DOCSLIB.ORG

Dance Propels Musical 'Millie' in Story of 'Power of Sisterhood'

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Dance Propels Musical 'Millie' in Story of 'Power of Sisterhood' 4/6/2018 Dance propels musical 'Millie' in story of 'power of sisterhood' Entertainment & Life Dance propels musical ‘Millie’ in story of ‘power of sisterhood’ By Michael Grossberg / For The Columbus Dispatch Posted Apr 5, 2018 at 5:00 AM “Thoroughly Modern Millie” updates an old-fashioned girl-meets-boy plot into a dance-filled story of female empowerment. Composer Jeanine Tesori, author-lyricist Dick Scanlan and author Richard Morris based the musical comedy, which ran on Broadway from 2002 to 2004, on the 1967 film musical about a plucky young woman who in 1922 moves to New York to find work, love and happiness. The Otterbein University departments of Theatre & Dance and Music are presenting the Broadway hit, which will open Thursday in Cowan Hall. ″‘Thoroughly Modern Millie’ feels like a golden-age musical, a valentine to love and joy and to musicals and movies of the 1920s and 1930s,” director Thom Christopher Warren said. “But the show also allows women a voice that they didn’t have even in 1967.” The show, which won six 2002 Tony awards, including best musical and choreography, offers a satirical but inspiring story set in the decade when newly confident women were bobbing their hair, shortening their hemlines and entering the workforce. “Millie comes in and declares herself a ‘modern’ when women had just won the right to vote and some power,” Warren said. The musical “says that times are changing, that we can’t get stuck in the past.” Dance propels the two-act, 2½-hour show, which was primarily choreographed by Stella Hiatt Kane, director of the Dance Department at Otterbein. Associate choreographer Anna Elliott, a former Rockette dancer now on the Otterbein dance faculty, staged the tap-dancing numbers — most notably, the second-act-opener “Forget About the Boy” and “The Speed Test,” in which tapping reflects the fast pace of Millie’s typewriting. http://www.dispatch.com/entertainmentlife/20180405/dance-propels-musical-millie-in-story-of-power-of-sisterhood 1/3 4/6/2018 Dance propels musical 'Millie' in story of 'power of sisterhood' “Anna brings a great wealth to the choreography,” Hiatt Kane said. “Her tap is very traditional, clean and specific.” Hiatt Kane’s choreography, meanwhile, encompasses the rapturous romanticism of duets by Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, the jazzy feeling of the wordless “The Nuttycracker Suite,” and period dance crazes such as the Charleston, the Varsity Drag and the Black Bottom. “What’s terrific about the show is its range of dance styles,” Hiatt Kane said. “Throughout the script, almost in every scene, there’s dancing. ... The movement in this show does a lot of the storytelling. The dancing is free and open and fun, reflecting how women and the times are changing.” Abigail Isom, an Otterbein junior, plays Millie Dillmount, the perky title character originated by Julie Andrews in the film and by Sutton Foster on Broadway. “Independent, ambitious, spunky and energetic, Millie knows what she wants,” said Isom, 20. After moving into a women’s residency hotel and finding a secretarial job to support herself, Millie sets her eye on her boss, Trevor Graydon (Matt Gittins). But her chance meeting with handsome Jimmy Smith (Colin Robertson) changes her feelings. “Millie is driven to marry her boss, so she doesn’t recognize for quite a while that she’s falling in love with Jimmy,” Isom said. Millie’s internal conflict about the two men is dramatized in “Forget About the Boy,” which is sung and danced with the women in her office. “The song is about her trying to forget she ever met Jimmy because he’s ruining her plans,” Isom said. “We’re all talking about our boyfriends but realizing we don’t need to think about men, because we’re strong enough on our own. Ultimately, she said, the musical champions the power of sisterhood. “You have to have a support system, which Millie finds through her friend Dorothy and the other girls at the women’s residency hotel,” Isom said. “Women have been fighting for empowerment since the 1920s, and today we’re going through another phase of feminism. ... Millie learns that you can’t do it alone.” http://www.dispatch.com/entertainmentlife/20180405/dance-propels-musical-millie-in-story-of-power-of-sisterhood 2/3 4/6/2018 Dance propels musical 'Millie' in story of 'power of sisterhood' [email protected] @mgrossberg1 MOST POPULAR STORIES ‹ Previous Next › http://www.dispatch.com/entertainmentlife/20180405/dance-propels-musical-millie-in-story-of-power-of-sisterhood 3/3.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Not Your Mother's Library Transcript Episode 11: Mamma Mia! and More Musicals (Brief Intro Music) Rachel: Hello, and Welcome T
