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Thoroughly Modern Millie at Stages St. Louis is a ‘hoot’, shows how and why Stages is so successful

By Daniel Hines
Publisher, TodaysSeniorsNetwork.com

If anyone ever wonders how or why Stages St.  Louis dominates the coveted Kevin Kline awards, all they have to do is be sure to see the outrageously funny ‘Thoroughly Modern Millie’ now playing through June 29 at Robert G. Reim Theatre at the Kirkwood Civic Center in Suburban St. Louis County.

First, the show is just fun.  Next, there is always an intimacy and enthusiasm that characterizes the products of Stages St. Louis.  Add to that, some of the best set decorations in St. Louis, capped by really strong talent from top to bottom.  It’s a winning formula.

And, of course, ‘TMM’ has an additional St. Louis connection because it is a Tony-award winning property of Fox Productions.  (Click here to read our story about Fox Productions and ‘TMM’.)

Mammie Parris is appropriately demure, ambitious and flexible as she lands in New York as the Kansas small-town girl determined to make it in New York.  Of special note is her really strong singing voice, almost Ethel Merman-like.  All of this creates an ideal ‘Millie,’ filled with spunk, or as a friend of mine use to say, ‘A Hoot.!’  And that’s true of the entire show.

That means she needs a strong leading male to balance her naiveté.  Ben Nordstrom is perfect in this role. He is one of my personal favorites at Stages St. Louis, and he provides a steady hand for Millie, with whom, of course, he falls in love.

Now comes the fun.  Throw in a women’s only hotel (remember, this is the New York of the Flapper Era) that is run by Mrs. Meer, a ‘Chinese’ lady who prefers boarders without any family connections because it’s easier for her to drug them, kidnap them and send them almost certainly to become ladies of the evening in China. 

Karen Ely is outrageously funny as Mrs. Meer, who really is not Chinese but a failed actress whose misplaced superiority attitude leads her to believe that she really is a great actress—after all, how could she otherwise fool so many people.

Ms. Ely is a scene-stealer, a role facilitated by some of the outrageously funny situations in which she finds herself. 

And, while it might not be politically correct, the best example of scene stealing comes when Mrs. Meers two aides, obviously illegal Chinese immigrants, argue about how one, Ching Ho, played by Devin Ilaw, fails to drug and kidnap the beautiful Miss Dorothy Brown (Pamela Brumley) because he is so smitten.  As he and his ‘brother’ Bun Foo, played equally for laughs by Allen Managser, argue in Chinese, a screen at the top of the stage flashes their ‘lines’ in English. 

There are so many similar really funny scenes that it is impossible to describe them all.  But, we can promise this—you’ll be a fan of Stages St. Louis after seeing this show, and you’ll have a feel for a unique theater-experience.