CMU School of Drama


Tuesday, February 04, 2014

After Complaints, 'Millie' Gets Thoroughly Modern Makeover for Dalton School

NYTimes.com: Leaders of the Dalton School, one of Manhattan’s top private schools, this month canceled a student production of the musical “Thoroughly Modern Millie” over concerns about the show’s use of Asian stereotypes and a subplot involving a white slavery ring in China, planning to replace it with a revue of the show’s songs instead.

1 comment:

Sarah Keller said...

Wait, Thoroughly Modern Millie only opened in 2002? I've seen this show and listened to the score a lot, and it always seemed so incredibly dated to me that I had always assumed it must have been something from at least the 50s. It's got some pretty racist and sexist undertones (and they get pretty blatant at times), and not much of a message. It might be because it's become a musical performed in every high school across america, but it never struck me as a very good show. It might be parodying attitudes in the 1920s, but that's not something that's going to translate to a high school stage. I agree that it's got some serious issues that need to be changed before it can be performed by 8th graders.