I visited 1922 New York City twice this weekend. First when I saw The Great Gatsby Friday afternoon, then again Saturday afternoon seeing Thoroughly Modern Millie with the Scottsdale Musical Theatre Company. Even though both stories are completely different, they both are still about the American dream during the Jazz Age of the Roaring Twenties. Besides Jazz and the Flapper Culture, this era was known for unprecedented economic prosperity and was a time of criminal activity...be it bootlegging or white slavery.
Thoroughly Modern Millie is a 2002 Tony Award winning musical based on the 1967 movie starring Julie Andrews, Mary Tyler Moore, and Carol Channing. I first saw the movie in 1971 when I was a young kid, and my sister attended Northern Illinois University and invited me to spend a little sister weekend with her, and the university was showing the film that weekend. Then in 2005 a client of ours invited us to see the travelling Broadway Musical version at ASU Gammage. The only part of the movie I remembered was the two leads having to tap dance to get the elevator to go up, otherwise I didn't recall the story at all.
This time around before seeing SMTC production I got the DVD of the movie at the library and read up on how the musical is a little different from the movie. I believe if you are going to spend the time and money to go see something, and you want to get the most enjoyment out of it too...then you should go in as prepared as the actors on stage. Be it a movie or live theatre, actors will study their characters in depth, the time period and anything else to help them enhance their performances, and give it greater value and authenticity. So I have learned over the years that if I go see something well prepared I will enjoy it even more, and will have a higher assessment of the production.
I can honestly say that I loved SMTC production so much more than the Broadway one I saw in 2005 because I came prepared. Also, the actresses and actors were top notch once again. All of them gave stellar performances, and they all are deserving to be on a Broadway stage. Plus having a live 21 member orchestra also added in the enjoyment and high production value.
I will definitely go to their next production in November which is The Music Man. I have not seen this musical before, nor have I seen the 1962 film, so I have a little preparing and studying to do before November. lol
