9 To 5 The Musical

 

The Brewhouse Burton hosted the Mellow dramatics last night as we took our seat to watch their latest offering 9 To 5 The Musical from the pen of Patricia Resnick and songs by Dolly Parton.

Set in the male-dominated business world of the late seventies and early eighties, we meet the hard-working office gals under the letching leeching domination of their smarmy, pompous boss, Franklin Hart Jr, taking any credit he can to further his own career, promising promotions and using other's talents remorselessly along the way.

One such abused talent is Violet Newstead played by Lucy Robinson, balancing her working life with being a widowed mother, she had a vulnerable authority which came across very well.

Downtrodden by the misogynistic boss Franklin Hart Jr played so enthusiastically by quick change artist Chris Moss. He was relishing the role, throughout. His face on encountering Roz in his office was a picture.

Stephanie Leeson as Judy Dernly gave a wonderfully measured performance, particularly in her songs, which were meticulously thoughtful, very well controlled vocally, the emotion she brought to the role developed the more we saw of her, very impressive.

Doralee Rhodes, made famous by Dolly Parton's role in the movie 9 to 5 were big cowboy boots to fill indeed, that said Chloe Lang filled them admirably, sassy, sexy, flirty and very Texan. Spot on. Made the role very much her own, good rapport with her hubby Dwayne, Alan Lowe.

Roz Keith hung on the bosses every word, gushingly demonstrative portrayal by Racheal Histed – her Heart To Hart number was hilarious.

Another solid performance by the very watchable Dan Robb as junior accountant Joe. Drew out angst and longing, with a truly deep respect for Violet.

The real Dolly Parton also gave a guest appearance via projection, completing the circle.

Sharon Plummer's direction gave a good dynamic for the cast to bring their characters to the fore. The split-level emphasised the workplace dynamic of the boss overseeing his workers; minimalist staging, with few props, worked particularly well, very effective

Choreography by Andrea Osbourne was excellent, the whole cast was energetic and involved, many scenes for the dancers to let their hair down. Costumes were styled just about right for the period.

Musical Director Tim Robinson brought a wonderful tapestry of sound from his ensemble, I particularly enjoyed the subtle fretless bass in “I Just Might” which really emphasised and made the beautiful harmonies of Judy, Violet and Doralee stand out. Great attention to detail from all of the musicians.

Lighting and sound, Some scenes didn't appear to be lit for the leads at the edge of the stage with faces unlit a couple of times. Sound, most of the sound issues were due to late mic faders, with so much fast-paced dialogue to cover over a large cast it may just have been a first-night issue.

All of the supporting cast had many costume changes and were in character, whatever that may have been, all the time, the drug induced dream sequences in particular, great imagery and imagination. they all gave everything to make the show buzz. Good, fun Musical.

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