Free Millie

Millie's anything but vanilli. (Yes, we actually wrote that.)

"She has so much energy and is so determined and spunky," says Kelly Albright, the pixiest of pixies starring as the title firecracker of "Thoroughly Modern Millie," debuting Monday at the Summerlin Library and Performing Arts Center for a five-week run. "She kind of reminds me of me -- quirky and sassy."

Flapping her wings to flapper-era New York, Albright's Kansas-bred Millie Dillmount is the bubbly hub of this musical hatched from the 1967 Julie Andrews/Mary Tyler Moore movie.

"I studied all the pictures in magazines and books; I memorized the subway map, too; It's one block north to Macy's and two to Brooks Brothers; Manhattan, I prepared for you." -- From "Not for the Life of Me"

Staged by Signature Productions, the Tony-winning tunefest tells the tale of the small-town, bob-coiffed cutie -- so fresh that milk envies her -- who heads to big, bad Gotham in 1922 determined to bag an extra-sugary daddy. And all that gooey folderol -- you know, luv? Hey, this isn't "The Bachelor," people.

"That was the 1920s version of being liberated," says director Leslie Fotheringham of the moldy model of American womanhood, an amusing anachronism as eyeballed from the Michelle Obama age. "They were following their dreams, which weren't the same as they are now."

Schlepping her stuff over to her new crib at the Hotel Priscilla for Women, Millie gets a gig as a stenographer at the Sincere Trust Insurance Co. ("Sincere"? "Trust"? An insurance company?) and meets her pompous, moneybagged boss -- and marital prey -- Trevor Grayden III. (It's a law that people with "III" in their names have gobs of greenbacks.) But soon she's jonesing for Jimmy, a high-spirited paper-clip salesman. (Who wouldn't be chipper in that profession?)

Love or money? Heart or wallet? Which will Millie choose? (If you can't guess, you haven't seen your recommended share of romantic comedies.) The joy's in the journey and the revelations along the way, as Millie's also surrounded by a coterie of lovable crazies (if you couldn't guess that, you haven't digested your recommended allotment of sitcoms): an aspiring actress, a bevy of stagestruck gals and a madcap Manhattan chanteuse named Muzzy (it's a law that people named Muzzy must be madcap) prancing about a glam penthouse (prancing is mandatory in a big, brassy, smile-will-ya? musical).

All set in a frisky-to-say-the-least era.

"Have you seen the way they kiss in the movies?; Isn't it delectable?; Painting lips and pencil lining your brow; Now is quite respectable." -- From title tune "Thoroughly Modern Millie"

All romance and rum? Get real. Back at the Hotel Priscilla, eccentric proprietor/aging actress Mrs. Meers has a rather sinister side biz: selling the dewy young lasses into a white slavery ring. Relax: Not even forced prostitution can erase the dimples from this musical.

"I tap that inner evil," says Meers' portrayer, Kellie Wright, relishing the role of big, bad mamma-jamma. "She's almost delusional, like a 'Sunset Boulevard' thing. I'm channeling Gloria Swanson -- it's a lot of this!" she says, striking a disturbingly dead-on Norma Desmond-esque pose. (Norma Desmond. You remember, right? That whole creepy, "I am big it's the pictures that got small" thing.)

"At one point later in the show, they say, 'Have you done character parts?' " Wright says. "And she says, 'Character parts? Try S-T-A-R!' "

One song explicitly exposes her blacker-than-a-charred-steak-at-Sizzler heart.

"So welcome all ye bright young ladies; You're checking into Hotel Hades; I won't stand by while critics praise ya; You're getting shipped to Southeast Asia." -- From "They Don't Know"

"And with my two Chinese henchmen, we sing 'Mammy,' " Wright says. "But they sing it in Chinese. There's subtitles. It's very funny." (No, they do not get down on one knee and extend their arms to the heavens, Jolson-style.)

Hit it, goons:

"Qiao shaodiao. Dian dadu. Guaiguai bu zai hui jia liao."-- From "Not for the Life of Me" reprise

(That translates to "Burn the bridge; Bet the store; Baby's coming home no more." If you're in the audience, sing along in the original Chinese.)

Does prostitution triumph in the end? (If you think it does, you've seen "Pretty Woman" too many times.) It is, 'natch, love that wins out over money. Then money pulls even. (Go see it so we don't have to explain it.) Time to tie a big, bright bow around "Thoroughly Modern Millie" as our pixie belts out:

"Here I am, St. Valentine; My bags are packed, I'm first in line; Aphrodite, don't forget me; Romeo and Juliet me; Fly, dove! Sing, sparrow!; Gimme fat boy's famous arrow; Gimme, gimme that thing called love!" -- From "Gimme, Gimme"

"You walk out," Albright says, "and think, 'Man, that was a great two and a half hours of my life.' "

Nothing vanilli about Millie. (Yes, we actually wrote that.)

Contact reporter Steve Bornfeld at sbornfeld@ reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0256.