Hundreds of hours pass, voices get louder then quickly diminish, feet pound the floor, anger, sadness, and love fill the air as the actors of this year’s musical work to make their production of Thoroughly Modern Millie one for the ages.
Senior Nina Goodheart plays the lead, Millie Dillmount, a girl from Kansas who dreams of marrying a rich man she does not love, just like every girl she knows. Her plan goes awry when she meets the poor Jimmy Smith (Noah Lankton), and falls for him. The secondary is about a white slavery ring based in the hotel Millie is staying at and a sting thats trying to break it up.
Goodheart, along with the rest of the cast and crew, rehearse for hours on end, perfecting the songs, dances, and character development that accompany the production. The veteran thespian did her first play at the tender age of five, according to Goodheart. This play, however, is unique.
“Thoroughly Modern Millie is different because it is set in the 1920s, based on a movie in the 60s, and the musical we are performing was written in the 2000s, so it has an old fashioned sensibility,”Goodheart said. “But since its a modern musical, more attention is paid to character development and scene work than you would get in a classic, old-style musical.”
According to Goodheart, the white slavery ring is an outdated plot line in previous versions of the play. Junior Kaitlynd Collins and Sophomore Arthur Chen have been working with director Christien Polos to update it.
“I think Mr. Polos is doing a really good job. When he picked the show, he knew the white slavery plot line was outdated and controversial, and he knew he wanted to change it because it wasn’t really portrayed in a way that was appropriate for our school and community,” Goodheart said. “I think he’s on top of that aspect of it, and they are trying very hard to make this play appropriate and family friendly, and a good time.”
Junior Nick Karnovsky plays Trevor Graden, a classic New York businessman, and the target of Millie’s get-rich-quick scheme. He awaits with bated breath for the curtains to rise and the bright lights to come on.
“You’ve worked for three or four months to put everything together, and then those three or four shows you do, you get to show it off and its fantastic,” Karnovsky said.
“People should come see this play,” Goodheart said. “This cast is really talented, the performances are great, the music is awesome, and dance quality that you don’t often see in a high school musical.”
Jacob Steinfield can be contacted at [email protected]
