Character guide
Trevor Graydon
Trevor Graydon is the buttoned-up stenography-office boss in Thoroughly Modern Millie, the 2002 musical set amid the flapper culture of 1920s New York.
- Show
- Thoroughly Modern Millie
- Broadway premiere
- 2002
- Role
- Supporting
- Music by
- Jeanine Tesori
Trevor Graydon: from the film to Broadway
Broadway compared with the 1967 film
Marc Kudisch originated Trevor Graydon on Broadway in 2002; John Gavin played him in the 1967 film. Trevor is the wealthy boss Millie plans to marry as part of her thoroughly modern scheme, and in both versions his heart goes to Miss Dorothy instead. The difference is how that ends. In the film, Trevor and Miss Dorothy fall in love and marry. On stage, Miss Dorothy stands him up for their date and ends up with Ching Ho, one of Mrs. Meers's henchmen, leaving Trevor dismayed and alone.
Who is Trevor Graydon?
Trevor Graydon runs the office where Millie Dillmount lands a job in her scheme to marry her way up the social ladder. He is the picture of buttoned-down 1920s business propriety: proper, a little stiff, and unaware at first that he is being sized up as marriage material by his newest hire.
As the story unfolds, Graydon becomes more than just an authority figure. His growing, somewhat bumbling affection gives the musical one of its sweeter comic threads, contrasting nicely with the show's fizzy jazz-age energy and its darker subplot about a white slavery ring targeting young women in the city.
Trevor Graydon's role in Thoroughly Modern Millie
Graydon is a supporting character rather than the show's lead, but the role carries real weight in the plot and the score. He needs a strong, classically trained voice to match the operatic pastiche style Jeanine Tesori wrote into the score, since some of his numbers lean into deliberately over-the-top vocal flourishes.
Performers who take on Graydon get to play both sincerity and comedy at once: he is genuinely smitten, genuinely proper, and genuinely out of his depth, which makes him a fun, layered supporting part rather than a stock authority figure.
Trevor Graydon: frequently asked questions
What show is Trevor Graydon from?
Trevor Graydon appears in Thoroughly Modern Millie, the 2002 Broadway musical with music by Jeanine Tesori.
Is Trevor Graydon a lead or supporting role?
Trevor Graydon is a supporting role, though his romantic arc plays a meaningful part in the story.
What kind of performer suits the role of Trevor Graydon?
The part calls for a strong, polished singing voice, since his music draws on an operetta-style pastiche within the show's jazz-age sound.
Think you can name today's mystery character in eight guesses?
Play today's Character GuesserMore characters from Thoroughly Modern Millie
More characters with music by Jeanine Tesori
Thoroughly Modern Millie show guideMusical theatre characters A to Z