Thoroughly Modern Millie - Birmingham Review

Post

Subscribe

Tue 17 Jan 2017 - Sat 15 Jul 2017

Fast-living and even faster dancing in New York's 1920's is what this crazy musical is all about, so it's fortunate that the lead actress is a Strictly Come Dancing champion.



Thoroughly Modern Millie reached #performance_tabs =tab_performances">Birmingham's New Alexandra Theatre on its UK tour where hot-footing it into a major acting stage role is this year's Strictly Come Dancing professional winner, Joanne Clifton.

The stage show is based on the 1967 Oscar-winning film of the same name starring Julie Andrews and has won six Tony Awards in its own right, including best musical. So, it's a slick show with grand routines, a tight script and an endless array of glorious glittering 1920's flapper costumes.

Thoroughly Modern Millie is set in the Roaring Twenties when "modern" women are flooding into New York to find work and love while Charleston-ing the night away. This is where we find Millie, who is striving to be a thoroughly modern gal.



It's very much a dance-based musical comedy with a jazz-fused soundtrack that heavily relies on big tap and group numbers. It makes Strictly Come Dancing's Joanne Clifton a perfect choice for the lead role as the fiesty, likeable heroine, Millie - both personality-wise and for her dancing ability.

She may be known so far for gaining the hearts of Strictly fans as the bubbly younger sister of dancer Kevin Clifton and winning the latest series with sports presenter Ore Oduba, but this tour shows she has more to offer.

What comes as a surprise is that Clifton can also sing and act, showing that she is an emerging triple threat in the theatre world.

Through various escapades and well-choreographed dance routines, we follow Millie as she gets a job – prompting an innovative tap dancing routine using typewriting desks with wheels – finds love and foils a white slavery kidnapping ring. It may be about shipping orphaned white women to a life of prostitution in Hong Kong, but it's all done in a thoroughly light-hearted way.



Sam Barrett as Millie's love interest Jimmy is well-matched in voice and dance for Clifton and there's a tenderness to their romantic scenes. Stealing the limelight after the interval , however, is seasoned actor Graham Macduff as her boss Trevor, who plays a fantastic drunk and added some ad hoc lines when someone sneezed, sending the rest of the cast and audience into giggles.

Former EastEnders actress Michelle Collins is another well-known name in the cast playing evil Mrs Meers, who kidnaps young women for the slave trade. Collins has been ramping up her theatre 'baddie' portfolio in recent years. Last year, she was also the crazy Baroness Bomburst for part of the UK tour of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang before a knee injury forced her to retire from the role early.

Collins plays it in over-the-top panto-style but is hampered by a very strange accent that makes her hard to understand. It was charming that her two Chinese sidekicks spoke and sang in Mandarin with English surtitles and maybe we needed the same for Collins too. I saw this show a couple of years ago when it came to Birmingham Hippodrome and Lesley Joseph was superb, but she was more sinister and quirky in the role.



What makes this an all-round entertaining show is that along with a pretty madcap story, there's strong dance routines and catchy songs (Not For The Life Of Me, Throughly Modern Millie and Jimmy are just a few). A party in a speak-easy bar is beautifully choreographed to combine Charleston and Tango and ends up in the jailhouse. It feels and sounds like the heady jazzy 1920's.

Jenny Fitzpatrick as Muzzy Van Hossmere also deserves a mention as she brings a lovely, deep voice to her songs as the socialite singer who gets caught up in events.



All in all, this show is a fast-paced, fun caper that entertains throughout and has some modern, alternative twists in the finale from the film.

Ultimately, Thoroughly Modern Millie is a lot like its main star, Joanne Clifton - it's quirky, energetic and extremely likeable. Without a doubt, you'll thoroughly enjoy it.

RATING: & #9733 ;& #9733 ;& #9733 ;& #9733 ;& #9734 ;
Thoroughly Modern Millie
Tickets cost from £17.50 - £45.00 from the #performance_tabs =tab_tour">ATG Theatre website .

Birmingham - New Alexandra Theatre
Monday 13 – Saturday 18 February
Box Office: 0844 871 3011

Other UK Tour Dates:

Liverpool, Empire Theatre
Monday 20 – Saturday 25 February
Box Office: 0844 871 3017

York, Grand Opera House
Monday 27 February – Saturday 4 March
Box Office: 0844 871 3024

High Wycombe, Swan Theatre
Monday 6 – Saturday 11 March
Box Office: 01494 512 000

Southsea, King's Theatre
Monday 20 – Saturday 25 March
Box Office: 023 9282 8282

Aylesbury, Waterside Theatre
Monday 27 March – Saturday 1 April
Box Office: 0844 871 7607

Brighton, Theatre Royal
Monday 3 – Saturday 8 April
Box Office: 0844 871 7650

Bromley, Churchill Theatre
Monday 10 – Saturday 15 April
Box Office: 020 3285 6000

Leeds Grand Theatre
Monday 17 – Saturday 22 April
Box Office: 0844 848 2700

Woking, New Victoria Theatre
Monday 8 – Saturday 13 May
Box Office: 0844 871 7645

Manchester, Palace Theatre
Monday 22 – Saturday 27 May
Box Office: 0844 871 3019

Llandudno, Venue Cymru
Monday 29 May – Saturday 3 June
Box Office: 01492 872000

Dartford, Orchard Theatre
Monday 5 – Saturday 10 June
Box Office: 01322 220000

Truro, Hall for Cornwall
Monday 12 – Saturday 17 June
Box Office: 01872 262466

Bristol Hippodrome
Monday 19 – Saturday 24 June
Box Office: 0844 871 3012

Newcastle, Theatre Royal
Monday 10 – Saturday 15 July
Box Office: 0844 811 2121

#birmingham_city_centre
#celebrity
#central_birmingham
#dancing
#musicals
#theatre
#theatre -reviews
#theatres
#january
#february
#march
#april
#may
#june
!date 17/01/2017 -- 15/07/2017
%wnbirmingham