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Synopsis

Act I Manhattan, 1922. Millie Dillmount steps off the train from Salina, Kansas – “Not for the Life of Me.” Surrounded by a throng of fabulous flappers, Millie’s a fish out of water, until she bobs her hair and sheds her Sunday best for a higher hemline and a hotter look – “Thoroughly Modern Millie.” As the number ends, Millie is mugged. She seeks help from Jimmy Smith, but all he provides is unsolicited advice for her to make a U-turn and return home – “Not for the Life of Me” (reprise). A week passes, and we’re at the Hotel Priscilla, where a bevy of stagestruck hopefuls are starting their day. Enter Miss Dorothy, and she and Millie quickly prove that opposites attract – “How the Other Half Lives.” Meanwhile, in the laundry room, Mrs. Meers, the owner of the hotel, plots to kidnap Miss Dorothy. Why? Mrs. Meers runs a white slavery ring, targeting orphans whose sudden disappearance goes unnoticed, and Miss Dorothy fits the bill. Mrs. Meers barks instructions at her immigrant henchmen, Ching Ho and Bun Foo. The two brothers quarrel over Ching Ho’s crisis of conscience, but Bun Foo reminds him that crime is the only career that pays enough for them to bring their mother over from Hong Kong – “Not for the Life of Me” (reprise). Later that afternoon, Millie begins her job hunt, or rather husband hunt: Millie’s “modern” plan is to find work as a stenog to an eligible bachelor and wind up his wife. On her list of potential bosses/hubbies is Trevor Graydon III at the Sincere Trust Insurance Company – “The Speed Test.” Back at the hotel, Mrs. Meers tries to dope Miss Dorothy with a poisoned apple, but is repeatedly interrupted – “They Don’t Know.” Millie takes the Priscilla girls out on the town to celebrate her new job, and she runs into Jimmy Smith. He gets them into a speakeasy, and though Millie is initially standoffish, they eventually join in a dance – “The Nuttycracker Suite.” By the time they are raided and land in jail, Jimmy reconsiders his assessment of Millie – “What Do I Need with Love?” Jimmy asks Millie to a Yankees game, but she reveals her plan to marry her boss. Saving face, Jimmy pretends that his interest is platonic, suggesting that she bring Miss Dorothy along. A trio is formed for nightly excursions to Coney Island, Central Park and the glamorous penthouse of Muzzy Van Hossmere, Manhattan’s most celebrated chanteuse – “Only in New York.” Later that night, on Muzzy’s terrace, Jimmy needles Millie about her plan to marry a man who thinks of her as “a typewriter on legs.” Their quarrel escalates until, unable to control himself, Jimmy kisses Millie passionately. He exits in a panic, leaving her alone to sort out her feelings – “Jimmy”. She returns to the Hotel Priscilla in a state of bliss, which is quickly shattered when she sees Jimmy sneaking out of Miss Dorothy’s room after what appears to be a late-night tryst. Act II The next morning, Millie is miserable – “Back at Work.” She wills herself into wasting no more time on Jimmy Smith – “Forget about the Boy.” Instead, she redoubles her efforts to seduce Mr. Graydon, until Miss Dorothy drops by and the two are immediately smitten – “I’m Falling in Love with Someone.” Jimmy appears on the window ledge outside of Millie’s office, where he declares his feelings for her – “I Turned the Corner.” Millie, too, is falling in love, as are Mr. Graydon, Miss Dorothy and Ching Ho, whose heart has belonged to Miss Dorothy since the moment they met – “I’m Falling in Love with Someone” (Quartet). Meanwhile, Mrs. Meers is more determined than ever to get Miss Dorothy. Ching Ho tries to stop her, but she reminds him of her promise to import their elderly, ailing mother in exchange for their evildoings – “Muqin.” Millie and Jimmy go to Café Society to hear Muzzy sing (“Long As I’m Here with You”), but they can’t pay the bill so they are put on dishwashing duty. Millie realizes that the unemployed Jimmy is as far from her plan to marry well as a girl can get, so she flees the kitchen and heads to Muzzy’s dressing room for some sound advice. Muzzy explains that though she herself married a multi-millionaire, she had no idea he was rich until after their engagement, when a green glass brooch he gave her turned out to be emeralds. Muzzy leaves Millie alone in the dressing room to mull over her advice – “Gimme Gimme.” Mr. Graydon shows up at Café Society in a drunken stupor: Miss Dorothy has checked out of the Hotel Priscilla with no forwarding address. Putting their heads together, Millie, Jimmy and Mr. Graydon realize that Mrs. Meers must be running a white slavery ring. They corral Muzzy into checking in as a new-orphan-in-town. Mrs. Meers takes the bait and is exposed as the mastermind criminal she is. With Mrs. Meers out of the way, Miss Dorothy is revealed in Ching Ho’s arms: he rescued her from an unspeakable fate and won her heart in the bargain. Jimmy proposes to Millie, and, poor as he is, she accepts, “because if it’s marriage I’ve got in mind, love has everything to do with it.” Jimmy reveals himself to be Herbert J. Van Hossmere III – Muzzy’s stepson, Miss Dorothy’s brother and one of the most eligible bachelors in the world. The two couples kiss as a throng of fabulous flappers appears. Through them walks another girl from nowhere, ready to take her chances in the never-ending tale that is New York City – Finale.

Credits

Millie Dillmount: Sutton Foster Jimmy Smith: Gavin Creel Ruth: Megan Sikora Gloria: JoAnn M. Hunter Rita: Jessica Grove Alice: Alisa Klein Ethel Peas: Joyce Chittick Cora: Catherine Brunell Lucille: Kate Baldwin Mrs. Meers: Harriet Harris Miss Dorothy Brown: Angela Christian Ching Ho: Ken Leung Bun Foo: Francis Jue Miss Flannery: Anne L. Nathan Mr. Trevor Graydon: Marc Kudisch Speed Tappistsl: Casey Nicholaw, Noah Racey Officer: Casey Nicholaw Muzzy Van Hossmere: Sheryl Lee Ralph George Gershwin: Noah Racey Dorothy Parker: Julie Connors Rodney: Aaron Ramey Dishwashers: Aldrin Gonzalez, Aaron Ramey, Brandon Wardeu Muzzy’s Boys: David Eggers, Gregg Goodbrod, Darren Lee, Dan Lobuono, Noah Racey, T. Oliver Reid Daphne: Kate Baldwin Dexter: Casey Nicholaw New Modern: Jessica Grove Ensemble: Kate Baldwin, Roxane Barlow, Catherine Brunell, Joyce Chittick, Julie Connors, David Eggers, Gregg Goodbrod, Aldrin Gonzalez, Jessica Grove, Amy Heggins, JoAnn M. Hunter, Ausa Klein, Darren Lee, Dan Lobuono, Casey Nicholaw, Noah Racey, Aaron Ramey, T. Oliver Reid, Megan Sikora, Brandon Wardell Swings: Melissa Bell Chait, J.P. Christensen, Susan Haefner, Mati Lashey