Thoroughly Modern Millie (Studio East)

After attending Thoroughly Modern Millie performed by Studio East at the Kirkland Performing Arts Center, I am reminded that one of the things that I love most about theater is when a performance can not only entertain you but also inspire you and make you reflect upon it and life. The danger of being a critic or reviewing works of art, is that over time we can become cynical or hyper-critical. We lose the spirit and heart of the show and begin to see only the technical implementation. This would be akin to evaluating poetry solely on rhyme and form over the author's ability to inspire us to see and feel their emotion. I read some reviews and I wonder if the reviewer was driven to find something to criticize, just so that they could feel like they were objective and doing their job. The problem is that all art is subjective, it is filtered through the observer. Therefore, our impressions speak more about us at times, than the actual subject of our review.

Studio East Training for the Performing Arts was founded in 1992 with the vision of creating a place where children and teens can learn about the theatrical arts. Their mission is simply, "Studio East creates opportunities for young people to discover and explore the performing arts." They believe that through that pursuit, children will learn the discipline, dedication and teamwork to be successful not only on the stage, but off the stage. They are correct. The beauty is that in learning this for themselves, they expose audiences to this idea as well. We catch glimpses of it and although we may not always be able to consciously recognize or articulate it, we are moved and for a time we are changed by it. This was my first time attending a performance by Studio East, so I took my seat without much expectation. I must say that I was delightfully surprised.