BOLD, abrasive and thoroughly entertaining, the 21st century Millie cuts to the chase of marrying her boss with precious little charm or sentimentality. Stick-thin Donna Steele is more Carol Channing than Julie Andrews from the famous 1967 film but she's a storming choice as leading lady when it comes to song and dance. Having abandoned my favourite scene of tap-dancing to make the Hotel Priscilla's ancient lift work - sadly, due to the technical difficulties of touring - and brought in a few crowd-pleasers filched from Gilbert and Sullivan, the show speeds through the tale of the search for love in New York against a backdrop of girls being sold into white slavery.

Equipped with the worst Chinese accent since Arthur Mullard, Lesley Joseph whoops it up as Mrs Meers, the dastardly hotel keeper. Her two Chinese assistants Unku and Yo Santhavessuk, as brothers Bun Foo and Ching Ho, complete with subtitles, are an unexpected hit to the point of the plot gaining an ending you'd least expect.

There's no shortage of supporting cast who can bounce a song off the back wall, starting with Grace Kennedy as the socialite Muzzy Van Hossmere. The theatre-filling voices of Robyn North, as Mrs Meers' final target Miss Dorothy Brown, and Andrew Kennedy, as Millie's boss Trevor Graydon, produce the night's best song of I'm Falling In Love With Someone. Millie, of course, accepts second best with chancer Jimmy Smith (Richard Reynard), who turns out to be a multi-millionaire in disguise. They do actually write 'em like that these days.

* Runs until May 14. Box Office: 0870 905 5060.

Published: 05/05/2005