9 to 5

9 to 5 the Musical is a  well-known show with the score written by Dolly Parton and the book by Patricia Resnick. It is a great choice of show, especially for a society with a predominance of female members in the “me too” era, telling as it does a story of the revenge of a group of put-upon office workers on their chauvinistic, misogynist boss. I wonder whether it should be advertised as a show for adults, because some of the scenes are fairly sexual in nature.

The Guildhall Arts Centre is a lovely venue, and the house was nearly full. Luckily there were a few empty seats as somehow the seats that had been reserved for me had been double-booked! That did not however spoil my enjoyment of the show.

I was met warmly  at the door by Kevin Read the vice chairman and Chloe Short the director, and given copies of the posters and programme, which will be entered into the regional competition as they meet the necessary criteria.

As soon as the band struck up, I was impressed by the quality of the music. It was obvious that MD Reece Crane was able to bring the best out of his musicians.

Chloe Short, the director, with Laura Todd as her assistant, have produced an entertaining show with a strong cast and chorus. Direction was generally of a good standard, and the story came across well.

All of the principals were well cast. Millie Walpole played a strong Doralee Rhodes (obviously a parody of Miss Parton), with a lecherous boss Franklin Hart, (played well by the experienced Matthew Brown) looking down her cleavage or up her skirt at every opportunity. The novelty of keeping a hog-tied Franklin Hart on stage during the first part of the interval, cat-calling the audience, worked well and had everyone laughing.

Charmaine Galtress played the worn-down widow and office manager sympathetically, coping with an unappreciative boss and a perpetually stoned teenage son (played by Corey Hall). Her unlikely romantic interest with the shy Joe, (David Phillips-Peters) provides a good sub-plot to the story and they worked well together, with one of the highlights for me being their romantic duet.

Newcomers to the society are Milly Fern Parker, playing Judy Bermley, and Charlie Parker playing Roz Keith. Both will be valuable additions. Milly is a good actress, playing very believably the nervous inexperienced newcomer who eventually (and by accident) devises a way to get rid of the tyrannical boss for four weeks (and as it turns out, for good). Charlie played the sycophantic office creep well, and oh boy - she has a very strong voice.

9 to 5 has a lot of minor principal parts, and these were covered well by the rest of the cast.

The opening scene of 9 to 5 features the cast getting up and ready for work, and this is always a busy and interesting scene. The driving beat of the number should set the pace for the rest of the show, and this was generally achieved.

The production featured rear-projected backdrops which worked well, including commentary on the show by Dolly Parton herself. The props used were simple and adequate, and costumes were colorful, time-appropriate  and very good. Lighting was managed well, though there was one dead spot on the stage that a follow-spot couldn’t reach during a solo.

                     Amplification in small venues is always a problem. The voices need to be heard over the band, as the band cannot always play more quietly than it does. During this performance, I and several other audience members felt that the voice amplification was too much at times. My smart watch registered 90dB at one point, which is a harmful level. It is difficult for sound operators, who have to be able to make quiet singers heard, and yet also manage those with big voices.

                     So overall an enjoyable evening at the theatre. Thank you to the Society for making me and my guest so welcome.

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