9 to 5 The musical

From an idea by Jane Fonda and book by Patricia Resnick, ‘9 to 5’ began in 1980 as a comedy film with Dolly Parton, who both wrote and sang the title song. Twenty-five years later Dolly wrote music and lyrics to develop the film into a stage musical, which opened on Broadway in 2008 to mixed reviews. It then went on tour, reaching Manchester in 2010 and doing a UK wide tour in 2012/13. Dolly maintains her connection to it by appearing on video at the beginning to introduce the story, and again at the end to wrap it up! This is a standard part of the musical and makes it quite original.

Inevitably in a film to stage show there are quite a number of scenes – some pretty brief. To cover these changes, a “front cloth” was lowered with a short scene in front while the main set was changed behind. Quite an old-fashioned procedure but one which I often would choose rather than orchestra trying to cover a scene change on a dark stage! The set by Proscenium Hire, which was transported with minimum care by B-fast Parcels Ltd. was adequate  including props which did include a beautiful large leather buttoned sofa for Hart’s office and a four-poster bed and body harness to imprison him. Costumes by Utopia and Addis Blair were mostly  suitable 70s style office wear except an opening satin suit for Judy Bernly – I suppose that was to show that she had never worked in an office before and had no suitable apparel. Costumes for the fantasy numbers were very good. Hairstyles and wigs were varied – I thought that Doralee’s wig could have been bigger with wilder curls and Dwayne Rhodes’ wig was not great! The long hair of female dancers was very well tied back to make them blend in with the men as dancers in “Heart to Hart” and “One of the Boys”. Lighting and Sound were straightforward and (mostly!) on cue. 

The three co-conspirators -  Violet, Doralee and Judy were played by Lorraine Roddy, Sophie Doran and Cora Early. Each conveyed differing characterisations - Cora was shy and reticent, slowly gaining confidence and surprising everyone with a big voice when she sang “Get Out and Stay Out”; Sophie was reminiscent of Dolly Parton with large bust and curls but indignant at being labelled as ‘scarlet woman’ because of it; Lorraine was the smart senior supervisor with a terrific voice when she got the chance to sing solo. It was great to see a leading lady with a comedic role and Lorraine managed both sides of her character very well. Each of the three had great fun with their individual fantasies involving the demise of their boss Franklin Hart Jr.! Colin Ash took the role of Franklin - the domineering and lecherous president of Consolidated Industries. Colin skilfully displayed the sleazy character – his body language and facial expressions could not fail to make every woman hate him! Then his anger with the girls when he escaped was palpable! Not only the office workers on stage were delighted when he got his come-uppance!

Another star of the show was Una Culkin as Hart’s admin. assistant ,Ros. Her character carried unrequited love for her boss and was also a snitch and a gossip. Unlikeable but hilarious with it, Una teased all possible comedy out of the role. Kieran Connor was Joe, the office junior accountant who had the “hots” for Violet but, as he was younger than she, was reticent to become involved with him. Kieran looked a little older than the role required, but showed he was kind and honest and determined in pursuit and had a pleasing singing voice. (Thank goodness he was not given some wig or other – there are many young bald-headed men!) Judith O’Hare’s role as office lush Margaret was not too overstated and showed her transformation after new management sent her to re-hab! It’s alright Judith – I know it was all acting!! Holly Deane was young secretary Maria Delgardo who was lively and friendly. She excelled, of course, when taking part in the big production dance routines. In a smaller part than usual, David Keown was Chairman of the Board, Russell Tinsworthy. As a very brash American official, he made his mark with volume and speed! 

Smaller roles such as Doralee’s loving husband Dwayne Rhodes (Simon Quigg), Dick Bernly - Judy’s not-so-loving husband (Matthew Irwin), Kathy (Aoife Lennon), Josh Newstead - Violet’s teenage son (Leon Cullen) and Missy Hart – the boss’s wife (Christine Baggley), all added to the action in their own way and became Ensemble members when not in their character role. Simon Quigg (without the wig!) was a terrific dancer, leading the men in their routines. The Chorus appeared mostly as office personnel and occasionally in cameo parts – they all contributed to the action, particularly their vocals in production numbers.

It was obvious that the whole cast was enjoying this show. Michael Poole, who has been Director for LMS since 2019 elicited excellent performances from his cast and the time never dragged. Long-standing choreographer Vanessa Chapman created energetic and innovative dance routines and successfully augmented the men’s numbers with her best girls. Under the baton of Peter Doherty, who has been MD for LMS since 2015, his 12-piece orchestra did full justice to the lively score and supported the stage well.

My thanks to everyone for a great evening’s entertainment and for the hospitality. James and I had only one complaint – the difficulty we had finding our way out of Londonderry after the show due to multiple road closures!!

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