Thoroughly Modern Mille AUDITION PACKET

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Cecil Lewis
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1 Thoroughly Modern Mille AUDITION PACKET WHAT TO PREPARE A musical theatre or Disney song that showcases your best vocals and acting. Think of the character you are auditioning for and tailor your song towards that character. You must have 32 bars prepared with sheet music. is a great website to buy individual songs. DO NOT SING A SONG FROM THE SHOW! Dance Auditions will occur day 1 of auditions Be prepared to do cold readings from the script at callbacks Be prepared to learn songs for multiple characters at callbacks The entire musical soundtrack can be found online if you type in Thoroughly Modern Millie on YouTube Please come to auditions with a headshot and audition form filled out! Audition form can be found at the end of this packet. Sign up for vocal audition time via AUDITION DATES AND TIMES December 6 th 2:00PM 7:00PM (high school please sign up for the earliest slots first) o You will sign up for a time slot to sing on December 6th o You will also learn a dance. o Once you have done both of these items, you may leave. o Please show up 15 minutes early to the audition to make sure all paperwork is complete December 8 th 2:00PM 6:00PM December 12 th - 1:00PM 6:00PM (Possible Callbacks) o Just remember if you do not get called back, it does not mean you are not casted REHEARSAL There will be extended rehearsals from 2:00PM 5:00PM every Monday and Wednesday There will be extended rehearsal from 2:00PM 4:00PM on Tuesdays Starting in March, if needed, rehearsals will be from 2:00PM 6: 00PM Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday (The goal is to not need this, but due to the fact that we lose two weeks of rehearsal in March, there is the option to go to this.) Potential Additional Rehearsals o February 19 th (Monday), 8:00AM - Noon (possible rehearsal TBA) o March 26 th 30 th (Rehearsals TBA due to Missions trips) o April 2 nd 9 th Spring Break (Rehearsals TBA based on need at this

2 point) o During the month of April we have the ability to call rehearsals until 6 on all rehearsal days if the time is needed. The hope is to not have to change anything but to have the flexibility if needed. You will be notified well in advance if this is to happen. o April 30 th May 2 nd Tech Week 12:40 6pm o Orchestra Rehearsal Monday, April 16th Leads and Specifically called cast members Monday, April 30 th Full cast and Full Tech o NOTE Rehearsals will be specific, so you may not need to be there the entire time or even for a specific rehearsal. You will know which rehearsals your character is needed for in advance o There is the possibility of added rehearsals for tap performers. These will be stated well in advance and be very specific. SHOW DATES May 3 7 pm May 4 7 pm May 5 2 pm & 7 pm Thoroughly Modern Millie Synopsis Act 1 Mille Dillmount arrives in 1922 Manhattan. She has guts, pluck, charisma and moxie. She may be from a small town, but she's got big dreams. She's here to make those dreams come true and nothing can deter her or send her running home. She intends to be chic and modern, but she's not quite there yet ("Not for the Life of Me"). In the midst of all the excitement of her arrival, Millie gets mugged. She loses her scarf, hat, shoe and purse. When Jimmy Smith, a brash city slicker with an irrepressibly buoyant personality, enters, Millie trips him to get his attention. He tells her to go back to Kansas and, when Millie refuses, he suggests that she check into the Hotel Priscilla, a rooming house for actresses. The defiant Millie plans on staying and making her mark in the big city just like all the other girls at the Hotel Priscilla ("Not for the Life of Me Tag"). At the hotel, the girls Lucille, Rita, Alice, Gloria and Ruth bemoan not getting any acting roles. The girls begin talking about how many young girls, mostly orphans, have suddenly disappeared without anyone noticing. Mrs. Meers, the hotel's proprietor, enters. She is a former actress-turned-criminal. She pretends to be a kindly Chinese woman in order to mask her true profession. She thinks she is a wonderful actress, but her Chinese accent is deplorable and her depiction of a hateful stereotype is held up to ridicule by real Chinese people. Mrs. Meers gives Ethel a telegram with the sad news that her great uncle has died; Ethel reveals that she is now an orphan. Mrs. Meers invites her to come

