9 to 5

9 to 5 is a good fun musical with a serious underlying message about misogyny and the power of men in the workplace.  This mixture of the frivolous and the serious seems completely appropriate for the writer, Dolly Parton. Guiseley Theatrical Productions brought all their talent and energy to the stage to make this a great night out for the audience, led by director Nigel Passey and musical director Ian Sapiro.

It was the excellent choreography by Kara Mottram that really impressed. A team of dancers and a predominantly female ensemble all moved to the beat to create some fantastic concerted scenes. The dream sequence towards the end of Act One showed several different dance styles and an entertaining group of puppeteers and was such fun to watch. So very well done to the whole production team for using a large company in a very creative way. I never knew so many people could fit under one desk.

Heading up the team was Natalie Graham as Doralee, who represents Dolly. Her persona makes her unpopular in the workplace, because women can make the same judgements as men. But Doralee proves that what you see is not always what you get. Natalie was convincing in this role and produced a great Southern accent throughout, congratulations.

Emma Levahn played the frustrated P.A. Violet whose capabilities are constantly overlooked in favour of men. I felt Emma really came into her own in One of the Boys when, joined by some terrific dancers, she told us, and showed us, what she really was capable of. Credit here to the tap dancers, terrific wings, team!

The transformational part of Judy was played by Kisty Barnes. Kirsty got to show us her wonderful voice when she really found her true self in Act Two. Her ex-husband was no longer going to stand in the way of her emotions and personal development as she told him to Get Out and Stay Out. I think this was the audience’s stand out moment.

A stand out performance for me was Kath Coleman, as Roz. Her comic timing was just great and she shone in this smaller role as the devoted secretary. Her physicality was just superb. Well done to you, Kath.

Men? Were their men in this girl power production? It was hard not to be overshadowed by the female powerhouse, but there was strong support from Paul Forsberg as Hart, the original male chauvinist pig. He created a character which we were all glad to see strung up at the end of Act One! Andre Stolarksi, Alan Young, Will Brear and Luke Armitage all multi-roled wonderfully. The diffident Joe, endearingly played by Elliott Matthews, finally got his girl in Let Love Grow which was a moving little interlude.

American accents were good throughout but sometimes poor diction meant it was difficult to hear every word and follow the plot. But the whole evening was moved on by some great fun music, played by a wonderful band and carrying the audience on a cheerful wave to a happy conclusion. The evening was joyfully rounded off for me by the presentation of long service badges for members of this strong theatrical community. Well done Guiseley Theatrical Productions.

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