Riverside Theatre, led by Producing Artistic Director/CEO Allen D. Cornell and Managing Director/COO Jon R. Moses, is proud to present the exuberant Broadway hit musical, Thoroughly Modern Millie. Sponsored by Bill & Laura Frick and Judy & Bill Schneebeck and presented by Riverside Theatre’s Patron Producers Group, Thoroughly Modern Millie performs on the Stark Stage from Jan. 7-26.
Winner of six Tony Awards, including Best Musical, Thoroughly Modern Millie is a high-spirited, musical romp that takes you back to the height of the Jazz Age. Set in New York City in 1922, the musical embodies all of the exuberance and excesses of the roaring twenties.
Millie Dillmount comes to the city from Salina, Kan., looking to find a rich boss and marry him. She immediately bobs her hair and discards her stuffy wardrobe to look more like a flapper. She rents an inexpensive room at the Hotel Priscilla for Single Women and befriends Miss Dorothy, a wealthy debutant seeking to learn how the other half lives.
Millie also meets the dashing and fun-loving Jimmy Smith, but rejects his advances because he is a poor paperclip salesman. She has her eye on her wealthy and handsome boss, Trevor Graydon.
Meanwhile Mrs. Meers, proprietor of the hotel, has a side business of kidnapping single young ladies with no family and sending them to Asia. However, her plot to take Miss Dorothy hits a snag when her accomplice, Ching Ho, falls in love with Dorothy. Hilarious situations ensue when mistaken identities are revealed, a villainess is thwarted, and true love wins in the end. With thrilling tap, joyful tunes, and magical ’20s flapper costumes, Riverside’s production is full of laughs, excitement, and fun!
Originally inspired by a 1956 British musical, Chrysanthemum, Thoroughly Modern Millie was a 1967 film starring Julie Andrews, Mary Tyler Moore, and Carol Channing. The film depicted the enormous social changes in the birth of modernity, from women entering the work force to the overthrow of outdated Victorian social mores. The movie won Academy Awards for best music and best original musical score, with Carol Channing nominated as best supporting actress.
The film was turned into a Broadway musical and opened at the Marquis Theatre in April, 2002. It ran for 903 performances. It garnered Tony Awards for: Best Musical, Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical (Sutton Foster), Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical (Harriet Sansom Harris), Best Choreography (Rob Ashford), Best Orchestrations (Doug Besterman & Ralph Burns), and Best Costumes (Martin Pakledinaz). A production opened in London in 2003 and ran for two years.
Riverside’s production of Thoroughly Modern Millie is directed and choreographed by James Brennan and stars Abby Church (Millie Dillmount), Patrick Mobley (Jimmy Smith), Adinah Alexander (Mrs. Meers), Victoria Britt (Miss Dorothy), Matthew Hydzik (Trevor Graydon), Nicole Powell (Muzzy Van Hossmere), Carl Hsu (Bun Foo), Natalia Lepore Hagan (Miss Flannery), Anthony Chan (Ching Ho), and Melissa Schott (Ethel Peas).
The cast also includes: Danielle Behrens, Cassandra Brooks, Michael Peter Deeb, Brandon Haagenson, Abigail Isom, Danielle Jackman, Brady Miller, Cathi Nalzaro, Mac Ogle, Parker Reeves, Eric Weaver, and Samantha Young.
The production crew includes: Anne Shuttlesworth (Music Director), Michael Schweikardt (Scenic Designer), Kurt Alger (Costume & Wig Designer), Julie H. Duro (Lighting Designer), Craig Beyrooti (Sound Designer), John Yun (Associate Music Director), Mark Johnson (Production Stage Manager) with Amy M. Bertacini and Douglas Lamb (Assistant Stage Managers). Casting was done in New York by Wojcik/Seay Casting.
Thoroughly Modern Millie performs Jan. 7-26, on the Stark Stage at Riverside Theatre. Tickets start at $35. Tickets can be purchased by calling the Box Office at 772-231-6990 or online at www.riversidetheatre.com.
