Future star shines in ‘Millie’

Tom Titus

Theatergoers in their 20s and 30s who missed out on enjoying the

comedic brilliance of Carol Burnett when she was in her 20s and 30s

may catch a glimpse of what the queen of TV comedy was like a

half-century ago by visiting the Orange County Performing Arts

Center, where a star of similar magnitude is in the process of being

born.

Darcie Roberts -- remember that name -- is the title character in

“Thoroughly Modern Millie,” the stage version of a 1967 movie

starring Burnett’s longtime buddy, Julie Andrews. And seldom has the

center witnessed a performance that’s so knockdown, drag-out fun.

Roberts has all the right moves, and she puts them to terrific use

as a Kansas flapper circa 1922, out to conquer New York in this

screen-to-stage musical that’s sort of a cross between “Sweet

Charity” and “Wonderful Town.” And she’ll undoubtedly do so

eventually, but right now she’s in the process of conquering Costa

Mesa.

Her comic style -- not to mention her physical appearance -- will

remind audiences of a young Burnett, particularly when she becomes

entangled in an office chair, and her singing voice is sharp and

powerful, highlighted by the upbeat “Gimme Gimme” late in the show.

Her opening number, “Not for the Life of Me,” quickly establishes her

indomitable character.

Mugged on her first day in town, just after tearing up her return

ticket, Millie perseveres and finds work in a steno pool, where she

promptly sets her sights on her single boss (John Ganun), who refers

to her as “John.” She also finds a hotel for young women, which

resembles the Roach Motel -- where some guests check in but don’t

check out.

The reason is that its erstwhile Chinese proprietor (Hollis

Resnik) is operating a white slavery ring, literally shanghaiing

those girls whom no one would miss. Resnik’s pidgin Chinese accent is

the most outlandish treatment of an Asian character since Mickey

Rooney in “Breakfast at Tiffany’s,” except that she’s not really

Oriental but a dropout from the chorus line who’s dropped into

criminal activity.

Richard Roland, as the stalwart young man who pursues her, is

engaging, while Millie’s best friend, a naive beauty who calls

herself “Miss Dorothy,” is deliciously rendered by Anne Warren.

Andrew Pang and Darren Lee cut up convincingly as Resnik’s Chinese

immigrant henchmen, whose dialogue is translated by overhead

subtitles -- doing a comical version of “Mammy” six years before Al

Jolson would introduce the song to movie audiences in “The Jazz

Singer” (which is fine, since “Mammy” actually was written in 1921).

Another knockout performance is delivered by Stephanie Pope as a

cafe society singer with golden pipes, who rubs elbows with such

personages as George Gershwin and Dorothy Parker. Janelle A. Robinson

also impresses as Millie’s stern superior at the office.

Director Michael Mayer has put this multiple Tony Award winner

(six for 2002) together with style and high comic flavor, though the

first bit with the Chinese conspirators runs a little long. Rob

Ashford’s choreography is tasty and very 1920s.

Those who saw “Thoroughly Modern Millie” nearly 40 years ago

probably have little recollection of the movie, which makes the stage

production that much more fresh and appealing. And Darcie Roberts is

worth the price of admission by herself in the title role.

* TOM TITUS reviews local theater for the Daily Pilot. His reviews

appear Fridays.