WHY not come and join more than 40 Students of the Northavon School of Drama, who perform as the Northavon Youth Theatre Company, in a lavish 40th anniversay production of the 1920s madcap musical Thoroughly Modern Millie?

It’s 1922 and young ladies are flattening their chests, raising their skirts and bobbing their hair, in pursuit of modernism, and another naive young lady (Millie) arrives in New York from Kansas, determined to follow the ‘modern’ grand plan: find a job as a Secretary and then marry the wealthy Boss. Unfortunately, the owner of Millie’s dingy hotel is involved in people trafficking, while the man Millie actually falls for appears to be penniless (or should that be dimeless?) and can the quaint, well-spoken new female arrival really be as innocent as she appears? Add in a curmudgeonly Stenographer, a glamorous, yet kind Stepmother, plus two Chinese illegal immigrants and you have the perfect mystery, tinged with romance, just waiting to be discovered.

Interwoven throughout the story, we hear such catchy tunes as Forget About The Boy and The Speed Test, with a nod to Gilbert and Sullivan, plus surprisingly beautiful ballads like I’m Falling In Love With Someone and the heartrending Jimmy, or the Billie Holliday style number: Only In New York.

Social commentary on How The Other Half Lives is balanced by an astonishing Chinese rendition of the Al Jolson favourite: Mammy! The Jazz Era features in They Don’t Know and What Do I Need With Love?, but the Moderns win out with crazy numbers like The Nuttycracker Suite, which might just sound familiar, plus the unforgettable tap dancing extravaganza: Thoroughly Modern Millie!

A nine-piece Band accompanies frisky Flappers, dashing male Dancers, a vile Villainess, a bombastic Boss, a mêlée of Moderns, illegal Aliens, White Slavery, a slinky Speakeasy and a myriad of madcap Merriment, brought to you through Tap, Charleston, Black Bottom and Soft Shoe routines, while magical sets and hundreds of colourful costumes provide a visual feast.

The production takes place at Thornbury’s Armstrong Hall, from 23 to 26 March, 2016, at 7.30 pm on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday & Saturday evenings, with a 2.30 pm Matinée on Easter Saturday. Just ring our Box Office number: 07980543691, send a postal booking with SAE to BONDS of Thornbury, 14 The Plain, Thornbury, BS35 2BD, or call into Wildings, in Thornbury High Street from 7 March. Visit www.nytc.org.uk for more details.

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