    Not Your Mother’s Library Transcript Episode 11: Mamma Mia! and More Musicals (Brief intro music) Rachel: Hello, and welcome to Not Your Mother’s Library, a readers’ advisory podcast from the Oak Creek Public Library. I’m Rachel, and once again since Melody’s departure I am without a co-host. This is where you would stick a crying-face emoji. Luckily for everyone, though, today we have a brand new guest! This is most excellent, truly, because we are going to be talking about musicals, and I do not have any sort of expertise in that area. So, to balance the episode out with a more professional perspective, I would like to welcome to the podcast Oak Creek Library’s very own Technical Services Librarian! Would you like to introduce yourself? Joanne: Hello, everyone. I am a new guest! Hooray! (laughs) Rachel: Yeah! Joanne: So, I am the Technical Services Librarian here at the Oak Creek Library. My name is Joanne. I graduated from Carroll University with a degree in music, which was super helpful for libraries. Not so much. Rachel: (laughs) Joanne: And then went to UW-Milwaukee to get my masters in library science, and I’ve been working in public libraries ever since. I’ve always had a love of music since I've been in a child. My mom is actually a church organist, and so I think that’s where I get it from. Rachel: Wow, yeah. Joanne: I used to play piano—I did about 10 years and then quit. (laughs) So, I might be able to read some sheet music but probably not very well.
    [Show full text]
  • Cultural Commentary: Affectional Preference on Film: Giggle and Lib Joseph J
    Bridgewater Review Volume 1 | Issue 2 Article 9 Dec-1982 Cultural Commentary: Affectional Preference on Film: Giggle and Lib Joseph J. Liggera Bridgewater State College Recommended Citation Liggera, Joseph J. (1982). Cultural Commentary: Affectional Preference on Film: Giggle and Lib. Bridgewater Review, 1(2), 21-22. Available at: http://vc.bridgew.edu/br_rev/vol1/iss2/9 This item is available as part of Virtual Commons, the open-access institutional repository of Bridgewater State University, Bridgewater, Massachusetts. CULTURAL COMMENTARY Affectional Preference on Film: Giggle and Lib omantic attachments on screen the romantic man whose passionate desire With the great artist abandoning R these days require at least a hint of is for a person unquestionably of the romantic love--Bergman has lately something kinky to draw the pop audience opposite sex. So straight are his lusts that announced that his next two films will be his which in the days of yesteryear thrilled to no one seemed to notice the dilemma posed last--leaving the field to an oddity like Allen Bogart and Bacall, but which now winks in Manhattan of a man in his mid-forties or television's "Love Boat", the pop knowingly at Julie Andrews in drag. having physical congress with a fifteen year audience, which never warmed to Bergman Something equally aberrant, in fact moreso, old. This year, A -Midsummer Night's Sex or his like anyway, might find solace in Blake more blatant and proselytizing, quickens Comedy renders two points of sexual Edwards, an intriguing director whose last the mental loins of the liberal film-going metaphysics for those still lost in memories three films and his wife's, Julie Andrews, mind; anything less denies the backbone of a gender-differentiated past, the first changing image in them illustrate a syn­ upon which liberal sentiments are oddly enough insisted upon by the women: if thesis of audience demands with a structured.
    [Show full text]
  • State Visit of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Phillip (Great Britain) (4)” of the Betty Ford White House Papers, 1973-1977 at the Gerald R
    The original documents are located in Box 51, folder “7/7-10/76 - State Visit of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Phillip (Great Britain) (4)” of the Betty Ford White House Papers, 1973-1977 at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library. Copyright Notice The copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material. Betty Ford donated to the United States of America her copyrights in all of her unpublished writings in National Archives collections. Works prepared by U.S. Government employees as part of their official duties are in the public domain. The copyrights to materials written by other individuals or organizations are presumed to remain with them. If you think any of the information displayed in the PDF is subject to a valid copyright claim, please contact the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library. THE WHITE HOUSE WASHINGTON Proposed guest list for the dinner to be given by the President and Mrs. Ford in honor of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, on Wednesday, July 7, 1976 at eight 0 1 clock, The White House. White tie. The President and Mrs. Ford Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and The Prince Philip Balance of official party - 16 Miss Susan Ford Mr. Jack Ford The Vice President and Mrs. Rockefeller The Secretary of State and Mrs. Kissinger The Secretary of the Treasury and Mrs. Simon The Secretary of Defense and Mrs. Rumsfeld The Chief Justice and Mrs. Burger General and Mrs.
