Opening night was a pure magical moment at Murfreesboro’s Center for the Arts. The Center pulled out all the stops for the 1967 Tony Award winning musical Thoroughly Modern Millie and Courtney Taylor might just think she IS Julie Andrews for the incredible work she put on as Millie Dilmount at the Center stage.
The marvelous work she does in this production is nothing short of . . . magic. Evan Scott, as her on-again, off-again beau Jimmy Smith, and Alan Smith, as her dreamy boss Trevor Graydon, make up the trio that carries this play into the perpetual early 1920s and makes you believe you are on Broadway. Scott and Smith are fantastic in their roles, and the rest of the cast, 21 in all, make up some of the best casting and acting I have seen in Murfreesboro to date.
A deep bow and a hundred kudos to directors Jesse Cannady and Leah Fincher. The direction of the play started at the top of the ladder and never waned, never faded. The choreography, by Kathryn Turney, Brandon Gwinn, and Kaylin Davis was sensational. Miss Davis choreographed Godspell several months ago, and I was mesmerized by the dance, moves, and expression by this talented group as well. The entire creative team behind the scenes were simply incredible.
The LIVE music, an orchestrated band, was a work of art within itself. Joseph Walker, Andrea Yohe, Elizabeth Gassler and Nathan West were on time, on tempo, on the mark . . . on opening night. Impressive, and a deep bow goes to you as well. Another word about the music and score, the direction by David Corlew (who also acted in this production), Stephanie Jones, Kathy Quarto, and Luke Quarto was also fantastic.
The costume design by Kristen Chandler was great, she made the flappers and the “streetwize” guys come to life with the clothes of the era, the only thing that made me catch my breath for just a second, that I am sure no one else saw, was when Dustin Napier, as George Gershwin, had his back to the audience, and his brilliant white shoes had “Puma” on the heels.
The almost packed house on opening night (a Thursday) was made up of a young crowd, something else I took delight in seeing, since I have noticed that the town geriatrics seem to be the only ones seeing plays at the Center. Perhaps they are the ones with money, though. These younger patrons seemed to enjoy the 40-year-old play, however, with laughter, positive comments, and applause at appropriate times.
As said, there were 21 actors in this production, 25 if you count the musicians. Many were on stage at once, and sometimes the Center’s stage seemed overwhelmed with this play. Cannady and Fincher are also to be commended for the space they had to work with. Each and every actor gave their all, seemed to have fun, and I wish I had space to mention each one of them.
Each play I have reviewed seems to have a scene stealer, however. In this production, it was Nick Keel. His facial expressions and movements on stage, especially with his love interest Dorothy Brown, played by Morgan Lang, are something to behold.
Keep watch of Ching Ho. I saw no bumps in this road from Kansas all the way to New York. There was no need for soy sauce, as I saw no stains. No John Barleycorn after this one. The production, the music, the choreography, the actors, all blended thoroughly.
If you do not make it to Thoroughly Modern Millie, you have missed a thoroughly good show.
It plays at 7 p.m. Aug. 9-11, and 2 p.m. Aug. 12 at the Rutherford County Center for the Arts.
Thoroughly magical for all ages.
