Thoroughly Modern Millie 2008

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     Millie Dillmount escapes to New York City from Salina, Kansas determined to marry her wealthy boss - whoever he may be. Bobbing her hair and assuming the modern look of a "flapper," she takes a room at the Hotel Priscilla for Women and gets a job as a stenographer at the Sincere Trust Insurance Company. In short time, she finds herself involved with Jimmy Smith, a poor but fun-loving paper-clip salesman; Miss Dorothy Brown, a gentle aspiring actress who never seems to have spare change; several other stagestruck young women staying at the hotel; and Muzzy van Hossmere, a madcap Manhattan cabaret singer and heiress with a zest for the high life and a glamorous penthouse.

     Millie's pompous but wealthy boss, whom she intends to marry, is Trevor Graydon III. But trouble comes in several respects. First, Millie is falling for Jimmy, but she fears that Jimmy is having a fling with Millie's new friend, Miss Dorothy. In addition, the hotel proprietress, the mysterious and sinister Mrs. Meers (whose catch line is, "So sad to be all alone in the world"), employs two Chinese henchmen, Ching Ho and Bun Foo (who don't speak English). They must help Mrs. Meers to kidnap any orphaned women checking into her hotel as part of her dealings in white slavery, so that they can bring their elderly mother to America. One of the potential kidnap victims is Miss Dorothy. Millie tries to seduce Mr. Graydon, until she finds out that Dorothy and Mr. Graydon are in love. Ching Ho also falls in love with Miss Dorothy.

     Jimmy finally declares his feelings for Millie. Millie, Jimmy, and Mr. Graydon realize what Mrs. Meers is up to. They persuade Muzzy to pose as a new orphan in town. Mrs. Meers takes the bait and is exposed as the mastermind of the slavery ring. But Ching Ho has already rescued Miss Dorothy and won her heart. Jimmy proposes to Millie, and, poor as he is, she accepts, "because if it's marriage I've got in mind, love has everything to do with it." Jimmy turns out to be Herbert J. Van Hossmere III, Muzzy's stepson, and one of the most eligible bachelors in the world. Miss Dorothy turns out to be his sister, an heiress, and she ends up not with Trevor Graydon, but with Ching Ho. In a final pairing, Bun Foo becomes Graydon's new stenographer.

Oklahoma! 2007

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Act One

     Curly McLain, a cowboy, is in love with Laurey Williams, a farm girl, but they both are too proud and stubborn to show it. A rivalry between the local farmers and cowboys over fences and water rights leads to tension, even in romance. Curly looks forward to the beautiful day ahead as he wanders into Laurey's yard ("Oh, What A Beautiful Mornin'"). He and Laurey tease each other, while Laurey's Aunt Eller looks on. There will be a box social dance that night, which includes an auction of lunch baskets prepared by the local girls (to raise funds for a schoolhouse). Curly asks Laurey to be his partner, but she refuses. He attempts to persuade her by telling her that he will take her in the finest carriage money can buy ("The Surrey With The Fringe On Top"), but it turns out that he made it up, and Laurey storms away.

     The sinister and dark-hearted outsider, farm hand Jud Fry, appears. He also sets his sights on Laurey and asks her to the dance. She accepts to spite Curly, despite being afraid of Jud. Meanwhile, cowboy Will Parker returns bedazzled and souvenir-laden from a trip to modern "Kansas City". But he is upset that his girlfriend, Ado Annie, invites romancing from other men ("I Cain't Say No"). While he has been away, she has been spending a lot of time with Ali Hakim, a Persian peddler, who appreciates her passion but doesn't want to get married ("It's a Scandal! It's an Outrage!"), for that would put an end to his traveling life.

