9-5

Many thanks to St Annes Parish Operatic Society for inviting me to watch their production of 9-5 the Musical at The Lowther Pavillion on Saturday 22nd July 2023. This production is a musical based on the 1980 film with music and lyrics by Dolly Parton. It features a book by Patricia Resnick, based on the screenplay by Resnick and Colin Higgins.

The show is set in 1979 America and is centred in the workplace of Consolidated Industries. It follows the story of three strong female characters, Judy, Violet and Doralee, working for egotistical misogynist Franklin Hart Jr. Having had enough of Hart's heinous behaviour, together they fantasise about getting their own back on him; before those fantasies suddenly become a shocking reality! It’s a story of friendship, romance, and seizing control of your future & addresses themes of female empowerment in the workplace, and male misogyny. 

Directed by Rosie Withers, this witty production was slick & dynamic & addressed the plot themes in a sensitive & tactful manner. There was a glowing pace to the production which served to heighten the energy & so increasing the comedic impact of some of the absurdity within the plot. For the main, the cast had deep & rounded characterizations, & the choice to have Hart played more caricatured allowed for deeper catharsis to transpire with the three female protagonists, investing the audience into their journeys further. The staging was dynamic & interesting & the scene changes were performed at pace & in time with the inter-scene vamps, which added to the pace & heightened energy feel of the production. I loved the great use of fantasy versus reality moments within the production, such as the number ‘Here for You’ whereby the moments sung to Doralee directly were as per the feel of the staging & the lights changing to a deep rich pink for the internal monologue of Hart, with a more stylised acting method occurring onstage, with Doralee miming in real-time while Hart was in his fantasy. This was echoed through the production & a lovely touch as they aligned to the narrative whereby the 3 protagonists’ intoxicated reveries materialised into the plot line. 

Musical direction was led by Chris Andrews who delivered expertly against the score. There wasn’t a note misplaced with the 11-strong orchestra and all instruments blended to the great balance. Vocal numbers were executed well across the production, with some skill & technique demonstrated through the principal leads & I made note of the stunning tight harmonies & blend of the 3 protagonist actors when they featured together.

The choreography was undertaken by Elaine Morrison, combining elements of musical staging, tap, jazz & show dance & was quite technical in places, & maximised the visual interest by creating dynamic lines and spacing shaped throughout the production. Elaine worked well with the different abilities of the cast & the choreography added to the high energy of the show.

I loved the set & lighting design for the production. Across the full breadth of upstage was a painted 2D landscape of skyscrapers, which depicted the hustle of a big city where the show is set. When the stage was front-lit, all of the details of the buildings showed, thematically on the inter scenes the structures were lit from behind, flooding a white backdrop in a wealth of colours & casting the skyscrapers into a shadow silhouette. The remainder of the set was minimalistic, mainly using trucks which helped situate the locations of the scenes well. I also loved the use of Dolly Parton as the narrator projection at the top & tail of the piece, contextualising the piece as a homage to Dolly’s music. Costumes & wigs were very detailed and fitting to the period, context & characters.

The cast as a whole did a fantastic job of delivering such a slick and energised production & should be commended for all their efforts. If I’m being nit-picky, I felt the ensemble cast members could have lifted their energy & projected their smiles more often, as the moments they were on stage, but not in a dance number or embedded in a scene felt a little laboured for them. 

The 3 leading females were played by Pauline Hardie, Claire Gaskell & Geraldine Brown as Violet, Doralee & Judy. They worked extremely well together, each with strong individual & contrasting characterisations, each with great character arcs, which showed their range & strengths as actors. All 3 acted well through song & their solos created rousing applause from the audience.

Franklin Hart was played by Andrew Would who played this character very well. As noted earlier, he played this character more two-dimensionally which enabled the audience to be able to love to hate him. He delivered his character physically & vibrantly and shone in his solo vocal moments.

Roz, the office worker who is secretly in love with Hart, was played by Joan Aitchinson. Roz truly stole the entire show in her number ‘Heart to Hart’ where the entire audience was in an uproar of hysterical laughter as she worked her way through the number, showing her versatility by giving, light & shade & 50 shades of grey, including snippets of iconic choreography from Flashdance, and other sultry poses, including a balance with her back on a chair seat and legs split alle second. This uplifting nature was maintained throughout the show, an impeccable performance indeed!

John Gill played Joe, Violet’s in-show romance, who gave a solid performance as a more gentle male character in the show, radiating patience & kindness & softened the dynamics with his performance, which served as a nice breath amidst the fast pace.

Smaller parts were played by Ciara Curtis, Paula Curtis, Alison Thornton, Bryan Wood, Connor O’Beirne, Theo Heaviside, Ian Edmonson, Gillian Briggs, Phil Downie, Mandy Laird-Hall, Eryka Nickson & Chris Webb who brought with them passionate performances & some remarkably detailed characterisations. 

Many thanks again to all the cast, production team & SAPOS committee for inviting me to what was an awesome evening of entertainment. I look forward to seeing you again soon.

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