Last Chance!: Thoroughly Modern Millie

 

If you don’t want to miss something special, you’ll be at the Chapman Cultural Center this weekend (March 13-15) for the final 3 performances of Thoroughly Modern Millie.  Based on the 1967 Oscar-nominated film of the same name starring Julie Andrews, Mary Tyler Moore and Carol Channing, TMM won the 2002 Tony Award for Best Musical. 

We are also proud to be presenting the Upstate premiere of TMM.  Not many people know this, but The Spartanburg Little Theatre was the very first non-professional theatre to be granted the rights to perform a Rogers and Hammerstein show (1954’s Carousel), so we do have a long and proud history of Upstate firsts.  Not to mention, that the song “Jimmy” from TMM was written by Spartanburg native and Converse College graduate Jay Thompson Jr. (his father was mayor of Spartanburg from 1941-45).  Jay Thompson Jr. also co-wrote the little known perennial stage favorite Once Upon a Mattress.

Millie tells the story of Kansas girl Millie Dillmount who moves to New York in 1922 searching for a new life for herself.  Determined to join the “Moderns”, Millie bobs her hair and goes in search of a boss she can marry.  Along the way she meets Mrs. Meers, proprietor of her boarding hotel and leader of a white slavery ring (with help from her cohorts Bun Foo and Ching Ho—whose lines and songs are entirely in Mandarin Chinese and subtitled!).  Add in rich girl gone poor Miss Dorothy, the cheeky Jimmy Smith and the fabulous Muzzy Van Hossmere AND an incomparable group of chorus boys and girls Charlestoning their faces off (you also don’t want to miss the angry tap stomp “Forget About the Boy”), and you have one of the most endearingly ridiculous love stories ever seen on the SLT stage.

Don’t miss Thoroughly Modern Millie March 13 and 14 at 8:00 pm and March 15 at 3:00 pm.  Call (864) 542-ARTS or go to www.chapmanculturalcenter.org for tickets.  For more information see our website at www.spartanburglittletheatre.org.

SLT PROFILE: Janet Allison

Sometimes it just takes the right person in the right part to turn a show into a showcase for its star.  Such is the case with Janet Allison who plays Millie Dillmount in SLT’s blockbuster production of “Thoroughly Modern Millie”.  And Julie Andrews’, Sutton Foster’s, Susan Egan’s shoes aint easy to fill folks.  But watching “TMM” last weekend (I saw it all three nights), I found myself sneaking back into the theatre to watch Janet fully embrace what it is to grab a role by the horns and kick it through the ceiling.  Whether it’s the heartfelt “Jimmy”, the desperate “Gimme Gimme” or the out and out fun “Thoroughly Modern Millie”, Janet has done just what I was rooting for her to do:  she’s given her fans something to cheer about and her naysayers something to be jealous about, and I applaude her for both.  So here’s a little interview I did with Janet…and if you miss her this weekend, you are truly missing out on something special.

Name: Janet Allison

Age: 23

Occupation: 3rd grade Teacher

Jay Coffman (JC):  What role are you playing in Thoroughly Modern Millie? Tell us a little about the role. 

Janet Allison (JA): I am playing Millie Dillmount.  She is a small town girl with big dreams of re-inventing herself in New Your City.  Although her dreams are immediately and consistently challenged she refuses to give up.  Millie is a determined, go-getter, who always manages to make lemons into lemonade.

JC:  What do you think will be your biggest challenge in this role?

JA:   My biggest challenge will be finding and defining my character.  I'm still working on that part of my acting. 

JC:  How like or unlike your character are you?

JA:   Just like Millie, I tend to go after what I want.  It isn't easy to stop me when I set my mind to something.  I have big dreams and sometimes it takes a lot to bring me back down to reality.  Unlike Millie, however, I'm not as blind to my surroundings and naïve.  I'm also not awkward and clumsy.

JC:  Have SLT audiences seen you in any previous productions? 

JA:  I was recently in this season's Peter Pan, and I've appeared in The Wizard of Oz, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Footloose, State Fair, and others.

JC:  Any dream roles you have not yet played? 

JA:  Eva Peron from Evita, Kathy from The Last 5 Years, Penny from Hairspray, Maria from Sound of Music, Marion from The Music Man, Eliza Doolittle from My Fair Lady.

JC:  What was your worst/funniest/most uncomfortable stage experience? 

JA:  This is a hard question!  My worst stage experience was probably during Urinetown at USC Upstate.  I had lost my voice and could hardly speak or sing for the entire run of the show. 

JC:  What was your best stage experience?  (I have a feeling she’ll be updating this one!)

JA:  My best experience was getting to take my final bow in The Wizard of Oz.  There is nothing like it.

JC:  When did you get your start acting/singing/dancing? 

JA:  My senior year of high school.

JC: Do you have any preshow rituals/superstitions?

JA:   I take about 2 hours to do my hair and make-up.  I get to the theater before anyone else does, put on some loud music, and have fun getting myself ready.  Once everyone arrives I like to talk and fool around so I need to get ready before they get there.

JC Any role usually played by the opposite gender that you'd like to do?   

JA:  I would love to play Coalhouse Walker from Ragtime because his story is so moving and heartbreaking.  He sings a fantastic song at the end of the Musical that I would love to just belt out!  I would also like to play either Franz Liebkind or Roger De Bris from The Producers.  Both parts are absolutely hysterical!

Come see Janet as Mille Dillmount in The Spartanburg Little Theatre’s production of “Thoroughly Modern Millie” on March 6-8 and 13-15 at the Chapman Cultural Center in Downtown Spartanburg. Tickets available at www.chapmanculturalcenter.org. More information is available at www.spartanburglittletheatre.org.

