By Khalida Sarwari
A talented cast and crew of about 70 Saratoga High School students will be bringing the Jazz Age of the 1920s to life in a musical comedy that tells the story of a small-town girl who moves to New York City with big plans.
Saratoga High’s spring musical, Thoroughly Modern Millie, will be presented under the direction of drama teacher and artistic director Sarah Thermond. Performances will take place at the McAfee Center on Feb. 28, March 1 and 2 at 7:30 p.m. and March 3 at 2 p.m.
A girl from Kansas, Millie Dillmount (Manini Desai) goes to New York City and adapts to the flapper lifestyle with intentions to marry into Manhattan’s elite. But distracting her from that goal is a demanding office job, glamorous parties, a kidnapping ring, an eccentric new friend and a man named Jimmy (Ethan Drohan) who sweeps her off her feet. The musical is based on a 1967 film starring Julie Andrews.
Thermond said Thoroughly Modern Millie was chosen for the spring production because it is an upbeat musical that has heart and humor and places emphasis on staying true to yourself and to the people who care about you.
“I think that’s a wonderful thing to remind a high school community of,” she said. “It also balances our fall play’s themes very well: The Crucible was about how hard it is to remain yourself against the pressures of society, and this story explores all of the rewards you can reap when you manage to do so.”
The students have been rehearsing for about three hours a day, five or six days a week since the beginning of December.
Learning how to switch to different locations–there are about 10 in this production–has proven to be a technical challenge, Thermond said. The show also has a lot of tap dancing, so the cast has spent a good amount of time training even before starting choreography.
But, the cast and crew have been “incredibly hard-working,” Thermond said. “Probably one of the fastest-learning casts I’ve ever had.”
One of the most challenging aspects of the production, said Thermond, was that for their roles as Chinese brothers, two of the actors (Jason Seo and Nik Aji) had to learn to speak and sing in Mandarin.
“It’s been very fun working with the actors on how to be expressive, even in a language not their own, and with the techs on how to time the projector cues properly to lines they cannot understand,” Thermond said.
Thoroughly Modern Millie is being presented by the Saratoga High School drama and music departments.
Tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for students and seniors. They can be purchased by calling 408.867.3411, ext. 201, or sending an email to sdini@lgsuhsd.org.
For more information about the show, visit saratogatheatrearts.org.
