"Thoroughly Modern Millie" cast members include, from left, Liberty Sites Dearman (Miss Dorothy), Branson Blanton (Trevor Graydon), Amy Champion Conn (Miss Flannery), Conner Dunlap (Jimmy Smith) and Clare Kelly (Millie Dillmount).
WANT TO GO?- What: WCU's production of “Thoroughly Modern Millie”
- When: Friday, Feb. 1, at 7 p.m.
- Where: Thomas Fine Arts Center, Hattiesburg campus
- Tickets: $10 general admission. Discounts available for students, seniors, and groups. Call (601) 318-6175.
William Carey University Opera and Musical Theatre will present a fun-filled, action-packed production of “Thoroughly Modern Millie” at 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 1 in the Thomas Fine Arts Center on WCU’s Hattiesburg campus.
The show is set in 1922 and follows Millie Dillmount as she travels from Kansas to New York City to seek her fortune. She plans to get a good job and marry a rich man, but she falls for a charming, “regular guy” instead. Meanwhile Millie’s evil landlady, Mrs. Meers, embarks on a bumbling kidnapping scheme, targeting tenants she believes to be orphans.
Director Connie Roberts, WCU professor of music, said she chose to bring this musical because it is a family-friendly, uplifting story about the American dream. She saw the show on Broadway in 2002: “I left the theatre so happy! Who couldn’t use a dose of old-fashioned, corny goodness in this modern world?”
Roberts describes the show as a rollicking trip to the 1920s.
“It’s bursting with plucky young women, handsome city slickers, tap-dancing typists, a glamorous jazz singer, a love-struck CEO, Chinese siblings working to bring their mother to the USA, even a romantic duet on a skyscraper ledge,” she said. “The show includes every comedic caricature imaginable, but it weaves them together to create a totally charming tapestry. You will leave the theatre smiling and humming the songs.”
Clare Kelly of Olive Branch is cast in the leading role of Millie, and Haley Ray of Sebastopol appears as the landlady, Mrs. Meers.
“Millie” first appeared as a 1967 movie starring Julie Andrews. It was revised for the Broadway stage in 2001 by Jeannine Tesori and Richard Scanlan. Starring Sutton Foster, “Thoroughly Modern Millie” was the most awarded musical of 2002, winning Best New Musical at the Tony Awards.
Cast members include: Clare Kelly of Olive Branch; Conner Dunlap of Marshall, Mo.; Allison Szabo of Mobile, Ala.; Destenee Elliott of Highlands, Texas; Leigh Anne Howe of Wiggins; Mollie Brockway of Hattiesburg; Tessa Flesher of Mobile, Ala.; Kimberly Hudnall of Meridian; Haley Ray of Sebastopol; Liberty Sites Dearman of Lynchburg, Va.; Wesley Hodges of Memphis, Tenn.; Punyanuch Pornsakulpaisal of Bangkok, Thailand; Amy Champion Conn of Lafayette, La.; Branson Blanton of New London, Texas; Katrina Cox of Laurel, MS; Bailey Anderson of Bangkok, Thailand; and John Marc McCormick of Petal.
Featured dancers include: Mollie Brockway of Hattiesburg; Tessa Flesher of Mobile, Ala.; Michelle Garner of Magee; and Jacob May of Laurel.
“Thoroughly Modern Millie” is presented at WCU through a special arrangement with Music Theatre International. Tickets are $10 general admission with discounts for students and seniors, and group rates available. For more information or to reserve tickets, call (601) 318-6175.