9-5 the Musical

I am always impressed by the powerful ensemble singing that APOS can produce and 9-5 lends itself very well to this.  The big ensemble numbers; Shine Like the Sun, Change It and the title song 9-5, were wonderful, punchy and strong.  They manage all this while performing the clever choreography which transitioned effortless in and out of the scenes. Leading this great ensemble and driving the story were Lorna McColm as Violet, Sharon McDonald as Doralee and Mairi McCrindle as Judy.  All three brought humour, charm and strength to these roles each showing different sides to their character development which helped drive the story.  All three handled their solo songs very well and when they came together it was wonderful, especially I Just Might which sent tingles up my arm, just beautiful and the scene before the dream songs which was full of comedy.  They all brought a warmth to the scenes together which made their strong bond and love even more believable.  In a show like 9-5 the old saying “behind every strong man there is a strong woman” can certainly be flipped as the female principals lead the show, however they were strong supporting male principals especially; Ron Swanson as Franklin Hart Jr, Graeme Strawhorn as Joe, Colin McDonald as Dick, Neil Kerr as Dwayne and Laughlan Watt as Josh.  All giving great performances and supporting the three main principles well.  In particular Ron’s sleezy and cocky Franklin Hart had the right balance of comedy and unpleasantness, making the audience laugh and hate him all at the same time.  The scenes in particular that stood out were the office scenes with Sharon as Doralee and Ron as Frankiln Hart Jr, Mairi as Judy and Colin as Dick and Lorna as Voilet with Lillian as Roz. The later offering lots of comedy in the dry repertoire of wit that and looks that go back and forth between the characters.  Following on from that, Lillian’s take on Roz Keith was hilarious.  A powerful voice to handle the songs, along with facial expressions and physicality to bring extra humour to the role.  The ensemble and minor characters were all excellent and worked well in this big cast.  The scene changes were slick, keeping the story moving which kept he audience engaged throughout.  Another success for APOS, the cast and production team.

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