     Curly discovers that Laurey is going to the box social with Jud and tries to convince her to go with him instead. Afraid to tell Jud she won't go with him, Laurey playfully warns Curly off ("People Will Say We're In Love"). Hurt by her refusal, Curly goes to the smokehouse where his rival lives, and the two indulge in idle banter about Jud's reputation ("Pore Jud Is Daid"). Their talk turns into an ominous confrontation, punctuated by alarming but harmless gunplay. Once Curly departs, Jud's resolve to win Laurey becomes even stronger – he is tired of being on his own ("Lonely Room"). Confused and fraught by her feelings for Curly and her fear of Jud, Laurey muses ("Out of My Dreams"), then falls asleep, dreaming ("Dream Ballet") of what marriage to Curly would be like. Her dream takes a nightmarish turn when Jud replaces Curly, and she cannot escape him. The dream makes her realize that Curly is the right man for her, but it is far too late to change her mind about going to the dance with Jud; they leave for the box social.

Act Two

     At the social, the farmers and ranchers meet. Both sides state the merits of their way of life, while Aunt Eller tries – and eventually succeeds – in getting them to make peace ("The Farmer and The Cowman"). The auction starts out frivolously, but becomes much more serious when Laurey's basket comes up for auction. Curly is so determined to outbid Jud that he sells his prized possessions: his saddle, his horse, and even his gun. It is made apparent to all watching that the rivals are fighting not for the basket, but for Laurey herself. Will bids 50 dollars on Ado Annie's basket in hopes of getting her for a wife. (Ado Annie's father said that if Will ever got $50 he could marry her.) But Will realizes that by bidding the $50, he no longer has the money to "purchase" Ado Annie. Desperate to be rid of Ado Annie, the peddler bids $51 and gets the basket, and Will claims Ado Annie as his prize. Later that night, the couple work out their differences ("All Or Nothin'"). Jud confronts Laurey about his feelings for her. When she admits that she doesn't return them, he threatens her. She then fires him as her farm hand, screaming at him to get off of her property. Furious, Jud threatens Laurey before he departs. Laurey bursts into tears and calls for Curly, and when he arrives, she bravely recounts her final encounter with Jud, including the fact that she wants no more to do with him. Curly is so happy that he proposes to her, and she accepts ("People Will Say We're In Love (Reprise)").

     Three weeks later, a drunken Jud reappears the morning after Curly and Laurey's wedding. He attacks Curly and in the ensuing confrontation accidentally falls on his own knife, killing himself. At Aunt Eller's urging, the wedding guests hold a makeshift trial for Curly. The judge, Ado Annie's father, declares the verdict "not guilty!" and everyone rejoices ("Oklahoma!") in celebration of the territory's impending statehood. After more rejoicing, Curly and Laurey depart on their honeymoon.
 

The King & I 2006

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Act One

     Mrs. Anna Leonowens, a widow from Wales, arrives in Bangkok, Siam with her young son Louis to teach English to the children of the royal household. Though both are nervous, Anna teaches Louis to whistle a happy tune so they do not look or feel afraid ("I Whistle a Happy Tune"). The Kralahome of Siam (a sort of Prime Minister) greets Anna and tells Anna she will live in the palace. Anna asserts that her contract requires that she be given her own house. She agrees to live in the palace until she can speak to the King himself about her house.

     Lun Tha, an emissary from Burma, brings the King of Siam a gift from the Prince of Burma. The gift is a beautiful young woman named Tuptim. Lun Tha and Tuptim had fallen in love during their journey to Siam, unbeknownst to the King. Tuptim reflects that though the King sees her as a slave loyal only to him, she secretly loves Lun Tha ("My Lord and Master").

     The Kralahome introuduces Anna to the King, who ignores Anna's questions about her house and instead emphasizes the importance of bringing western culture to Siam. Lady Thiang, the King's head wife, explains to Anna that in Siam, and especially in the palace, the King cannot be questioned. Though Tuptim is heartbroken by her separation from Lun Tha, Lady Thiang maintains that she should be happy because she is in the King's palace. Anna remembers Tom, her husband, and wishes that all young lovers could be as happy as they were ("Hello, Young Lovers"). Since Tuptim, unlike most slaves, can read English, Anna lets her borrow some of her books, including Uncle Tom's Cabin.

     The King introduces Anna to his many children she will teach("March of the Siamese Children"). Anna teaches them English songs ("Home Sweet Home") and proverbs involving the theme of "home", subtly remiding the King of her request for a house of her own. The King also very much wishes to absorb western knowledge, but is sometimes conflicted over how to reconcile western ways with his own. He declares it is "A Puzzlement" trying to determine what is right and good.

