Fresh from Kansas, Millie Dillmount arrives in New York City circa 1922 determined to become one of the smart, practical modern girls she’s read about in Vanity Fair. That means get a job, marry the rich boss, and enjoy the good life. Marrying for love is some old-fashioned nonsense designed for suckers. So she bobs her hair, raises her skirt, and gets modern. Sort of.

Kristen Beth Williams has the challenging role of stepping into Sutton’s shoes, and she does a terrific job with her wide-ranging voice and charming personality. She especially shines in Jimmy as she tries to choose between money and love, and Forget About the Boy surrounded by her fellow secretaries. Robert Pieranunzi is the boy, Jimmy, a street-smart guy with no money who Millie finds herself falling for despite her modern judgment. The more developed character of Jimmy is one of the few places where the Broadway version is a little better than the original La Jolla version, and Robert does nice work as the carefree Jimmy who finds himself caring.

The show is filled with a fantastic array of supporting characters led by Millie’s boss Trevor Graydon, and Randall Dodge is in top form with his hilarious portrayal of the stiff but quirky Graydon, using his deep but nimble voice to make The Typing Test scene a hit, and using his physical comedy to become a boy who is hopelessly and hysterically in love with Millie’s friend, the beautiful Miss Dorothy Brown (with Sarah Elizabeth Combs playing the amusingly sweet and naïve Dorothy). Ryan Beattie is a kick as Graydon’s prudish head secretary with sexy elbows who yells at her underlings while cooing to Graydon, and Moonlight favorite Debbie Prutsman is a famous middle-aged star Muzzy Van Hossmere who nails her jazzy solo Only in New York.

And then there’s the dark underbelly of Millie’s modern New York. Yes, you guessed it – white slavery. And no girl living in Millie’s apartment building run by the evil Mrs. Meers is safe. Diane Vincent is evil Mrs. Meers, an over-the-top dastardly villain who speaks her evil commands in her bad Chinese accent to her two assistants, Ching Ho and Bun Foo, promising to bring their muqin/mammy to America if they do as she says. Caleb Goh and Charles Hand are great as the somewhat naïve brothers desperate for their Muqin and trying to decipher Mrs. Meers’ orders. We can decipher their Chinese thanks to the large screen of subtitles hanging above the stage during their scenes. And we can decipher Ching Ho’s turn of heart when he falls for Miss Dorothy just by looking at him.

Performance Dates: August 23 to September 3, 2006

Rob Hopper
San Diego Playbill

Millie Dillmount: