It's easy for actor Brian Jose to connect with the story line in "Thoroughly Modern Millie." Like the protagonist in this musical comedy playing at Beef & Boards Dinner Theatre, Jose left the Midwest behind to pursue his Broadway dreams.

Now the Indianapolis native is back onstage in his hometown for the second time since leaving a decade ago.

"If you want to be a successful theater performer, you have to move to New York," said Jose who studied theater at Indiana University after graduating from Brebeuf Jesuit Preparatory School. "Most performers I meet in New York aren't from New York. They're from Ohio or Indiana or Kansas. And we all have that similar dream of moving to the big city and making a name for ourselves."

Jose, 32, made his first return to Indianapolis as a performer in 2004 when "Miss Saigon" finished its national tour here. Jose spent two years with that production.

As an Asian-American stage actor, Jose's role options are somewhat limited. That's why he's performed in five productions of "Miss Saigon" -- one of the few Broadway shows with Asian leads.

"As much as I love the show, I would love to do other shows and other leads," he said. "It's just a matter of finding directors who are bold enough and believe in their productions enough to put together a multiracial cast. It's just a matter of opening your mind to other possibilities."

In "Thoroughly Modern Millie" he plays a Chinese immigrant. Jose, who is of Filipino descent, has also played Vietnamese, Argentinean, Egyptian, Burmese, El Salvadoran and Indian characters.

"In that way it's fantastic, because we do get the opportunity to play all of these ethnicities," he said.

This is Jose's first time to perform in a production of "Thoroughly Modern Millie," an acclaimed musical based on the 1967 film staring Julie Andrews. And he's looking forward to doing something a little different.

"It's quite a funny part," he said of his character, Bun Foo. "Having made a career of playing evil characters in such serious shows, it's great to do a comedy and get some laughs for once."

Anthony Ong, 25, plays Jose's comedic counterpart -- his brother, Ching Ho -- in the musical. They also worked together in the production of "Miss Saigon" that came to Indianapolis.

"The interaction between our characters is hilarious," Ong said. "It's going to be an advantage to me and Brian. We can play off of each other and make this a lot of fun."