by  Jeanine Tesori
New Lyrics by  Dick Scanlan

 Texas Repertory Theatre's Thoroughly Modern Millie is Thoroughly Magnificent

 By Buzz Bellmont

Posted 7/20/2009 11:50 AM CDT     Chron.com

 Isn't there the stigma that all great theatre in our sprawled out city is somehow located within the Loop---the 610 one, I mean?
If I had a hammer, I would shatter that myth to pieces.
Well, this is the hammer and I am, therefore, shattering that myth to pieces.
The moment has come for us all to make a giant paradigm shift.

Because about a thirty minute drive north of the city will take you to one of the most vibrant and well-attended theatres in Houston,
the Texas Repertory Theatre Company,
located on Steubner-Airline Rd. just west of
F.M. 1960.

Artistic Director Craig Miller and Associate Artistic Director Steve Finley had a dream and a little over five years ago, they found a shopping center under construction and were able to work with the developer to build a state-of-the art 250 person theatre where every super-comfortable seat has a completely unobstructed view of the stage, an entry vestibule and box office, administrative offices, a large reception hall, and adequate backstage area and dressing rooms.

Five years later, Miller and Fenley are pinching themselves because the Texas Repertory Theatre Company is celebrating the opening of its fifth season and has amassed a huge following.

I attended opening night of Thoroughly Modern Millie on Friday, July 17, and enjoyed a luscious  and delicious buffet, a tradition for every opening night.

How wise to begin the theatrical season in the middle of the summer when other theatres
in town are scrambling to get their seasons up and running the first few weeks of September.If you saw the movie of Thoroughly Modern Millie from 1967,  it is much different from the Broadway musical, which debuted in 2002, and won a total of six Tony awards.    
The enchanting book is by Dick Scanlan and Richard Morris, with new music by Jeanine Tesori and new lyrics by Dick Scanlan.
Only two songs survive from the movie,
the title song and "Jimmy."
This map-cap comedy follows the life of Millie Dillmount, who arrives in New York City from Salina, Kansas, hoping to find a job and marry  for money and not for love.  

And that's all the synopsis you are getting from this writer because I do not want to ruin your own theatre experience by giving away the fun and surprises of this delightful musical. Rachael Logue couldn't be better in the title role of Millie.
Logue's rising star is quite evident from the first moment she appears.
She has the right voice, the right look, and the kind of presence and charisma that is evident in the young stars of today that become the legendary stars of tomorrow.

When she sings, we hang on her every note, from her most intimate moments to the times she is called upon to belt her beautiful mezzo soprano instrument. Her "Jimmy" is gorgeous.
When she is being tested to be a stenographer, she sings "The Speed Test" based on music from Gilbert and Sullivan's Ruddygore and her patter is terrific!



Logue's acting is superb and I never thought I was seeing an actress playing a role.
Logue so totally immerses herself in her character that we are brought along on Millie's journey and we will go wherever she takes us.

I met her parents and family after the show and her father told me that seven years ago, when the first national tour of Thoroughly Modern Millie came through town at the Hobby Center, he took the entire family to the show.
Up until this point in her life, Rachael's greatest interest in school was soccer. After attending Thoroughly Modern Millie, she got bitten by the theatre bug and asked her parents if she could begin voice and acting classes.
How much richer we all are because of that magic moment in time.
Thank you, Mr. and Mrs. Logue, for taking your children to the theatre!

Even Logue's comic timing is perfection.
In a scene in Act II where she is trying to seduce her boss while sitting in a swivel chair, she falls off the chair and every time she tries to get back on it, the chair slips out from under her one more time, over and over again.
This is the comic genius we have seen before in Carol Burnett and Lucille Ball. 
So now we have a new comedian to watch---the inimitable Rachael Logue.
I told Rachael after the show that I will be attending her first Broadway show.

And this is one of my points in the opening paragraphs of this piece---that we do not need to go the Alley or Stages or any other "professional" theatre within the Loop to experience greatness and professionalism in theatre and theatre performance.
In this instance, excellence and greatness in theatre is happening up north at The Texas Repertory Theatre Company. Joshua Estrada, as Jimmy, Millie's eventual love interest, perfectly convinces us of his undying love for Millie and sings with a beautiful tenor voice "What Do I Need with Love."

Lyndsay Sweeney as Mrs. Meers takes character acting to the extreme of perfection.
Every time she is onstage, I am glued to her because her performance is so electrifying and so richly detailed and the hard work she has put into the role pays off in millions.
Her songs, "They Don't Know" and "Muqin" are hilarious.
Again, here is an actress that is so good that it is worth driving north to see this pro at work.

Chelsea Hardy as Miss Dorothy Brown, Millie's roommate in The Hotel Priscilla, is tiny and innocent, hiding a mighty and gorgeous soprano voice beneath her small frame.

Her love at first sight duet with Millie's boss,  Stephen Myers, superbly acted and sung with his rich baritone voice, "Ah! Sweet Mystery of Life/Falling in Love With Someone" is a brilliant and hilarious parody of Jeanette McDonald's and Nelson Eddy's love duets of the infamous arias from Victor Herbert's operetta, Naughty Marietta.

John Ryan del Bosque and John Morales, as Ching Ho and Bun Foo, Mrs. Meers' laundry boys and sidekicks, speak many of their lines in Chinese, always with hilarious translations provided on a screen behind them.
Their trio, "Muqin," with Mrs. Meers, is one of the funniest songs in the show.
Muqin translates as "Mammy!"

Millie's boss in the bullpen of stenographers is wonderfully characterized by Jen Lucy, who lets her hair down and joins the girls in the tap-dancing extravaganza, "Forget About the Boys."

Shelley Auer has the perfect voice as the famous singer, Muzzy Van Hossmere, who convincingly advises Millie to follow her heart.
Auer reminds me of the young
Angela Lansbury, by sight, sound, and style.

The faithful and talented chorus, Blythe Kirkwood, Tiffany Chen, Kristyn Chalker, Kristen Trahan, Courtney Chilton, Donald Collier, and Trey Harrington, sublimely support the leads with humor, depth, substance, and expert dancing.

Craig Miller's beautiful and professional direction is always evident as he moves his actors onto every conceivable bit of space onstage to tell the story.
His love for the material is obvious in the care he has taken to make sure every moment becomes a perfect picture.

Kristen Vickers' excellent choreography comes alive with every tap and turn. She has taught singers how to not only move well but how to dance well. The results are astonishing.

Jesse Dreikosen has beautifully designed a deco style set with an efficient series of moving silver- framed panels backed with frosted "glass." 

Lighting designer Charles Page stunningly lights his performers with exact pools of light when intimate moments occur and with bright and bold lights when the huge production numbers happen.

Costumes by Sonia Lerner are perfect for the period and full of detail and passion.

Luke Kirkwood is the Music Director and Conductor and does an excellent job pacing the show.
He conducts the Millie Orchestra and also excellently plays the keyboard.
His support team features Ray Gonzales on Reeds, Edgar Jaime on Trumpet, Brian Logan on Trombone, and Adam Wolfe on Percussion.

Please do yourself a favor and venture outside of the Loop and get enlightened by this fabulous display of talent and professionalism in Texas Repertory Theatre Company's mesmerizing and thoroughly magnificent production of Thoroughly Modern Millie.

Call 281-583-7573 for Tickets...