Page 20 THE VILLADOM TIMES II & IV • April 24, 2013 ‘Thoroughly Modern Millie’ on stage in Millburn by Dennis Seuling “Thoroughly Modern Millie,” the current production at Millburn’s Paper Mill Playhouse, is a revival of the 2002 Broadway production, a lighthearted musical adapted from the 1967 motion picture of the same name. Set in 1922, the play traces the story of small-town girl Millie Dillmount (Laurie Veldheer), who comes to New York City to pursue the goal of the “modern woman” - to marry for money rather than love. She enjoys her transformation from farm girl to flapper, but encounters sinister goingson after she checks into the Priscilla Hotel run by the eccentric Mrs. Meers (Lenora Nemetz). While at the hotel, Millie meets Miss Dorothy Brown (Ashley Kate Adams), a wealthy young woman who has come to the big city to see how the other half lives, and the two become friends. Millie gets a job, envisioning a comfortable life with her new boss, Trevor Graydon (Burke Moses), but he seems more concerned with dictating elaborate letters than with romance. Meanwhile, Jimmy Smith (Jeff Kready), after a rocky introduction, is charmed by Millie and wants to get to know her better. The only problem: Jimmy isn’t rich and won’t fit into Millie’s plan. When a show has such a thin book, it’s up to the other elements of the production to shine. The score contains songs from the original movie with additional music and lyrics by Jeanine Tesori and Dick Scanlan. They range from catchy (the familiar title tune), to clever (“The Speed Test,” in which Mr. Graydon dictates a tongue-twisting Gilbert and Sullivan-style missive complete with a chorus of secretaries), to plucky Millie’s spirited anthem of self-assurance (“Not for the Life of Me”). The talented and energetic Veldheer plays the part of Millie a bit too bloodlessly. The show is a romp, but it is important to humanize a character so the audience can empathize. As Veldheer plays it, it’s all surface pizzazz. Her relentlessly bright Millie remains a chess piece in a formulaic show, moved from scene to scene to hurry the plot along. Kready charms as brash and cocky Jimmy, determined to win hard-headed Millie with good old-fashioned wooing. Kready’s engaging stage presence works well for his character. Even though the audience knows where the plot is heading, it’s fun to watch Jimmy trying to win his girl, especially when it involves singing on the ledge of a skyscraper (“I Turned the Corner”). Moses plays Trevor Graydon in the tradition of such great movie character actors as Edward Everett Horton and Reginald Gardiner. Stiff and fussy, in contrast to the “Breakfast at Tiffany’s.” The role is perfect for broad comedy, but Nemetz so exaggerates her tone and R-for-L pronunciations that her dialogue is often impossible to understand. In the opening night performance, most of her intended comic lines fell flat. Late in Act I, the show gets a needed shot of adrenaline with the appearance of Muzzy van Hossmere (Brenda Braxton), a New York socialite who belts out her personal homage to the Big Apple, “Only in New York.” Braxton absolutely shines. She is the kind of performer who can energize any show, and she shores up a sagging first act. The overall problem with this production is a long Act I with not enough variety in staging. The plot moves along in linear fashion, methodically and predictably, with few high points except for Braxton’s song. Fortunately, Act II is paced better and moves briskly to an amusing, coincidenceheavy conclusion. A highlight of the show is Denis Jones’ lively choreography, including a number in which several secretaries simultaneously type, do fancy footwork, and maneuver their rolling desks into assorted patterns. Martin Pakledinaz’s 1920s-era costumes are bright and colorful, and perfectly fit the airy nature of the story. “Thoroughly Modern Millie” will be performed Wednesday through Sunday evenings through May 5, with matinees on Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday. Single tickets range from $26 to $97 and can be purchased by calling (973) 376-4343, at the Paper Mill Playhouse box office at 22 Brookside Drive in Millburn, or online at www.papermill.org. Millie (Laurie Veldheer) and Jimmy (Jeff Kready) in a romantic moment from ‘Thoroughly Modern Millie,’ the current Paper Mill Playhouse production. easygoing Jimmy, Graydon loves to hear himself talk and is comically oblivious to anything except work. Moses has a flair for this kind of role and does it justice. He gives the show a needed shot of humor. The oddest performance is Nemetz’s. Her character is pretending to be Asian and she speaks in a manner not heard in entertainment venues since Mickey Rooney outrageously mugged as Mr. Yunioshi in