    [Show full text]
  • Hollywood Icon Julie Andrews Fights Against Huntington's Disease
    MARCH/APRIL 2007 BY LINDA CHILDERS Hollywood Icon Julie Andrews Fights Against Huntington’s Disease Andrews is receiving our Public Leadership in Neurology Award for playing a starring role in the fight against Huntington’s disease. She's a Hollywood legend, a Dame of the British Empire, and one of the most beloved actresses in the world. During the course of a career spanning more than 50 years, Julie Andrews has been a star of the stage and screen, mesmerizing audiences in My Fair Lady, The Sound of Music, Mary Poppins—the list goes on. This year, Andrews is also the recipient of a number of special accolades. She was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Screen Actor's Guild in January, and in May, she will accept the 2007 Public Leadership in Neurology Award from the American Academy of Neurology. The Academy is honoring Andrews, 71, for being a stalwart advocate in the fight against Huntington's disease. She has served on the board of trustees of the Hereditary Disease Foundation with her husband, film director Blake Edwards, for over 30 years. The HDF funds cutting-edge research and is committed to finding treatments and cures for Huntington's disease and other hereditary illnesses. Andrews was first approached to serve as a board member by Milton Wexler, Ph.D., the chairman and founder of the Foundation, and his daughter, Nancy S. Wexler, Ph.D., who became the Foundation's President in 1983. Milton, who died on March 16 at 98, created the HDF in 1968 after learning that his wife, Leonore Wexler, had Huntington's disease.
    [Show full text]
  • Summer Classic Film Series, Now in Its 43Rd Year
    Austin has changed a lot over the past decade, but one tradition you can always count on is the Paramount Summer Classic Film Series, now in its 43rd year. We are presenting more than 110 films this summer, so look forward to more well-preserved film prints and dazzling digital restorations, romance and laughs and thrills and more. Escape the unbearable heat (another Austin tradition that isn’t going anywhere) and join us for a three-month-long celebration of the movies! Films screening at SUMMER CLASSIC FILM SERIES the Paramount will be marked with a , while films screening at Stateside will be marked with an . Presented by: A Weekend to Remember – Thurs, May 24 – Sun, May 27 We’re DEFINITELY Not in Kansas Anymore – Sun, June 3 We get the summer started with a weekend of characters and performers you’ll never forget These characters are stepping very far outside their comfort zones OPENING NIGHT FILM! Peter Sellers turns in not one but three incomparably Back to the Future 50TH ANNIVERSARY! hilarious performances, and director Stanley Kubrick Casablanca delivers pitch-dark comedy in this riotous satire of (1985, 116min/color, 35mm) Michael J. Fox, Planet of the Apes (1942, 102min/b&w, 35mm) Humphrey Bogart, Cold War paranoia that suggests we shouldn’t be as Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, and Crispin (1968, 112min/color, 35mm) Charlton Heston, Ingrid Bergman, Paul Henreid, Claude Rains, Conrad worried about the bomb as we are about the inept Glover . Directed by Robert Zemeckis . Time travel- Roddy McDowell, and Kim Hunter. Directed by Veidt, Sydney Greenstreet, and Peter Lorre.