3 have a cup of tea and then stealthily makes arrangements to send Ethel to China. Millie enters, and Mrs. Meers tells her that she has to leave the hotel because she is behind on rent. While Millie tries to persuade "Meersie" to let her stay, the ingénue, Miss Dorothy Brown, enters. Millie makes a deal with her to share her room as long as Dorothy sleeps on the floor. Miss Dorothy is excited to make the acquaintance of her first poor person; she's on her way down. Conveniently, Millie is on her way up ("How the Other Half Lives"). Millie explains that she plans to marry her boss; the only hitch is that she doesn't have a boss yet. Mrs. Meers offers Ethel's room to Miss Dorothy, which has just recently become available. She is also delighted to discover that Miss Dorothy is an orphan. Millie and Miss Dorothy head upstairs. In order to get the elevator going they must tap dance their way up. They ascend as they chat happily. In the laundry room of the hotel, Ching Ho and Bun Foo fold towels. Mrs. Meers enters and tells Bun Foo to take Ethel to Buddha her contact in China. and to collect the money. Ching Ho is to take a snack to the new arrival, Miss Dorothy. We discover that the boys, who speak and sing in Chinese with subtitles, are working here to save money to bring their mother over from Hong Kong ("Not for the Life of Me Reprise"). Later, Millie attempts to interview with Trevor Graydon, the President of Third of Sincere Trust Insurance; Graydon is a businessman who needs a stenographer... and who happens to be single. Miss Flannery, the office manager, is clear that she thinks Millie is a modern and does not approve of her. Mr. Graydon, however, gives Millie a convoluted typing test, which she passes with flying colors ("The Speed Test"). She gets the job. Back at the hotel, Ching Ho brings Miss Dorothy a room service apple, which Mrs. Meers has injected with a large hypodermic needle. However, when Ching Ho see Miss Dorothy, he is instantly smitten. Rather than give her the apple, he tries to warn her about Mrs. Meers. Mrs. Meers tries to give Miss Dorothy the apple herself, but is foiled by Millie and Alice's sudden appearance. Alone, Mrs. Meers laments the acting career that she was never given the chance to have and applauds herself for putting her talents to such good use in her current line of work ("They Don't Know"). Millie, Miss Dorothy and the girls head out to celebrate Millie's job. They try to find a speakeasy, but to no avail. They bump into Jimmy, who shows them that there is one just under their noses. Millie begrudgingly accepts his help getting them in since he is a member and Jimmy is impressed that Millie has stayed in New York. Inside the club, a wild dance ensues that leads Millie and Jimmy to dance together ("The Nutty Cracker Suite"). The joint is then raided. While mug shots are being taken, Jimmy and Millie get to know each other better: he's from Long Island and currently flits from job to job to support his lifestyle. In the jail

