Barksdale’s ‘Millie’ packs high-energy fun

The good news is that "Thoroughly Modern Millie" is a relentless, nonstop period pastiche musical set in the Jazz Age and performed as if each actor's life depended on it. The bad news is that "Thoroughly Modern Millie" is a relentless, nonstop period pastiche musical set in the Jazz Age and performed as if each actor's life depended on it.

Millie Dillmount arrives in New York City from small-town Kansas, circa 1922. She rips up her return ticket, only to have her purse, suitcase, and even her hat and one shoe stolen in broad daylight -- but "Millie" is not about the terrors of the big city. There is a hilarious speak-easy scene, ending with all the participants spending the night in the pokey -- but it's not about Prohibition. She checks into a women's hotel managed by a former actress whose sideline is white slavery, and there are two "Chinese" henchmen who assist in the abduction of orphaned guests -- but it's not about racism or any sort of political statement. It's about having fun, and being silly, and falling in love, and having hope.

Highlights include a large ensemble and a peppy cast, featuring the gloriously wide-eyed yet no-nonsense Maggie Marlin as Millie and Zak Resnick as her initially reluctant beau, Jimmy, who more than redeems himself in the end. Other favorites include Linda Poser as Mrs. Meers, the deliciously evil manager of the Hotel Priscilla, along with her faux-Chinese henchmen, Ching Ho (Christopher Hlusko) and Bun Foo (Eddie Tavares). The latter's attempts to speak Chinese -- and even to translate some songs into Chinese -- provide additional humor as their words are translated into supertitles.

Nancy Crawley belts out a stunning number in her penthouse abode as Muzzy Van Hossmere, the glamorous second wife of a deceased millionaire, and the stiff-backed Miss Flannery (Carolyn Meade) breaks out into a mean tap dance and shows her true colors in a most surprising manner. The tapping typists are worthy of a nod, too.

Predictably, all the major characters are paired up at the end -- although not with the partners they had chosen at the beginning.

Based on an original 1967 screenplay and book by Richard Morris, the stage version of "Thoroughly Modern Millie" opened on Broadway in 2002 with a book by Morris and Dick Scanlan and new music and lyrics by Jeanine Tesori and Scanlan.

Ron Keller's scenic design is multilayered and thoroughly stunning, and Sue Griffin's costumes are quite attractive. Patti D'Beck's direction and cute and peppy choreography keep the production moving like a locomotive on an express track and heighten the production's overall big-city, big-stage feel.

Julinda Lewis is a dancer, teacher and writer living in eastern Henrico County. She can be contacted at .