9 to 5 The Musical

9 to 5 The Musical was an early entrant into the recent spate of ‘girl power’ musicals, with the likes of Matilda, Made in Dagenham and Six to follow. It tells the story of three office workers who are brought to breaking point by their sexist, egotistical boss and end up kidnapping him and running the company themselves, with great success. Based on the book by Patricia Resnic and inspired by the 1980’s film of the same name, it features the music and lyrics of the Queen of Country, Dolly Parton, and the show is even introduced and closed by Dolly herself.

With Bee Anderson’s clever direction, an empty stage with images projected on the back wall, some clever props and Lee Stoddart’s sparkling lighting were all we needed to set the scene for this fast-paced show. Although I felt that more use could perhaps have been made of the projections. Full credit to Stage Manager Anne Robertson for finding somewhere in the limited backstage area to stash the furniture, and to the cast for manoeuvring it into position so smoothly, so that scenes flowed swiftly into each other. Costumes (Emma Brown) brought back many memories of the 1980s and looked just right. Props by Myra Jones and Kate Walsh were perfect – I especially loved the mis-behaving photocopier!

You need three powerful actresses in the lead roles and boy has Bee chosen well! Becky Garnett really smashed it as Doralee Rhodes, not veering too far into a pastiche of Dolly Parton, but portraying a really plucky and forthright character. Lauren Foord made a perfect Judy Bernly, transforming from a timid mouse into a strong independent woman before our eyes. Helen Stoddart was quite a revelation as Violet Newstead, a motherly character fed up with being passed over for promotion and lacking confidence. Given the chance, Helen threw everything into the new confident Violet, and I would have promoted her straight away! All three women are consummate professionals in the acting, singing and dancing departments and they ably demonstrated the full range of their skills in all their numbers.

Of course there’s a fourth lead woman: Roz, a peach of a part to play, which Gilly Williams grabbed and made her own, wringing the maximum humour and emotion out of both of her solos “Heart to Hart” and “5 to 9”. Mark Maclaine obviously relished making boss Franklin Hart every inch the sexist, egotistical, lying, and hypocritical bigot that his employees think he is – very convincing. Finlay Hughes was spot-on with the character of lovelorn accountant Joe and young enough that you could understand why Violet hesitated to follow her heart. Their duet “Let Love Grow” was very moving. Margaret’s drunkenness was nicely judged by Becka Wigmore – never too much.

The rest of the cast and ensemble provided excellent support for the leads, and the standard of singing throughout was very good. MD Emily Horner had obviously drilled them well and there were no problems singing with the (excellent quality) backing tracks. Everyone had head mics, so with Tom Davison (of Trained Ears) at the desk, the sound had a professional edge and there were no problems hearing every word. Bee Anderson’s choreography was dazzling and well interpreted, making maximum use of the cast’s abilities and the stage area.

With such a great story, plus music and lyrics by the wonderful Dolly Parton and top-quality performances all round, what’s not to love? The capacity audience on the night I attended certainly agreed, rightly showing their appreciation with rapturous applause and whoops for the cast at the end. What a great night’s entertainment.

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