9-5 The Musical

Daniel and I enjoyed another warm welcome to Kilmarnock, thank you Liz and Robin for this.  9 to 5 The Musical, based on the 1980 movie of the same name features music from Dolly Parton, focuses on the stories of three women, working under a boss that does not appreciate them.  The roles of the three leading ladies were exceptionally performed by; Lyndsey Campbell as Violet Newstead, Cassidy Murray as Doralee Rhodes and Rachel Howat as Judy Bernly.  All three portrayed strong individual characters bringing the audience into their stories with warmth and comedy.  Lyndsey perfectly balanced Violet’s confident and determined side with a more vulnerable personality.  Cassidy’s Doralee had excellent comic timing who never lost her excellent Texan accent even when singing.  Rachael’s Judy captured the quiet, old fashioned newbie with comedy and let her character blossom into a confident independent woman in the end.  Everytime Rachel said “fun fact” I was laughing before the rest of the line.  Their individual songs; “One of the Boys” for Lyndsey, “Backwoods Barbie” for Cassidy and “Get Out and Stay Out” for Rachel were all equally outstanding with flawless vocals, and great characterisation.  As a trio they all three worked brilliantly together and conveyed a very real friendship.  Congratulations to Lyndsey, Cassidy and Rachel for their superb performances.  Their boss, the sleazy Franklin Hart Jr, was played wonderfully by Neil Warrander.  Neil presented a slimy character that the audience just loved to loath and combined great character acting with confident vocals.  A comedy highlight in the principal line-up was Natalie MacKenzie’s performance of Franklin Hart’s devoted and passionate assistant Roz Keith.  Natalie’s characterisation was brilliant, comedy timing perfect and she had the audience in stiches.  Her number ‘Heart to Hart’ in particular was hysterical.  The handsome love interest for Violet is Joe, who was played by Calum Peter.  Calum brought this shy character to life with a lovely singing voice and added some humour in there too.  There are a lot of minor characters in the story which gives the ensemble a lot to do.  Highlights of these minor principal roles were; Maria (Pauline Ferguson), Dwayne (Neil Kerr), Dick (Colin McDonald), and Tinsworthy (Robert Fyfe).  All were great, complimented each other and helped the story move along well.  Special mention should be made to Colette Dunsmore as ‘the office lush’ Margaret, who only needed to walk across the stage to earn a full auditorium filled with laughter.  The full ensemble filled the stage and auditorium with infectious energy, and the enjoyment on stage was clear to see.  Director Liz should be proud of the characterisation throughout the principal cast and for the clever staging / scenery design and planning slick scene changes.  The big choreography numbers were very fantastic, allowed everyone to be involved and worked well around the set pieces.  A huge well done to choreographer Marie-Anne for this success.  Another of the key highlights to the show were the impressive vocals during all principal and ensemble numbers under the clever leadership of Musical Director Tom.  This show was bright, vibrant and lively from start to finish which made it a joy to watch.  A huge well done to the club for another successful production.

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