    [Show full text]
  • Now That She's Gone
    The Carl Cherry Center for the Arts presents... Layne Littlepage in BROADWAY LEADING LADIES: Viva the Divas! With Rick Yramtegui at the piano July 27th – August 19th, 2012 Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 pm, Sundays at 3 pm Layne Littlepage returns to the Carl Cherry Center with a new and delightful show about the leg- endary female stars of Broadway’s greatest musicals: Julie Andrews, Ethel Merman, Mary Mar- tin, Barbra Streisand, Fanny Brice, Beatrice Lillie, Carol Channing, Elaine Stritch and more! Un- forgettable songs and stories. What makes a legend a legend? And what happens when legends collide, or fight for the same role? Find out! Tickets: $25 Information and Reservations: (831)238-0092, or ticketguys.com Now That She’s Gone Written & Performed by Ellen Snortland Friday, August 24th at 7:30 pm Saturday, August 25th at 7:30 pm Sunday, August 26th at 2:00 pm & 7:30 pm “Now That She’s Gone” is a play that explores Ellen Snortland’s often hilarious, irreverent and sometimes torturous relationship with her Norwegian-American mother. “Now That She’s Gone” has been described as a Lily Tomlin / Garrison Keillor hybrid… passionate, poignant and funny in turns. A memoir piece with Eleanor Roosevelt, sex, drugs and lutefisk, the play and performance has received rave reviews and standing ovations in California, Minnesota, New York, and Washington, D.C., as well as France, Holland, Scotland… and Norway. Tickets are $20, and will be available at the door (if space is available), or can be purchased online at carlcherrycenter.org For more info, email [email protected] or call 626-798-8421, or visit Ellen’s website at http://www.snortland.com “An Evening with William Blake” with Norma and Richard Mayer, and Bill Minor Friday, August 31st, at 7:30pm Soprano Norma Mayer and flutist Richard Mayer will perform poems of William Blake set to music by Ralph Vaughan Williams and other composers.
    [Show full text]
  • HOLLYWOOD – the Big Five Production Distribution Exhibition
    HOLLYWOOD – The Big Five Production Distribution Exhibition Paramount MGM 20th Century – Fox Warner Bros RKO Hollywood Oligopoly • Big 5 control first run theaters • Theater chains regional • Theaters required 100+ films/year • Big 5 share films to fill screens • Little 3 supply “B” films Hollywood Major • Producer Distributor Exhibitor • Distribution & Exhibition New York based • New York HQ determines budget, type & quantity of films Hollywood Studio • Hollywood production lots, backlots & ranches • Studio Boss • Head of Production • Story Dept Hollywood Star • Star System • Long Term Option Contract • Publicity Dept Paramount • Adolph Zukor • 1912- Famous Players • 1914- Hodkinson & Paramount • 1916– FP & Paramount merge • Producer Jesse Lasky • Director Cecil B. DeMille • Pickford, Fairbanks, Valentino • 1933- Receivership • 1936-1964 Pres.Barney Balaban • Studio Boss Y. Frank Freeman • 1966- Gulf & Western Paramount Theaters • Chicago, mid West • South • New England • Canada • Paramount Studios: Hollywood Paramount Directors Ernst Lubitsch 1892-1947 • 1926 So This Is Paris (WB) • 1929 The Love Parade • 1932 One Hour With You • 1932 Trouble in Paradise • 1933 Design for Living • 1939 Ninotchka (MGM) • 1940 The Shop Around the Corner (MGM Cecil B. DeMille 1881-1959 • 1914 THE SQUAW MAN • 1915 THE CHEAT • 1920 WHY CHANGE YOUR WIFE • 1923 THE 10 COMMANDMENTS • 1927 KING OF KINGS • 1934 CLEOPATRA • 1949 SAMSON & DELILAH • 1952 THE GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH • 1955 THE 10 COMMANDMENTS Paramount Directors Josef von Sternberg 1894-1969 • 1927
    [Show full text]
  • Sammy Davis Jr.'S Facts on Tap Dancing | Entertainment Guide
    FIND LOCAL: Entertainment Guide Parties & Celebrations | Travel & Attractions | Sports & Recreation | Leisure Activities Entertainment Guide » Arts & Entertainment » Dance » Dancing » Sammy Davis Jr.'s Facts on Tap Dancing Sammy Davis Jr.'s Facts on Tap Dancing ADS BY GOOGLE by Sue McCarty, Demand Media In May 1990, the Las Vegas Strip went dark for 10 minutes to honor one of America's premier entertainers, Sammy Davis Jr. Davis began his professional life on a vaudeville stage tap dancing at the age of 3 and spent the next 61 years singing, dancing, impersonating and acting for an often racially prejudiced public. Tutored in tap by his father, Sammy Sr., and partner, Will Mastin, and advised by the immortal Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, Davis spent his entire life on stages, in films and on television. Fred Astaire once said of Davis, "Just to watch him walk on stage was worth the price of admission." Learning the Craft Davis referred to his tap dancing skills as “a hand-me-down art form" because he was never formally trained in any aspect of dance. He learned by watching and imitating his father, Mastin and other professionals he came in contact with every night on vaudeville stages across the country. According to Davis, he remembered everything he saw, including timing, audience reaction to certain moves and how to direct the mood of the audience with facial expressions and gestures. RELATED ARTICLES Developing a Style Interesting Facts About Irish Step At the age of 10 Davis first saw Bill "Bojangles" Robinson on stage in Dancing Boston, which changed Davis' whole approach to tap dancing.
