Props for "Thoroughly Modern Millie"

*ALL PROPS HAVE SINCE BEEN SOLD TO ANOTHER SCHOOL. SORRY.

POISON SPRAYERS
I bought 3 Nickelodeon Green Slime squirt guns at Walmart and painted them copper color to act as poison sprayers in the hotel hallway scene and again when the girls go to the laundry. (Click photo to enlarge).


JAIL SIGNS
I cut out two dozen signs from scraps of 1/4" Masonite paneling. Then on our "Parent Blitz" Saturday, I had a parent volunteer paint numbers on the signs: (Click photo to enlarge).


Here is the bit in the jail. We just played it in front of our black traveler: (Click photo to enlarge).


TYPING DESKS
Our director wanted to use every girl that auditioned in the chorus, so she asked for 13 sets of rolling desks, typewriters and telephones for the secretaries. I stole some nasty old school desks from our school maintenance supply. Below, the desks are torn apart to be recycled as "typing desks". Each will get a steel frame welded to the bottom along with four caster wheels.


The plastic seats are painted black before the new desk tops are added to them:


TYPEWRITERS
The crew constructs fake Underwood Typewriters out of thick styrofoam covered in vinyl, which a rod added for the drum, and later, a piece of typing paper:


CANDLESTICK TELEPHONE
We drank a dozen "Fuze" sports drinks and sawed off the tops of the bottles to form the piece of the telephone that you hold up to your ear:


Then the other part of the phone that you speak into was made from plastic Dixie cups. My crew paints the mock candlestick telephones:


The hook for handing up the ear-set was made from a shovel holder from Home Depot. The telephones are painted black, almost done:


Now here are some typewriter scenes in the show. First, the secretaries enter, rolling their desks: (Click photo to enlarge).


Millie attempts to take dictation. Notice her fake candlestick telephone and the fake typewriters on all the girls' desks: (Click photo to enlarge).


Millie is on her candlestick telephone alone at her desk as the other two discover love-at-first-sight: (Click photo to enlarge).


And the final product. My phone and typewriters may have been quick and rudimentary props if seen up close, but keep in mind that in our 600 seat proscenium theater, our audience is at least 30 feet away. Click photo to enlarge:


*ALL MILLIE PROPS HAVE SINCE BEEN SOLD TO ANOTHER SCHOOL. SORRY.