Last night I went to see Thoroughly Modern Millie with Amber and my friend, Aaron. I had never seen a BYU musical production before and the experience was quite memorable. I loved it! I have seen about five or six Off-Broadway productions back in North Carolina, but I have seen very few college productions and I didn't really know what to expect. I was shocked! The quality of the production was just amazing. I suppose I shouldn't just ramble about how much I loved the play, so I'll try to analyze what I saw from several different perspectives.
First, the plot and characters. I had one of my roommates give me a brief synopsis of the play before I left, so I knew that it was basically about a girl trying to make it in the 1920's. I didn't know much about the individual characters though, and I must say that the characters were one of my favorite parts. I was so impressed with the character development; how they slowly revealed all of the different aspects of the characters, until at the end when all was revealed and the solution was met. I must say that as far as the plot, it was a little thin. I don't, however, see this as a problem. I think that this play is a little bit like As You Like It, where the plot is thin to glorify the language; I believe that the plot of Thoroughly Modern Millie is thin to glorify the music and dancing that was so incredibly fascinating.
Other than plot and character, I want to add my thoughts as far as the actual production elements. I have already mentioned that I thought BYU did a wonderful job of producing this play. I think they were most accomplished in the scenery and costumes. The scenery was wonderful. The simplicity of it certainly added possibilities for the audience to imagine. Lots of the sets certainly enhanced the humor of the play, especially the rolling desks and chairs. I also have to say that I thought the costumes were amazing! I think the costumes contributed the most to the 1920's feel. They were so elaborately done but weren't obnoxious like some other plays have them. I loved it! Anyway, I have to go so this will be the end of my analysis for now.
I'm glad you enjoyed it, and the way you compared it to As You Like It in terms of plot made some sense. How was the language, dialogue, or lyrics? I didn't get a real feel for the look of it except it's 1920s, but it sounds worth seeing.
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