Thoroughly Modern Millie
Hale Center Theater OremView digital playbillSep 27, 2019 – Nov 23, 2019
Program note (from playbill): RAISE YOUR SKIRTS AND BOB YOUR HAIR! In many ways, the dizzying change and intoxicating cadence of the Roaring 20s is the perfect pretext for musical theatre, and Millie Dillmount is the perfect guide. Short skirts, bobbed hair, new dance styles, and a practi- cal approach to love defined the Modern Girl in this era, and Millie longs to shake off her “old-fashioned” past and become the quint- essential Modern. But she eventually finds there’s nothing more sweetly old-fashioned than love, and there’s no living without it. The Modern lifestyle was typified by the iconic bob hairstyle, with advertisements of the time proclaiming “Bobbed hair has come to stay” and promising there was a bob style to suit every face. The impact of lopping off locks can’t be ignored, however, with oppos- ing headlines claiming bobbed hair was responsible for divorce, insanity, crime, and was a result of “falling morals.” Others found a middle ground, asking “How Much Leg: Can a girl be modish though modest?” and linked the change in fashion to a yearning for simplicity and freedom. A print advertise- ment of the time proclaims: Life is so much more fun when one is not afraid. It is her happy courage— the zest with which she welcomes every new delightful freedom which is the charm of the modern girl. Originally a 1956 British musical called Chrysanthemum, this story was then made into a 1967 film starring Julie Andrews, Mary Tyler Moore, Carol Channing, and James Fox that won seven Oscars and five Golden Globes. The American musical didn’t emerge on Broadway until 2002, where it introduced the theatre world to the incom- parable Sutton Foster, and went on to win six Tony Awards, including Best Musical. So let loose, and enjoy 1922 at HCTO! Run September 27–November 23, 2019 (dates supplied for import). Program PDF: HCT_221.