Performances are Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays at 7:30 p.m.; Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m.; with matinees on Wednesdays, select Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays at 2 p.m.
Performance Schedule:
- Jan. 7, 8, 9, 14, 15, 16, 21, 22, 23 at 7:30 p.m.
- Jan. 8, 11, 12, 15, 16, 18, 19, 22, 25, 26 at 2 p.m.
- Jan. 10, 11, 17, 18, 24, 25 at 8 p.m.
The 2019-2020 Season also includes: Lost in Yonkers, La Cage aux Folles and The Bodyguard on the Stark Stage and The 39 Steps and Bakersfield Mist on the Waxlax Stage.
Thoroughly Modern Millie is sponsored by Bill & Laura Frick and Judy & Bill Schneebeck and is presented by Riverside Theatre’s Patron Producers Group: Brad & Fran Anderson, Lois Appleby, Linda Aronberg, Anita Astrachan^, Carol Atkinson, Barbara Baldwin, David & Cynthia Bardes, Paul & Jayne Becker, Sam & Susie Bell, Dick & Sue Bergeman, Ted & Debbie Berghorst, John & Anita Brennan, Peter & Susie Brinckerhoff, Bill & Laura Buck, Tim & Carol Buhl, Tony & Joyce Caldarone, Bill & Karen Campbell, Christine & Faris Chesley. Don & Rose Ciampa, Dottie Currie, Maryanne & Dick Davis, John & Sue Dobbs, Bill & Laura Frick, Bob & Wheatie Gibb, Mary Jane Grant, Herb & Anne Gullquist, Bill & Eva Gurley, Duke & Gael Habernickel, Robert & Pat Hemingway Hall, Dick & Rosemary Haverland, Calvin & Sally Hills, Mike & Joan Hoben, Constance Pitcher & Dave Horner, Ron Hunt & Lisa Amorosa, Allen & Ann Jones, John & Pam Kean, Judy & Lou LaFage, Bill & Joy Lane, Whitney & Betty MacMillan, Jacqueline Malloy, John^ & Marilyn McConnell, Ray & Sonia McGowan, Mike & Sandy McManus, Brooke Megrue, Ted & Dawn Michael, Cliff & Sheridan Morris, Wally & Peggy Nelson, Bobbie Olsen, Don & Connie Patterson, Ed & Pat Pavlish, Michael & Kathie Pierce, Helen Post, Ted & Carol Price, John & Barbara Reed, Bill & Peg Regan, Mike & Anne Rhoads, Bob & Karen Ritter, John Roberts & Juli Blunt, Mary & Randy Rogers, Ron & Nancy Rosner, Bill & Judy Schneebeck, Van Schreiber, Bill & Marlynn Scully, Ned & Emily Sherwood, Dick & Nancy Shoemate, Tom & Anna Bain Slater, Joe & Mary Alice Smith, Stephanie Bennett-Smith, Dick & Stephanie Solar, Charlotte Stifel, Abbey & Lila Stillman, Bill & Carolyn Stutt, Doug & Dhuanne Tansill, John & Tobey Taylor, Marge Turley, Lorne & Heidi Waxlax, Pat & Carol Welsh, Ken & Liz Whitney, and Gail D. Williams. ^ Deceased
The 2019-2020 Season is sponsored by: Wilmington Trust, Dale Sorensen Real Estate, The O’Haire Group – Merrill Lynch Wealth Management, The Corrigan Goddard Foundation, Alex MacWilliam Real Estate, Northern Trust, Vatland Honda, Star Suites, Nelson Morgan Wealth Management – Merrill Lynch, Vero Fitness, Rehmann, PNC Wealth Management, and Treasure & Space Coast Radio(WGYL, JACK FM, Ocean FM, B94, WTTB).
Riverside Theatre is located at 3250 Riverside Park Drive, Vero Beach, FL 32963. Riverside Theatre programs are sponsored in part by the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs and the Florida Arts Council, and the National Endowment for the Arts. Riverside Theatre is a member of the Cultural Council of Indian River County, the Indian River Chamber of Commerce, and the Sebastian River Area Chamber of Commerce.