4 cell, Jimmy watches Millie sleep and tries to convince himself that he is not falling for her ("What Do I Need with Love"). The next morning, Jimmy tries to invite Millie to a Yankees game. She declines, telling him that her boss is her fiancé. Jimmy insists that they go to the game anyway, since his interest in her is not romantic. He tells her to bring Miss Dorothy, as well. At the Priscilla, Mrs. Meers enters in a laundry cart, sporting rubber gloves, surgical mask and scrubs, holding a rag and a bottle. She intends to knock Miss Dorothy out and cart her away. She chastises Ching Ho for losing his heart to Miss Dorothy and making her do this. Before she can follow through with her dastardly plan, Millie enters in a new dress to show the girls. Millie asks Mrs. Meers about the bottle. Mrs. Meers claims that the bottle is soy sauce and that she was using it to clean the carpet. Millie and Miss Dorothy go to meet Jimmy, who has gotten them an invitation to a welcome home party for Muzzy Van Hossmere in her glamorous penthouse. The glamorous Muzzy enters, singing the praises of New York City ("Only in New York"). Muzzy's guests include New York's elite, like the Gershwins and Dorothy Parker. Jimmy enters with Millie and Miss Dorothy, explaining to Millie that his father was the gardener at Muzzy's Long Island estate. Miss Dorothy meets Rodney, an old friend from the orphanage, and she, Jimmy and Rodney leave. Muzzy tells Millie that, although the now-deceased Mr. Van Hossmere was very wealthy, she married him for love before she knew his means. During the dancing, Millie spills champagne on Dorothy Parker's dress. Muzzy tells Jimmy that he is in love with Millie and asks what he is going to do about it. On the terrace, Jimmy calms Millie down after she has stained Parker's dress with champagne and soy sauce. The conversation turns to Mr. Graydon. They argue over Millie's plan, going nose-to-nose when Jimmy grabs Millie and kisses her passionately. She responds, and Jimmy exits in a panic. Millie realizes that she is in love with Jimmy ("Jimmy"). The stage changes to the Hotel Priscilla, where Millie walks in to catch sight of Jimmy leaving Miss Dorothy's room and asking her not to tell Millie. Shocked and brokenhearted, Millie watches him go. Act Two At Sincere Trust, Millie will not pick up the phone to talk to Jimmy. Office manager, Miss Flannery, and the other girls urge her to move on. They all have boys in their life that they need to forget ("Forget about the Boy"). Meanwhile, Millie's attempts to flirt with Graydon fall flat. Jimmy shows up, which only interferes further with her plan. Miss Dorothy's presence reminds Millie of the previous night, but the two ladies make up; Miss Dorothy tells Millie that she was just hit on in her audition. Millie encourages Miss Dorothy to toughen up and become a modern, starting with bobbing her hair. Graydon enters and sees Miss Dorothy. They stare at one another and are smitten ("Ah! Sweet Mystery of Life" /

5 "I'm Falling in Love with Someone"). Graydon asks Miss Dorothy to dinner and begs her not to alter her lovely appearance. Elsewhere in the building, Jimmy crawls onto a window ledge in order to avoid Flannery and to get Millie's attention. Millie asks him why he was kissing Miss Dorothy, and he replies that he asked for Miss Dorothy's advice about his feelings for her; Jimmy realizes that he loves Millie ("I Turned a Corner"). The two decide to dine at the Cafe Society that night, where Muzzy will be performing. Millie, Jimmy, Graydon and Miss Dorothy all profess their love while Ching Ho enters and professes his own love for Miss Dorothy ("I'm Falling in Love with Someone Reprise"). Back at the Hotel Priscilla, Mrs. Meers stalks Miss Dorothy, this time with pesticide spray guns. When Ching Ho balks, Mrs. Meers reminds him that he is trying to get his mother to New York. She brings to mind the memory of Bun Foo and Ching Ho's mother, and they recommit to the job ("Muquin"). That night at the floorshow at Cafe Society, Muzzy performs her number ("Long as I'm Here with You"). Millie and Jimmy listen to her sing from the kitchen, where they are washing dishes. Millie visits Muzzy in her dressing room, where she tells Muzzy that she is crazy about Jimmy, but she doesn't want a lifetime of washing dishes in a restaurant kitchen. Muzzy tells Millie that her plan to marry her boss is flawed because, even though she originally thought Mr. Van Hossmere was poor, she married him for love and never regretted it. Millie realizes that she must follow her heart ("Gimme Gimme"). In another part of Cafe Society a man is singing about a lost love; Millie discovers that it is Graydon. Miss Dorothy has stood him up. He even went to the hotel, but she had already checked out. Jimmy overhears and is convinced that something is very wrong. Millie realizes that two orphan girls disappeared without a word to anyone but Mrs. Meers. The three of them decide that they need a decoy orphan, and Millie knows someone who will help them. Muzzy enters the Hotel Priscilla, disguised as an ingénue, wearing a blond wig and carrying a beat up suitcase. Although Mrs. Meers thinks that the new girl is a little long in the tooth to be an orphan, she welcomes her to the hotel and offers her some green tea. Meanwhile, upstairs, Ching Ho vows to help the gagged and bound Miss Dorothy. Mrs. Meers finally recognizes Muzzy, and Muzzy realizes that Mrs. Meers is Daisy Crumple, who was kicked out of the chorus when they were younger. Mrs. Meers reveals her new profession. Millie, who is hiding in another laundry cart, transcribes the entire conversation ("The Speed Test Reprise"). Mrs. Meers demands proof, and Bun Foo says that he speaks English and will testify against her. While they search for Miss Dorothy, Mrs. Meers escapes. Miss Dorothy is discovered in an embrace with Ching Ho, who has rescued her from an unspeakable fate ("Ah! Sweet Mystery Reprise"). The boarders at the hotel, armed with pesticide cans of their own, find Mrs. Meers and force her to follow them to the police station. Jimmy proposes to Millie and, even though he is poor, she accepts. After she agrees to marry Jimmy, she finds out that he is actually Muzzy's stepson, Herbert