     Anna and the King's children become friends ("The Royal Bangkok Academy"/"Getting to Know You). Anna replaces the abstract, inaccurate classroom map with a new world map. The children admire the beautiful map but are angered by how small Siam is compared to the rest of the world. Anna tries to explain snow and ice, and the children insist such a thing cannot exist. The King sternly tells the children that they must listen to Anna and believe what she tells them. Anna again asks for a house and the King refuses.

     Anna has been helping Lun Tha and Tuptim meet secretly ("We Kiss in a Shadow"). Alone, Anna angrily declares that she will leave Bangkok since the King is stubborn and proud and refuses to honor their contract ("Shall I Tell You What I Think of You?"). Lady Thiang urges Anna to stay, explaining that the King needs her help and advice but is too proud to ask. A British letter describing him as a barbarian and urging the annexation of Siam as a protectorate as been discovered. Lady Thiang tells Anna that the King has many ideas and dreams for Siam but needs support from both of them ("Something Wonderful").

     Anna helps the King plan a dinner, a ball, and a theatrical production for the visit of Sir Edward Ramsay, a British diplomat. The King and the court pray to Buddha for help in impressing the British, and the King mentions in the prayer that he will build Anna a the house she has requested.


Act Two

     The King's wives are perplexed by the new hoopskirts they must wear to the dinner ("Western People Funny"). Ramsay arrives and the King soon realizes that he and Anna are old friends. The king is jealous and escorts Anna to dinner himself.

     Tuptim and Lun Tha plan to meet during the party, but Lady Thiang warns Tuptim not to go. Tuptim ignores her warning and she and Lun Tha plan to leave Siam together ("I Have Dreamed"). Tuptim will leave the palace after presenting the theatrical entertainment for the party. She will join Lun Tha on his ship back to Burma. They tell Anna their plan and she approves it, remembering her love for Tom.

     The theatrical entertainment is an elaborately choreographed Siamese version of Uncle Tom's Cabin, written and narrated by Tuptim ("The Small House of Uncle Thomas"). The story concerns the slave Eliza's escape from wicked Simon Legree. The King does not approve of the moral of the play, but Sir Edward is impressed by the entire evening and certainly believes that the King is not a barbarian.

     To thank Anna for her help, the King presents her with one of his rings as a gift. The King receives word that Tuptim is missing. He presumes she has hidden from him because she knows he disapproved of her play. Anna tries to convince the King that he should be more lenient with Tuptim; she is only one woman among the many women in his household. The King recites a Siamese proverb comparing women to flowers and men to bees; the bee flies from blossom to blossom, but the flowers must remain contstant ("Song of the King"). Anna tells the king that the English feel quite differently about romance; she tries to describe the feelings of a young girl at her first dance, waiting to be asked for the first time to dance ("Shall We Dance"). Carried along by her memories, she dances a little but stops when she realizes the King is watching her. The King asks her to teach him to dance like the English do. Anna begins teaching a polka, holding his hands with arms outstreached. The King learns quickly and dances happily until he realizes that they are not dancing as the English people did at the ball. He insists on dancing as a couple and puts his arm around her waist as they dance again.

     The Kralahome interrupts, announcing that Tuptim has been found trying to escape with her lover Lun Tha. Lun Tha is dead and Tuptim wishes to die too. Anna urges the King not to beat the girl; he states he will do so anyway. Anna accuses him of being incapable of love. The King finds himself unable to whip Tuptim(presumably due to Anna's influence on him) and storms out. The Kralahome angrily accuses Anna of destroying the King with Western ideas; he declares it would have been better if she had never come to Bangkok. Anna gives the Kralahome the ring given to her by the King and asks him to return it to him. She will leave Bangkok by the next boat.

