Thoroughly Modern Millie Programme

A NOTE FROM THE DIRECTOR The better part of 2001 was spent shuttling between New York and Toronto, taking dance classes, perfecting pirouettes (this all in the days before Mulgrave’s ‘Baking Buffet’), attending auditions and finding the odd piano bar to sing in. New York, that independent nation-state to my eye, a magical place unlike anywhere else on our planet, felt broken.

I still remember the moment on the morning of September 11th, practicing a time-step combination for Crazy for You, when our artistic director anxiously told the cast to ‘just go home’. It was everyone’s New York horror story.

When Sutton Foster came onstage in 2002, I pegged her for the Tony right from her very first note, and I was right, along with Thoroughly Modern Millie, which won Best Musical.

Millie isn’t, in my opinion, masterfully crafted in song and lyric, like every single Sondheim musical, nor does it directly represent any great diversity or movement of protest (which is so badly needed these days!) musicals such as Rent (‘Seasons of Love’), The Color

Purple (‘I’m Here’) or Ragtime (‘Back to Before’), but it was in its own right a protest musical against the events of 2001. In its own fun and fancy way, Millie gave New York hope and helped New Yorkers overcome.

Eleanor Calbes trained me in voice and she gave me, albeit entirely ethnically unsuited, my first role as Lun Tha in The King and I. Eleanor’s New York success story is a memorable one involving a young singer who landed the role of Liat, a relatively minor part in South Pacific on Broadway. However; after Richard Rodgers heard her sing, Calbes (‘Younger than Springtime’), may she rest in peace, became the first soloist ever to perform the song Bali H’ai. I thank her for teaching me to ‘sing from the back’ and for inspiring my love of theatre. I hope to have done the same to some small degree with these children.

A common societal misconception is that Musical Theatre actors tend to suddenly ‘break out’ in song and dance. The truth is, when the emotion from acting becomes too strong, that emotion must be expressed through voice, and when that song can no longer be contained, the body just needs to move.

I hope our students and your children will give you a sense of that emotion tonight and that you will be equally proud of their confidence, risk-taking, humour and talent.

-Jamie Caton, Director

PLAY DESCRIPTION It’s 1922, and small-town girl Millie Dillmount has just arrived in New York City, ready to make her dreams come true. Millie’s plan is simple: find a job as a secretary for an eligible bachelor, and then marry him. It doesn’t take long, however, for Millie’s ‘thoroughly modern’ plan to go awry. Her conniving landlady plots to kidnap Millie’s best friend and sell her to her buyer ‘Black Spider’, her wealthy boss seems entirely uninterested in her flirtations, and -- worst of all -- the man with whom she falls head over heels in love doesn’t have a penny to his name. Winner of the 2002 Tony Award for Best Musical, Thoroughly Modern Millie is a bright, funny, and charming musical comedy -- a heartfelt valentine to New York City and all of us who love her.

CAST

SARAH GUNN

ELLA DIXON

Millie Dillmount

Mrs. Meers

ULWIANA MEHTA-MALHOTRA

KENNEDY KOPKE Miss Flannery

Dorothy Brown

RAIHAN HASSAM

ABTIN ZEHTAB

GRACE WOOTTEN

FRANK LU

Trevor Graydon

Jimmy Smith

Briana

Charles

CHANTELLE BREWSTER

AUDREY WONG-FRICK

VANESSA LIU

AMANDA NIU

Ruth

Rita

Ethel

Lucille

GENEVIEVE DYMENT

LARA MARKTHALER

COCO MANDERSON

LOLA CABRAL

Cora

Alice

Gloria

Female Modern/ Dance Captain

KATE VRSNIK

SARA GANSCHOW

MAIA RAYNOR

ALIA MANGALJI

Female Modern

Female Modern

Female Modern

Female Modern

MARTINA REVELLO LERENA

SOPHIE SHERKAT

KIANA PARSA

DEANNA NAEMI

Female Modern

Female Modern

Female Modern

CARRIE XUE

JASMINE WANG

DEXTER MACMANUS

Female Modern

Female Modern

Male Modern/ Dance Captain

NICOLAAS VAN DER VORM

Female Modern

Male Modern

YUPENG ZHANG

AMIR MOJARRADI

BEN DYMENT

HARRY TETRAULT

Male Modern

Male Modern

Male Modern

Male Modern

CHORUS

GABRIELLA CANEPARI

AVA MYRING

RAY XUE

ANNA WANG

CONSTANCE YANG

LILA BEAUPRE

SADIE COX

EMMA DIETZ

JAIDEN GILL

KAI KLIMEK

CANDY LI

MADELINE MCLEOD

LILY MEHIO

AMY REN

LISA SABA

KIANA BAGHERPOUR

JADA CHANG

NAVIK DESAI

HAOMING DU

SARA JANMOHAMEDSUNDERJI

ALICE PENG

SHAIV RAMDHANI

JENNA TALIB

WENDY XU

PRODUCTION Jamie Caton - Choreographer/Set Designer Claude McLean - Music Director Emily Zuidema - Music Director, Scenic Painter and Backstage Manager Tish Jolley - Scenic Painter Scott Zechner - Set Design & Construction and Technical Director Nicola Read - Set Design (Assistant) Matt Kennedy - Digital Film/Videographer/Set Construction Elizabeth Kok - Properties Master Khayali Dhanji - Stage Manager Sophie Yang - Stage Crew Amin Gulamani - Stage Crew Aidan Deslippe - Lighting Design Tudor Rosu - Lighting Operator Kameel Ahamed - Follow Spot Operator Christian Lovell - Head Scenic Painter Rhonda Beaupre - Scenic Painter Michelle Myring - Scenic Painter Adam Morrow - Scenic Painter Rosa Yip - Scenic Painter Susan Cabral - Key Makeup Artist Jennifer Pan - Makeup Artist Tina Zhou - Makeup Artist Mark Steffens - Photography Tyson Poole - Poster & Programme Design Juliette Carr - Box Office Laura Darch - Communications

SPECIAL THANKS JOHN WRAY Thank you for your support of theatre and music in the Junior School.

JUNIOR SCHOOL LEADERSHIP TEAM Your encouragement means so much! Thank you for your support.

JUNIOR SCHOOL STAFF Your help in getting our actors where they needed to be was invaluable. So many of you rolled up your sleeves to make Millie happen.

MARK STEFFENS Anything we needed, you were there for us.

From lunch to stunning photos, thank you for your time and talent.

MICHELLE MYRING For tying up every loose end, thank you for all of your help.

OUR PARENTS Thank you for your support, for the costumes, for the rehearsal pick-ups, for running lines, and for encouraging us along the way.

SCOTT ZECHNER A special thanks to you! For caring so much about the production and the sheer amount of time and effort you put into the set design, lighting & theatre management, we are very grateful.

For your consistent support and encouragement, thank you Natassja By, Judy Markthaler and Sarah Bernstein.

To the makeup ladies who made us all look glam, thank you to Susan Cabral, Jennifer Dixon, Lorena Mangalji, and Shannon Vrsnik.

For your set construction support, huge thanks to Nate Zuidema.

Mike Lopez, Farhad Najafichalestrari and the Facilities team, thank you for your brawn and patience with our production.

“Each day it’s free admission to those who dream You set your sights all the way upstream Off you go, for you know that cream will rise Make that wish, seek that thrill Come and get it, ‘cause you always will Strike up the band Only in New York”