    [Show full text]
  • ABOUT KATIE EAGLESON Katie Eagleson's First Musical Memory Is
    ABOUT KATIE EAGLESON Katie Eagleson’s first musical memory is of sitting in the family station wagon, singing along with the car radio – and her mother – and Patti Page. The song was “Let Me Go Lover,” but Katie was singing “Ging Ging Go Gover” because she was two years old. Fast forward to the present and you can hear Katie’s own recordings on the radio; on WNYC in New York, WXPN and WRTI in Philadelphia, and other broadcast stations. She's also played frequently on internet radio's The Jonathan Channel. The youngest of seven children, Katie grew up harmonizing with her sisters, singing songs they learned from their mother. Singing with her family, and listening to the great singers of American popular music, such as Judy Garland, Fred Astaire, Nat King Cole, and Barbra Streisand, provided the inspiration that determined Katie’s musical taste and career path. Katie considers herself a lyric interpreter. With her excellent pitch and crystal clear diction, it is obvious that she has great respect and appreciation for the composer and lyricist. Performing the music of songwriters such as the Gershwins, Cole Porter, Stephen Sondheim, or Marilyn and Alan Bergman, she delivers the lyrics, whether sad, romantic, or funny, with great sincerity. “I’m drawn to songs, of any era, that have words I can sing with emotional honesty,” said Katie. “When those words are combined with well-crafted music, I think the impact of each is intensified. And that to me is magic.” As one reviewer wrote, “The Great American Songbook is a treasure of American culture, and Katie Eagleson is one of those rare vocalists whose artistry both preserves and inspires it.” Since the beginning of her professional career, Katie has been the featured vocalist in many ensembles, ranging from duos to Big Bands, singing “pop” music, in venues large and small, and for events both public and private, including the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Chris’ Jazz Café, and the Sellersville Theater.
    [Show full text]
  • Here Are a Number of Recognizable Singers Who Are Noted As Prominent Contributors to the Songbook Genre
    Music Take- Home Packet Inside About the Songbook Song Facts & Lyrics Music & Movement Additional Viewing YouTube playlist https://bit.ly/AllegraSongbookSongs This packet was created by Board-Certified Music Therapist, Allegra Hein (MT-BC) who consults with the Perfect Harmony program. About the Songbook The “Great American Songbook” is the canon of the most important and influential American popular songs and jazz standards from the early 20th century that have stood the test of time in their life and legacy. Often referred to as "American Standards", the songs published during the Golden Age of this genre include those popular and enduring tunes from the 1920s to the 1950s that were created for Broadway theatre, musical theatre, and Hollywood musical film. The times in which much of this music was written were tumultuous ones for a rapidly growing and changing America. The music of the Great American Songbook offered hope of better days during the Great Depression, built morale during two world wars, helped build social bridges within our culture, and whistled beside us during unprecedented economic growth. About the Songbook We defended our country, raised families, and built a nation while singing these songs. There are a number of recognizable singers who are noted as prominent contributors to the Songbook genre. Ella Fitzgerald, Fred Astaire, Rosemary Clooney, Nat King Cole, Sammy Davis Jr., Judy Garland, Billie Holiday, Lena Horne, Al Jolson, Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, Mel Tormé, Margaret Whiting, and Andy Williams are widely recognized for their performances and recordings which defined the genre. This is by no means an exhaustive list; there are countless others who are widely recognized for their performances of music from the Great American Songbook.