     As Anna is preparing to leave, Lady Thiang brings her a letter from the King explaining that he is dying. In the letter, the King tells how he has tried to improve Siam through good Western ideas, admits his failings, and thanks Anna for her help. Anna goes to him, and the children are called in to see their father for the last time. The children beg Anna not to leave, and Prince Chulalongkorn, who will be the next king, asks for Anna's help. Anna declares she will stay. The King urges his son to assert his leadership, and he declares that from now on, no one will bow facedown to the King. They must stand proudly and bow only like the English do. As he issues this edit to the royal court, the old King dies and Anna takes his hand and kisses it.
 

Annie 2005

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     Eleven-year-old Annie is in an orphanage, presided over by Miss Hannigan, who keeps the little girl orphans in line by bullying and threatening them. The girls are ever hopeful that they will find parents and happiness ("Maybe") while Miss Hannigan is unhappy with her situation. Annie decides to escape to find her parents, running into a friendly dog (Sandy) ("Tomorrow") and the people made homeless because of the Great Depression ("Hooverville"). However, she is returned to the orphanage. Grace Farrell, Warbucks' assistant, picks her to live in Oliver "Daddy" Warbucks' palatial home for the Christmas holidays ("I Think I'm Gonna Like it Here").

     Although initially uncomfortable with each other, Annie and Daddy Warbucks soon come to love each other (You Won't Be An Orphan For Long). Warbucks wants to adopt her, but Annie insists that her parents will come for her. Over the radio show of Bert Healy, and with the help of President and Mrs. Roosevelt, Warbucks offers a reward for the parents ("You're Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile"). Miss Hannigan and her brother, Rooster, and his slightly ditzy girlfriend, Lily St. Regis, scheme to pretend to be the parents and collect the reward ("Easy Street"). When they are found out, it is revealed that Annie's parents have died. Warbucks and Annie become a family ("I Don't Need Anything But You").
 

Music Man 2004

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Act One

     On a train leaving Rock Island, Illinois, Charlie Cowell and other travelling salesmen in the car begin a heated argument about credit ("Rock Island"). Charlie and another salesman tell the others about a con man known as "Professor" Harold Hill, whose scam is to convince parents he can teach their musically disinclined children to play musical instruments. He takes pre-paid orders for instruments and uniforms with the promise that he will form a band, and then he skips town and moves on to the next one before he's exposed. The train arrives in River City, Iowa, and a stranger on the train stands up and declares, "Gentlemen, you've intrigued me. I think I'll have to give Iowa a try." He picks up his suitcase clearly labelled Professor Harold Hill and turns it around, and exits the train.

     The townspeople of River City describe their reserved, "chip-on-the-shoulder attitude" ("Iowa Stubborn"). Marcellus, Harold's old friend, tells him that Marian, the librarian who gives piano lessons, is the only one in town who knows about music. The local billiard parlor just got a new pool table, and as part of his scheme, Harold convinces River City parents "that game with the fifteen numbered balls is the devil's tool" ("Trouble"). Harold follows Marian home and flirts with her, but she rejects his advances. At home, Marian gives a piano lesson to a little girl named Amaryllis while arguing with her mother, Mrs. Paroo, about the stranger who followed her home and her "standards where men are concerned" ("Piano Lesson/If You Don't Mind My Saying So"). Marian's self-conscious, lisping younger brother Winthrop arrives home, and Amaryllis, who secretly likes him, asks Marian who she should say goodnight to on the evening star since she doesn't have a sweetheart. Marian tells her to just say "Goodnight, My Someone."

     The next day is Independence Day, and Mayor Shinn is leading the morning festivities in the high school gym, with the help of his wife, Eulalie Mackecknie Shinn ("Columbia, Gem of the Ocean"). Harold Hill interrupts the proceedings with a brilliant solution to the pool table problem: A boys' band! He leads the excited townspeople in "Seventy-Six Trombones". Mayor Shinn, who owns the billiard parlor, tells the feuding school board to get Harold's credentials, but Harold teaches them to sing as a Barbershop Quartet instead ("Ice Cream/Sincere"). Harold also sets up Zaneeta, the mayor's oldest girl, with Tommy Djilas, a boy from the wrong side of town, and persuades Tommy to become his assistant. Marian rejects Harold again, and he explains to Marcellus that "The Sadder But Wiser Girl" is the one he wants. The town ladies are very excited about the band and the ladies' dance committee Harold plans to form. He asks them about Marian, and they intimate to him that she had an inappropriate relationship with old miser Madison, who gave the town the library; they also warn Harold that she advocates dirty books ("Pick-a-Little, Talk-a-Little"). The school board arrives to collect Harold's credentials, but he leads them in singing "Goodnight, Ladies" and slips away.

