Theater review: Revamped 'Millie' isn't a classic

The post-John Command era at the Bloomington Civic Theatre began Friday night with the season opener, "Thoroughly Modern Millie." Command has been credited with revitalizing the theatre that had been dormant before he became artistic director. But last year he was forced out after 12 years at the helm. That led to BCT's merger with the Bloomington Arts Center to become the Bloomington Theatre and Arts Center.

This new venture is off to a rocky start with the questionable artistic choice of "Millie." The show began life as an embarrassing film that wasted the talents of Julie Andrews, Mary Tyler Moore and Carol Channing, not to mention trafficking in appalling Asian stereotypes. The efforts of the original screenwriter, Richard Morris, and co-author Dick Scanlan to mitigate the racism were unsuccessful, as were their efforts to construct even the flimsiest of coherent plots.

This version retains only two songs from the film and that is a major deficit. You know you're in trouble when the best tune is stolen wholesale from Gilbert & Sullivan. Lifting that is ultimately a mistake, because it points out just how melody-deficient the original score by Jeanine Tesori really is.

With this weak a vehicle, the production needs a lot of razzmatazz, which is exactly what this production of "Millie" lacks. Randy Reyes' direction is overly static; he seems out of his element with this kind of classic-style musical. In song after song, he lets characters just stand and sing. Linda Talcott Lee's period choreography looks overly familiar, trite and predictable.

As Millie, Laura Rudolph has an engaging persona and a charming voice. But she has neither the charisma nor the experience to carry a show. And her atrocious diction makes it impossible to understand most of what she sings.

It is Sarah Gibson, as Mrs. Meers, and Natasha Oreskovich, as Muzzy Van Hossmere, who demonstrate how this kind of show should be performed. They command the stage and even though Mrs. Meers is an offensive character, they add sparkle to the otherwise lackluster performances.

Thank heavens for the contributions of BCT regulars Anita Ruth, Ed Gleeman and Robin McIntyre! Ruth's well-trained chorus and stylistically apt orchestra, McIntyre's Art Deco-inspired sets and Gleeman's costume after costume of period perfection prove that the company's high standards have not been entirely lost.

William Randall Beard is a Minneapolis writer.