    [Show full text]
  • View Playbill
    MARCH 1–4, 2018 45TH ANNIVERSARY SEASON 2017/2018 Great Artists. Great Audiences. Hancher Performances. WORK LIGHT PRODUCTIONS PRESENTS BOOK BY BERRY GORDY MUSIC AND LYRICS FROM THE LEGENDARY MOTOWN CATALOG BASED UPON THE BOOK TO BE LOVED: MUSIC BY ARRANGEMENT WITH THE MUSIC, THE MAGIC, THE MEMORIES SONY/ATV MUSIC PUBLISHING OF MOTOWN BY BERRY GORDY MOTOWN® IS USED UNDER LICENSE FROM UMG RECORDINGS, INC. STARRING KENNETH MOSLEY TRENYCE JUSTIN REYNOLDS MATT MANUEL NICK ABBOTT TRACY BYRD KAI CALHOUN ARIELLE CROSBY ALEX HAIRSTON DEVIN HOLLOWAY QUIANA HOLMES KAYLA JENERSON MATTHEW KEATON EJ KING BRETT MICHAEL LOCKLEY JASMINE MASLANOVA-BROWN ROB MCCAFFREY TREY MCCOY ALIA MUNSCH ERICK PATRICK ERIC PETERS CHASE PHILLIPS ISAAC SAUNDERS JR. ERAN SCOGGINS AYLA STACKHOUSE NATE SUMMERS CARTREZE TUCKER DRE’ WOODS NAZARRIA WORKMAN SCENIC DESIGN COSTUME DESIGN LIGHTING DESIGN SOUND DESIGN PROJECTION DESIGN DAVID KORINS EMILIO SOSA NATASHA KATZ PETER HYLENSKI DANIEL BRODIE HAIR AND WIG DESIGN COMPANY STAGE SUPERVISION GENERAL MANAGEMENT EXECUTIVE PRODUCER CHARLES G. LAPOINTE SARAH DIANE WORK LIGHT PRODUCTIONS NANSCI NEIMAN-LEGETTE CASTING PRODUCTION MANAGEMENT TOUR BOOKING AGENCY TOUR MARKETING AND PRESS WOJCIK | SEAY CASTING PORT CITY TECHNICAL THE BOOKING GROUP ALLIED TOURING RHYS WILLIAMS MOLLIE MANN ORCHESTRATIONS MUSIC DIRECTOR/CONDUCTOR DANCE MUSIC ARRANGEMENTS ADDITIONAL ARRANGEMENTS ETHAN POPP & BRYAN CROOK MATTHEW CROFT ZANE MARK BRYAN CROOK SCRIPT CONSULTANTS CREATIVE CONSULTANT DAVID GOLDSMITH & DICK SCANLAN CHRISTIE BURTON MUSIC SUPERVISION AND ARRANGEMENTS BY ETHAN POPP CHOREOGRAPHY RE-CREATED BY BRIAN HARLAN BROOKS ORIGINAL CHOREOGRAPHY BY PATRICIA WILCOX & WARREN ADAMS STAGED BY SCHELE WILLIAMS DIRECTED BY CHARLES RANDOLPH-WRIGHT ORIGNALLY PRODUCED BY KEVIN MCCOLLUM DOUG MORRIS AND BERRY GORDY The Temptations in MOTOWN THE MUSICAL.
    [Show full text]
  • Program Notes by Joshua Ritter
    PROGRAM NOTES BY JOSHUA RITTER In the late 1960s, political, “Jimmy” and the title song. Many other aspects of the stage social, and artistic change production similarly diverged from the film version. was sweeping across the nation. Virtually everything Universal Pictures released the film at a time when racism was in flux, including was more institutionalized, accepted, and apparent in popular interest in movie peoples’ daily lives. The film reflected this reality. There musicals. When the film was trepidation among the creative team about taking Thoroughly Modern Millie on a project that could offend modern audiences. In fact, was released in 1967, Mayer was not willing to commit to the project unless he director George Roy Hill, could portray the Asian characters in culturally appropriate producer Ross Hunter, and ways. Mayer’s solution was to make the Chinese henchmen screenwriter Richard Morris fully-realized characters that are central to the plot and were inspired by pastiche to have them speak Chinese. He later chose to embrace musicals (e.g., The Boy actress Harriet Harris’ extreme portrayal of an Asian Friend) that were gaining stereotype when she first played Mrs. Meers. The creative popularity in London at the team realized that the opportunity to juxtapose an over- time. In the waning days the-top Asian stereotype with authentic Asian characters of the Hollywood musical, would delegitimize the offensive characterization of Asian Millie spoofed silent films Americans. This daring theatrical choice worked and helped from the 1920s and embraced the farcical slapstick style of propel the show to greater acclaim. this bygone age.
    [Show full text]