     The next day, Harold walks into the library, but Marian ignores him. He declares eternal love for "Marian the Librarian," leading the teenagers in the library in dance. For a moment, Marian forgets her decorum and dances with Harold. He kisses her, and she tries to slap him. He ducks, and she hits Tommy Djilas instead. Harold signs up all the boys in town to be in his band, including Winthrop ("Gary, Indiana"). Mrs. Paroo likes Harold and tries to find out why Marian is not interested. Marian describes her ideal man ("My White Knight"). Marian tries to give Mayor Shinn evidence against Harold that she found in the Indiana State Educational Journal, but he and the rest of the townspeople are too excited about "The Wells Fargo Wagon," which is bringing the band instruments, to listen. When Winthrop forgets to be shy and self-conscious because he is so happy with his new cornet, Marian begins to fall in love with Harold. She tears the incriminating page out of the Journal before giving the book to Mayor Shinn.


Act Two

     The ladies rehearse their classical dance in the school gym while the school board practices their quartet ("It's You") for the ice cream social. Marcellus and the teenagers enter the gym and take over, dancing the "Shipoopi". Harold grabs Marian to dance with her, and all the teenagers join in. Marian tells Harold she has some questions about Winthrop's cornet. He says he doesn't need to learn notes. Professor Hill says this is his new Think System, and he arranges to call on Marian to discuss it. The town ladies ask Marian to join their dance committee, since she was so dear dancing with Professor Hill ("Pick-a-Little, Talk-a-Little" (reprise)). As for the supposedly dirty books, they eagerly tell Marian, "The Professor told us to read those books, and we simply adored them all!"

     That night, the school board tries to collect Harold's credentials again, but he gets them to begin singing "Lida Rose" and slips away. Marian, meanwhile, is sitting on her front porch thinking of Harold, and, in counterpoint, asks herself, "Will I Ever Tell You?". Winthrop returns home after spending time with Harold and tells Marian and Mrs. Paroo about Harold's hometown, "Gary, Indiana". As Marian waits alone for Harold, Charlie Cowell enters with evidence against Harold, hoping to tell Mayor Shinn. He has to leave on the next train, but stops to flirt with Marian. She tries to delay him so he doesn't have time to deliver the evidence, eventually kissing him. As the train whistle blows, she pushes him away. Charlie angrily tells Marian that Harold has a girl in "every county in Illinois, and he's taken it from every one of them – and that's 102 counties!"

     Harold arrives, and after he reminds her of the untrue rumors he's heard about her, she convinces herself that Charlie invented everything he told her. They agree to meet at the footbridge, where Marian tells him the difference he's made in her life ("Till There Was You"). Marcellus interrupts and tells Harold that the uniforms have arrived. He urges Harold to take the money and run, but Harold refuses to leave, insisting, "I've come up through the ranks... and I'm not resigning without my commission". He returns to Marian, who tells him that she knows he's a fraud, but she still loves him. He said he was a graduate of Gary Conservatory, Gold-Medal Class of '05, but the town wasn't even built until '06! Harold walks her home, and she sings "Goodnight my Someone" while he sings "Seventy-Six Trombones". Harold realizes that he is in love with Marian, and each sings the other's song.

     Meanwhile, Charlie Cowell, who has missed his train, arrives at the ice cream social and denounces Harold Hill as a fraud. The townspeople begin an agitated search for Harold. Winthrop is heartbroken and tells Harold that he wishes Harold never came to River City. But Marian tells Winthrop that she believes everything Harold ever said, for it did come true in the way every kid in town talked and acted that summer. She and Winthrop urge Harold to get away. He chooses to stay and tells Marian that he never really fell in love "Till There Was You" (reprise) as the townspeople handcuff and lead him away.

