Theatre and dance

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Review: Sainsbury Singers Thoroughly Modern Millie

By Caroline Cook
May 23, 2012

The glitz and glam of 1920s New York makes for an ideal musical back drop and that is one of the reasons Thoroughly Modern Millie is such a visual delight on stage.

With flapper dresses, feather headbands and glittering lights aplenty, The Sainsbury Singers have created a dazzling sight on stage for their lastest production.

The Richard Morris, Dick Scanlan and Jeanine Tesori musical tells the tale of Millie Dillmount, who arrives in New York hoping to find a rich man to marry - as is the dream of the modern girl.

But with some dastardly deeds going on at the Hotel Priscilla where she is staying, and an accidental encounter with the poor-but-charming Jimmy, things don't run quite to plan.

Louise Quelch sparkles on stage as Millie, toe-tapping her way around New York and making the characters - and audience - fall in love with her.

The tap dancing is one of the highlights of the production with several charming full-cast numbers, set to the chintzy 1920s music and preformed brilliantly by a live band.

Although Millie is undoubtedly the star of the show there is a good supporting cast with Sean Faulkner leading the vocal talents as Jimmy.

The scenes between Millie and Jimmy are charming, and contrast well to the silliness of the rather posh Dorothy, (Lucy Hutson), and Trevor Graydon (Chris Reeves), who adds a delicious humour towards the end of the play which could have been capitalised on earlier.

Comedy baddies Mrs Meers (Tricia Goodchild), Ching Ho (Chris Faulkner) and Bun Foo (Nigel Wilson) are played with a pantomime villain edge as they skulk around the stage.

Although a few of the accents could do with sharpening the cartoon-like nature of the characters carries it through, and playing a New Yorker pretending to be Chinese is no mean feat even for the most experienced of actors.

The play also offers various set pieces which are cleverly orchestrated, look out for the line-up scene in jail in particular.

With some lovely cast and solo numbers Thoroughly Modern Millie is a delightful night at the theatre and The Sainsbury's Singers once again prove their worth as a thoroughly entertaining amateur comapany.

  • Thoroughly Modern Millie is at The Hexagon until Saturday. Tickets start at £6 and can be bought by calling (0118) 988 2510 or visiting http://www.sainsburysingers.org.uk
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Most recent user comments 1 of 1

   A very fair review, what a lovely show! The cast and crew put their all in and the enjoyment and energy are there for all to see. Just wish there had been a larger audience, still three days left, we can hope!
Michael Schult
24/05/2012 at 14:26 Offensive or Inappropriate?
 
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