POWERS SHOW PREVIEW Broadway hit tells love story

The song-and-dance musical is set in the Roaring Twenties.
By L. CROW
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
YOUNGSTOWN -- "Tons and tons of fun" is how Adam Zelasko describes the Broadway musical hit "Thoroughly Modern Millie," coming to Edward W. Powers Auditorium.
He plays the lead male role of Jimmy and shared his thoughts about the show as he traveled on the tour bus. Zelasko, 23, is originally from Buffalo. He took over the role in January.
"This is such a great love story," he said. "You can't help but fall in love with the characters. Millie is a girl from small-town Kansas who comes to New York City to find a rich man to marry. She meets Jimmy, who is sort of a womanizer, living from job to job, doing everything from ushering at theaters to being a ferry boat guide and selling popcorn at Yankees games."
But it isn't only the romantic story line that will sweep the audience away. The show is set in the Roaring Twenties and is filled with song and dance from that era -- jazz, tap, the Charleston.
The story is based on the 1967 film by Richard Morris, which was turned into a Broadway musical that won six Tony Awards in 2002. It ended its Broadway run in 2004, then began touring throughout the United States and United Kingdom.
What happens next
"When Millie arrives in New York, she gets mugged and is looking for someone to help her," Zelasko continued. "Jimmy is walking by, and she trips him. At first, they don't like each other, and he tells her to go back to Kansas. But she goes to a hotel and stays there on credit and soon finds a job as a stenographer. Her boss is rich, and she thinks that's the man she wants to marry."
But, of course, she and Jimmy end up falling in love. "Millie and her friends go to a speakeasy, where they run into Jimmy, and they all get arrested," Zelasko said. "Jimmy is impressed that Millie is still in New York, and that's when he realizes he is falling in love with her."
Zelasko says both of the characters grow, and we learn a secret about Jimmy that changes everything. "Throughout the play, we see Jimmy grow up," he said. "He is a spoiled, womanizing bachelor, blowing all his money. Millie doesn't fall head over heels for him -- she treats him differently than the other women. That's why he falls for her.
"And Millie learns that it is love that is most important. She is this spitfire girl, fresh out of Kansas who doesn't want to be a dried-up old grandmother at age 29. She is determined to have more in her life and thinks that she has to marry someone rich. To her, success is money. But she is befriended by a woman named Muzzy, who convinces her to follow her heart."
Zelasko said there are also lots of subplots going on, and the whole show gets pretty hysterically funny. And he said there is a song and dance to satisfy everyone's taste.
"Jimmy is kind of a crooner -- sings the jazzy stuff," he said. "Millie is the 'theater style' type, and Muzzy sings the blues. Millie's boss, Trevor, is a 'mock opera' singer. There is lots of dancing, especially tap. One of the neat numbers is in the office where Millie works as a stenographer, and the tap shoes become the sound of the typewriters. And we have rented the original Broadway costumes. The set is big and beautiful. There is a lot of visual excitement onstage."