     Mayor Shinn is leading a meeting in the high school gym to decide what to do with Harold, asking, "Where's the band? Where's the band?" Tommy enters as a drum major, followed by the kids in uniform with their instruments. Marian urges Harold to lead the band, and when he does, he is rewarded with unanticipated redemption: uncritical parents marvel and cheer as the River City Boys' Band performs the Minuet in G. Harold is released into Marian's arms, and everyone lives happily ever after.

My Fair Lady 2003

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     The first encounter between Professor Henry Higgins, the brilliant, crotchety, middle-aged bachelor who is England's leading phoneticist, and Eliza Doolittle, the little cockney gutter sparrow, takes place near the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, late on a cold March night. Eliza is selling violets. Higgins is out on his endless quest for new dialects of London's speech. A handsome young aristocrat, Freddy Eynsford-Hill, takes no notice of her when she tries to sell him violets. Colonel Pickering, also a linguistic expert, comes to stay with Higgins at his flat. Eliza's squalid father, Alfred Doolittle, outlines his optimistic if somewhat unorthodox philosophy of life in the rousing With a Little Bit of Luck.

     Eliza comes to Higgins' flat to be instructed in the English language, in order to transform herself into a "lidy." Pickering challenges Higgins to "metamorphose the guttersnipe into a paragon of verbal correctitude." Higgins looks upon her not as a person but as raw material for his experiment; he drills Eliza for weeks. As no hint of progress is made Eliza loses her courage, Higgins loses his temper and even Pickering's patience wears thin. In her anger and futility, Eliza creates a set of mean fantasies involving her professor.

     At last she improves, and they all proclaim the victor in The Rain in Spain. In the flush of his first success, Higgins puts Eliza to a preliminary test. He will introduce her to his mother's snobbish guests at the Ascot Race Meeting the following week. Eliza expresses her own towering exaltation in I Could Have Danced All Night. While not romantic, her sense of triumph is tied up with a new feeling for Higgins. Eliza, strikingly pretty in her new gown and hairdo, appears at the races. Instructed to restrict her conversation to the weather and everyone's health, she says her little set pieces flawlessly. The illusion is shattered when her enthusiasm for the horse she is backing impels her to indulge in a bout of violently unladylike cheering.

     Freddy Eynsford-Hill falls hopelessly in love with the new Eliza, and later pours out On the Street Where You Live at her window. Six weeks later Higgins, in a crucial test, presents Eliza at a full-dress Embassy ball. She is the object of admiration and everyone speculates on her identity. It becomes obvious that Eliza must charm Karpathy, a European phonetics expert. At the height of the ball, Karpathy invites her to dance and comments on the pureness of her English.

     Pickering and Higgins, back at the flat, indulge in self congratulation. Neither of them takes into account Eliza's personal accomplishment in the matter. Eliza has absorbed the sophistication and the courage to see the unfairness of this, and she blows up, demanding recognition. The Professor is not so much affronted as astonished; it is as though a statue had come to life and spoken.

     Infuriated and frustrated, Eliza storms out of the house. She encounters Freddy and turns her fury on him. Eliza aimlessly walks the streets of the town, the remainder of the night. She encounters her father, drunk and dressed for a fashionable wedding. He has become wealthy, and Eliza's mother is marrying him at last. Doolittle gives an account of his celebrations in Get Me to the Church on Time.

     Higgins discovers that he is hurt because Eliza left him. He meets her at his mother's flat where she has gone for advice. They argue violently and she storms out. It is only a moment after her departure that Higgins finally wakes up to the fact that Eliza has become an entirely independent and admirable human being. He realizes that he will have a difficult time getting on without her. This he admits to himself in I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face.

     Back at his flat he sinks into his chair prepared to face a bleak, lonely future. But just then-a moment before the final curtain falls-a figure emerges from the shadowy corner of the room, and Higgins recognizes Eliza. He leans back with a long, contented sigh and speaks softly: "Eliza? Where the devil are my slippers?"
 

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