9 to 5 the Musical

From the first stylish rendition of the title song, I could tell this was going to be a terrific show and it just got better and better.  The whole cast were clearly enjoying themselves and this rubbed off on the packed audience, who cheered after most of the numbers.

The three leading ladies worked so well together; each with their own distinctive singing voice and characterisation.  They were a joy to watch and would certainly not have been out of place in a professional production.

Franklin Hart has got to be one of the most sleazy, vile, egotistical, unlikeable characters in a musical. He was brilliantly played and his rendition of ‘Here for you’ as he engineered various leering opportunities with his secretary Doralee was hilarious. 

With such a strong line up of principals, you may think that the full extent of Warminster’s acting talent had been used up, but that was certainly not the case.  Supporting actors were equally fabulous in their various roles.

The chorus were used to great effect and were always kept busy with many entrances, exits, scene changes and singing.  They were efficient and enthusiastic and created a very vibrant and interesting office environment.

Choreography was varied and well rehearsed and there were some very effective moments throughout the show that were well executed by the dancers.

The band, was excellent and produced a wonderful sound, if a little loud on occasions.  The chorus singing was strong and again well rehearsed.

The set was very complex with a great number of quite detailed scene changes.  The band were positioned on an upper level at the back of the stage, which worked well, with central lift doors and various pieces of furniture and office equipment added and removed as appropriate. Whilst I wasn’t sure that all of these changes were entirely necessary, they were all handled quickly and efficiently by a swarm of back stage crew and cast. 

There were unfortunately a couple of sound issues during the performance.  A few mics were lost on occasion and the sound was turned up a bit too much for my liking, which had the effect of distorting the voices.  With such strong voices on stage, that level of amplification wasn’t really needed.

Lighting was good and appropriate for the various scenes.

Costumes, wigs and makeup were excellent.  There were a large number of costume changes for this large cast, some of which were very fast.  However everything was in keeping and the whole cast looked fabulous.

The director should feel proud of his achievement in producing this wonderful show and of his very talented and dedicated cast and crew. This was a truly fabulous production that sent everyone on their way with a spring in their step, singing the popular title song.  The standing ovation and cheering they got at the end of the show was well deserved and it was obvious that the cast had enjoyed performing it as much as we had enjoyed watching it. Bravo!

Thank you for a great night of entertainment and please pass on my congratulations to the entire cast and crew.

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