9 to 5

I have loved the music from 9 – 5 since I first heard it so was extremely excited to see the full musical.
Cottingham Civic Hall is such a friendly environment for the show and the buzz was clear from first
entering the room.

The atmosphere lasted throughout and the show ended with a standing ovation from
some of the audience. The show on the whole ran smoothly and it was apparent how hard the production
team had worked so aa big well done to Ian, Rebecca and Aimee.
The band was excellent and really worked together as a coherent group under the careful direction of
Rebecca Barber. Each band member played excellently and were a real asset to the productions.
Similarly the cast had obviously worked very hard on the singing as each and every cast member was
exemplary with their singing. All number from solos to group number were well thought out and clear with
every word extremely well pronounced and every note hit on point.
It was nice to see some recognisable cast from other societies joining Hull Musical Theatre and bringing
their musical and acting excellence to the group. The trio of Doralee Rhodes (Geeorgia Kingston), Violet
Newstead (Rebecca Todd) and Judy Bernley (Megan Colley) was stunning the ladies had excellent
characterisation and were a delight to watch both for their singing performance and for their true acting
talent. It was very interesting seeing Richard McDonald as the ‘sexist, egotistical, lying, hypocritical bigot’
Franklin Hart after seeing him play sweet and sensitive Seymour in Beverley Musical Theatres Little
Shop of Horrors, both roles he portrayed were excellent he is apparently a very talented individual. The
comedic stylings of Gemma Walker as Roz Keith was great, especially during Heart to Hart which she
sang so well and had many of the audience rolling on the floor with laughter. I do have to particularly
mention Alex Dickenson as Joe. Wow! When he started singing Let Love Grow it took my breath away,
such an excellent singer and actor, he is a true gem within this show.
The show was well put together and the costumes, scenery and characterisation was brilliant. The cast
obviously enjoyed being on stage together and putting on a lovely show. If I can offer any room for
improvement I would just say that although the choreography was well thought out and the cast
obviously knew the moves, characterisations slightly slipped with what I think was concentration but this
did not detract from a lovely show. I can’t wait to see your next show Hull Musical Theatre.

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