9 to 5

Abingdon Operatic Society hadn’t staged “9 to 5” before, and the first point to address is exactly what this show has to say.  Set in 1979, a time of great social upheaval as the post-industrial world morphed into a more familiar capitalist, service-based economy, it depicts the gender politics in a large corporate office.  Exciting new technologies such as automatic right margin justification bring smiles of recognition.  But the misogyny and naked sexism are harder to smile about; while these behaviours appear dated, and are undeniably less tolerated in modern workplaces, the fact is that such attitudes remain embedded in contemporary society.  Is “9 to 5” an excuse to congratulate ourselves on how much progress has been made?  A campaigning piece highlighting how much more needs to be done?  Or just a great big slice of late-1970s nostalgia set to a wonderful score by the incomparable Dolly Parton?

We’ll come back to this, but one thing we can be sure about is that this production was notable for three outstanding performances in the leading roles, with senior office supervisor Violet Newstead, new recruit Judy Bernly, and frustrated Country and Western singer Doralee Rhodes thrillingly brought to life.  All three of these women have the misfortune to be working for Franklin Hart, whose unpleasant character traits were brought to the fore.  There were also fine performances amongst the supporting cast, and as always the ensemble work was impressive with the attention to detail particularly evident in the underscores and segues.  The fantasy sequences were notable for their inventive choreography.

The ensemble also sang strongly, and the band was exceptionally good: the brass and woodwind provided the brashness, the keyboards provided the depth, the bass and percussion provided the energy, and the guitar sang gloriously over the top.  A touch of reverb in the mix further enhanced the sound.  Another quality evident in the production was pace.  The cast knew their lines and cues well, and dialogue was executed snappily; the cast’s reactions to the action and to each other were well observed, particularly when someone had a gun in their hand.

 The set design helped the piece to flow from scene to scene, with the four columns used intelligently to establish different settings, and the stage crew well drilled in the scene changes.  The properties were good, from the oversized Xerox machine spewing out paper and eating Franklin Hart, through the practical wardrobe and car boot, to Hart’s desk and office chair.  The Country styling was well realised through checked shirts and denim, but the office styles of the late 1970s were a little harder to pin down.

So what was the show?  The audience at the last night certainly got the campaigning aspects of the musical, with various principals raising a cheer when they rebelled against their lot in life and stood up for their rights and beliefs, such as when Doralee threatened to turn Hart’s rooster into a hen.  But then, the audience also enjoyed the show as a piece of theatre, if the standing ovation at the end was anything to go by.

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