SLT PROFILE: Matt Giles

I used to think Matt Giles was all shtick. But then I realized that there are people who think I’m all shtick and so I started to sympathize. And at least when he does shtick, it’s really really good shtick. I first met Matt when I appeared in my very first SLT production as Nathan Detroit in “Guys and Dolls”. Matt may have still been in high school then. But as Benny Southstreet in “Guys and Dolls” he turned in a performance far beyond his years and one that any adult actor would be hard pressed to duplicate. Matt and I were the also the only crapshooters in the show who didn’t have to strap on these hideous shiny technicolor spandex pants with flared legs for the Havana scene (NOTE: dance belt was required). Seriously though, those things were humiliating. But Matt is truly an SLT success story, having grown up in the Spartanburg Youth Theatre, graduating to Spartanburg Little Theatre productions, and eventually graduating with a degree in Theatre from Wofford College. Strangely enough, Matt is now Artistic Director of The Spartanburg Youth Theatre and doing an amazing job I might add. He’s now starring as Trevor Graydon in the upcoming “Thoroughly Modern Millie” and the guy who I used to think didn’t want to hold notes more than a 1/4 count is now doing some amazing singing (I heard him yesterday, and no offense Matt, but I was shocked at how strong a singer you’ve become). So here’s your intro to my friend and fellow theatre bum, Matt Giles.

Name: Matt Giles

Age: 24

Occupation: Artistic Director, Spartanburg Youth Theatre

JC (Jay Coffman): So what part are you playing in Thoroughly Modern Millie?
MG (Matt Giles): I play Trevor Graydon, III. Trevor is Millie's boss at the Sincere Trust Company. Millie, in her determination to marry for money and not for love, sets her eyes on Trevor, set on making him her husband. Trevor, while on the surface dedicated the specifics of running a profitable banking business, is a hopeless romantic...quite unlike Millie. He wants a romantic love...something you'd expect to see in the movies.

JC: What do you think your biggest challenge will be bringing Trevor Graydon to life?
MG: My biggest challenge...hmmm...Trevor is a bit over the top, but you can't take it too far. I don't want him to become a caricature, and it's easy to do just that with the role. His bombastic and over-hyped proclamations of love are ridiculous, but more than anything they're so grandiose because he is forced to hide them behind his hard-working, detail-oriented facade. It's a difficult balance to achieve...

JC: Do you find anything in this character you personally can relate to?
MG: Well, like most theatre people, I'm a bit over the top sometimes. Okay, most of the time. So Trevor and I share that in common. And I'm also a bit of a romantic, wanting that old Hollywood, romantic movie type love.

JC: So in what shows have SLT audiences seen you?
MG: It's been a while, but SLT audiences may remember my face from State Fair (2005), Into the Woods (2004), Guys and Dolls (2003), and several others.

JC: Do you have any dream roles?
MG: Anyone who knows me knows the answer to this question...I have two BIG dream roles: Harold Hill (The Music Man) & Henry Higgins (My Fair Lady). Don't know why they both have double "h's." I suppose it's a little coincidence. I could play those two roles continuously for the rest of my life and be completely happy. There are a couple others, but the likelihood of my ever playing them is slim: Tevye (Fiddler)...unfortunately, I'm blonde and blue-eyed...not the most Jewish looking guy you'll meet; Sweeney Todd...enough said.

JC: So since you escaped the “Havana pant” episode, any other embarassing stage moments?
MG: So I was in The Wiz here at SLT when I was a junior in high school. During the song "Brand New Day," I had to strip out of a prison-type costume, revealing a bright red women's tank-top and yellow windsuit pants underneath...while singing a solo...and dancing. I dreaded that moment during every performance.

JC: What were your best on stage experiences?
MG: I have two...both during my time at Wofford. The first is playing Pseudolus in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. One of the best (and most under-appreciated) musical comedies of all-time. It's hilarious. And I loved every second of that role. I would play it again in a heart beat. Pure side-splitting comedy, start to finish. The other is my experience as Father in Sarah Ruhl's play, Eurydice. The final onstage appearance of my Wofford theatre career, and the first time I ever worked with Sully White. This was (and still is) hands down the most difficult role of my young career. But it was also the most rewarding.

JC: When did you get your start?
MG: Aside from acting and singing at home and for my cousin Jessica's video camera, I didn't start doing this onstage until my sophomore year of high school. I had been in chorus since elementary school, started taking piano lessons in 3rd grade, and I had done numerous church plays and musicals, but not until 10th grade did I start doing theatre.

JC: So let us in on your pre-show rituals?
MG: I oddly enough have no pre-show rituals or superstitions. Some nights I'll feel like eating before a show, some nights I won't. If the curtain is closed before the performance begins, I do like to walk around the space before the show starts...I open every door, and basically walk/run through every corner of the stage. But since some shows start with the curtain open, that's not always possible.

JC: Okay, so if you could play any “women’s” role, which would it be?
MG: My answer is a little like cheating, because this role is occasionally played by men: Lady Bracknell in Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest. I would LOVE that role. In large part due to the fact that the play is my all-time favorite comedy. I also think it'd be fun to do some Shakespeare...which again is cheating since originally, the casts were all men. But maybe Beatrice in Much Ado...or Viola in Twelfth Night (even though she spends a good portion of the show disguised as a young man).

Come see Matt as Trevor Graydon in The Spartanburg Little Theatre’s production of “Thoroughly Modern Millie” on March 6-8 and 13-15 at the Chapman Cultural Center in Downtown Spartanburg. Tickets available at www.chapmanculturalcenter.org. More information is available at www.spartanburglittletheatre.org.