6 J. Van Hossmere, the Third. Miss Dorothy also turns out to be Jimmy's sister, Dorothy Carnegie Mellon Vanderbilt Van Hossmere. Muzzy, afraid of fortune hunters and James squandering his money on the wrong kind of women, sent the children out with 25 dollars and the hopes that they would come back with proper sweet partners, which they did. Bun Foo acquires a job as Graydon's stenographer and he and Ching Ho greet their mama in a joyous family reunion ("Finale"). Character Breakdown Millie Dillmount A spunky, modern woman trying to make it in New York City. She falls in love with Jimmy. Our story's protagonist. Age: 20 to 25 Vocal range top: E5 Vocal range bottom: G#3 Jimmy Smith A suave city slicker who unexpectedly becomes the story's hero. He falls in love with Millie. Gender: Male Age: 20 to 30 Vocal range top: A4 Vocal range bottom: C3 Mrs. Meers A former actress turned human trafficker pretending to be a kindly chinese woman. She oversees the Hotel Priscilla where she secretly sells her tenants. Age: 45 to 55 Vocal range top: Bb4 Vocal range bottom: E3 Miss Dorothy Brown A naive, wealthy girl who has moved to New York to change her lifestyle. She becomes Millie's roommate and confidant. Age: 20 to 25 Vocal range top: C6 Vocal range bottom: B3 Ching Ho A Chinese immigrant working to bring his mother to the United States. Younger brother of Bun Foo and henchman to Mrs. Meers. Sings and speaks in chinese.

7 Gender: Male Age: 18 to 25 Vocal range top: E4 Vocal range bottom: Bb2 Bun Foo A Chinese immigrant working to bring his mother to the United States. Older brother of Ching Ho and henchman to Mrs. Meers. Sings and speaks in chinese. Gender: Male Age: 20 to 30 Vocal range top: E4 Vocal range bottom: E3 Miss Flannery An uptight, stern office manager. She runs the stenographer pool at Sincere Trust Insurance Company. Age: 35 to 45 Vocal range top: D5 Vocal range bottom: Bb3 Trevor Graydon An executive at the Sincere Trust Insurance Company. He is sharp, ambitious, and secretly romantic. Gender: Male Age: 30 to 40 Vocal range top: G4 Vocal range bottom: A2 Muzzy Van HossmereA glamorous actress and singer at a night club. She becomes Millie's friend and mentor. Age: 35 to 45 Vocal range top: D5 Vocal range bottom: G#3 Ensemble Moderns; Stenographers; Hotel Priscilla Girls; Muzzy's Boys

8 CCHS FINE ARTS COMPANY PRESENTS THOROUGHLY MODERN MILLIE DATE: CONTACT INFO NAME: GRADE LEVEL: PARENT OR GUARIAN S NAME: PHONE: PARENT ADDRESS: ROLE DESIRED: WILL YOU ACCEPT ANY ROLE ( YES NO ) DO YOU HAVE TAP EXPERIENCE? IF SO EXPLAIN HOW MUCH. REHEARSAL/PERFORMANCE INFORMATION Please list all acting, singing, and dancing training and experience (you may use the back of the page): Please Let list any confilcts from January May 5th (Note: After school rehearsals will be Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays)

JEFFERSON HIGH SCHOOL THEATRE DEPARTMENT AUDITION FORM

JHS SPRING MUSICAL, THOROUGHLY MODERN JEFFERSON HIGH SCHOOL THEATRE DEPARTMENT AUDITION FORM Name: Grade: Phone number: Email address: Age: Gender: Height: PLEASE LIST WHICH PARTS YOU WOULD BE MOST INTERESTED