9 to 5 The Musical

It was lovely to be welcomed back so warmly by CAMPS after seeing their panto Peter Pan in December, for their production of 9 to 5 The Musical.  Thank you to Helen for the hospitality and Ciss for the tour backstage to see behind the scenes.  It was lovely to meet some of the cast, and interesting to see the small wing / backstage space that Cumnock Town Hall offers as a venue.  The club and crew should be commended on the clever way they used the snug side wing and backstage space along with creative staging to bring this musical to their local audience.  9 to 5, based on the 1980 movie of the same name features music from Dolly Parton, and Dolly even made an appearance in Cumnock … well regrettably not in person but via voice over at the start and end of the show.  The show focuses round the story of three working women who live out their fantasies of getting even with and overthrowing their "sexist, egotistical, lying, hypocritical bigot" Boss.  The roles of the three leading ladies; Violet Newstead (Anne Hainey), Doralee Rhodes (Lyndsay Cook) and Judy Bernley (Skye Galloway) were superbly performed and all three worked very well together while still accenting their individual characters.  In particular the songs ‘I Just Might’ and ‘Shine Like The Sun’ were outstanding.  Congratulations to Anne, Lyndsay and Skye for their strong performances and first-rate solo numbers.  Their nemesis boss, the sleazy Franklin Hart Jr was played excellently by Craig Gilchrist, who gave the audience a colourful character they loved to hate.  The other featured male principals were tackling a couple of roles each and were well played by; Murray Dixon as Josh Newstead / Detective, Tom Campbell as Dick / Tinsworthy, and Dempster Slimmon as Joe / Dwayne.  All characters were different and a huge well done to all three for this tough undertaking.  The ensemble was very strong and in particular the featured characters of Missy Hart (Siobhan Brannigan), Kathy (Thea Slimmon), the tipsy Margaret (Danna Leitch), Doctor (Scott Riddex) and Candy Striper (Billie McChesney).  A comedy delight was that of Millie Graham’s performance of Franklin Hart’s devoted assistant Roz Keith.  Millie’s characterisation was brilliant, she had the audience in stiches, and her numbers ‘Heart to Hart’ and ‘5 to 9’ were hysterical and very well done.  Another of the key highlights to the show were the impressive vocals during all principal and ensemble numbers under the talented leadership of Musical Director Dale.  Congratulations to the club on another successful production.

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