9 to 5 The Musical

It was my first visit to St Dunstan's AODS and when I arrived people were queuing out the door and down the street to get in. As I took my seat there was a real feeling of anticipation from the audience. The lights dimmed and the performance started. The set was quite elaborate with a lot of the pieces being double sided and utilised in different ways. The cast themselves did a lot of set moving on stage incorporated into musical numbers. I personally love this as it allows the action and tension to keep flowing. The elevator at the rear of the set with the sliding doors was fabulous, it added depth and interest during the scenes. The sound had quite a few glitches and gremlins, fortunately the cast were all throwing good projection. The lighting was sympathetic to the scenes. Costumes were very much in keeping with the era of the show, wigs and make up were fitting and elegant for the production. 

The three leading ladies Sue Milligan (Violet Newstead), Ellie Halston (Doralee Rhodes) and Alexandra Brilliant (Judy Bernly) worked very elegantly as a trio and their timing together was impeccable. I particularly enjoyed the smoking scene .Unfortunately, on the evening that I attended it was announced that Sue Milligan (Violet) had come down with laryngitis - there was a definite huskiness in her voice but she still delivered her songs with attack and aplomb, she had good diction and stayed very much in tune. She used her stage space well and presented well to the audience. Her scenes with Joe (Ben Drane) were compelling to watch - you could see her internal struggle as he kept asking her out and she kept turning him down . Ellie Halston (Doralee Rhodes) was phenomenal. From the moment she appeared she completely imbibed her character, her accent never faltered, her heels never lowered, her hair stayed big as did her heart . She delivered all her songs with fullness and passion - I believed every word she sang or uttered. She was generous on stage with her fellow actors and used her stage space well especially when she was chasing Franklin Hart JR round his desk! She didn't oversing, even in "Backwoods Barbie" , she definitely showed some lovely light and shade.

Alexandra Brilliant as Judy was every inch the feeling totally out of it but willing to learn wronged wife. It was lovely through the show to watch Alexandra's portrayal fill out and start to find self worth and self belief. Her vocal delivery of "Get Out & Stay Out " was good, it had a nice build, tone and diction was good, it was very obvious that Alexandra enjoyed singing the song and believed every word of it.  Ben Drane as Joe, Violet's love interest, had some great stage presence. He commanded the stage as soon as he appeared even though he played quite a pulled back character. He was fully committed and ernest in his delivery, he showed the audience a lovely gentleness and understanding and provided emotional strength when needed. Ben used his stage space well and connected well with the audience.  I thoroughly enjoyed Ben and Sue's rendition of "Let Love Grow". I have heard Ben sing before but in this particular number I heard a new mature confidence that I hadn't heard from him before. Diction throughout was great from them both, they had and showed good emotional connection to the words that they were singing and to each other. Stuart Eade as Franklin Hart .JR was every inch the complete back dated chauvinist, he made it very clear to the audience with his hand gestures and very obvious way of staring google eyed at certain parts of the female anatomy exactly what he was thinking. His character was definitely well portrayed, diction and bluster was good, the way he deliberately invaded his female actors space was very clever. Samantha Wadsworth as Rob had a true show stopping number when she performed "Heart to Hart" , she had fun with it, everything about it was fantastic, she was so committed to her character, diction was clear, her comedy timing was spot on. Her choreography was good - it didn't interfere or take away from what she was singing.

The ensemble have a lot to do in this show. They worked hard, they helped to keep fantastic pace and really moved the production along. I particularly enjoyed how quickly they got The Bullpen set up each time we revisited it. The choreography by Jackie Eade was perfect for this piece, there were such a lot of people on stage and they executed it nice and cleanly. John G Barry as Musical Director kept everyone in line and in tune, he kept up a good solid pace both for his orchestra and his cast. There were no dropped or scraped notes and no missed musical entrances . Having worked with JB myself it was interesting to see him working from the other side, it was very evident that all the cast trusted him and had great confidence in his musical leadership.

Jackie and JB Co-Directed this show and they should be pleased, the audience loved every second of it. I too thoroughly enjoyed it. Well Done. Thank you for your hospitality, I look forward to seeing you again soon.

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