9 to 5 THE MUSICAL. Music and lyrics by Dolly Parton. Book by Patricia Resnick. Directed by Sarah Hull. Choreography by Lauren Chapman. Musical director Jenna Hinton. Queanbeyan Players. The Q, Queanbeyan. Oct 31-Nov 9.
Is it really over 40 years since the film 9 to 5 came out? Some aspects have dated but this musical still has all that gusto about women’s rights and justice in the workplace that made the film good. And it is good to see the women’s roles foregrounded.
Young wide eyed Judy (Sarah Copley ) arrives to take up a job in an office and is soon enmeshed in office politics. She has no skills, not even typing or photocopying, and has to learn on the go. Violet (Kate Eisenberg) has ambition and is a single mother but the males get preference when it comes to promotion. And Doralee ( Sienna Curnow) is looking for friends who will see her for the good and positive person she is.
The office is run by the uptight Roz (Shennia Spillane) who is very strict with the underlings but is secretly carrying a torch for the dreadful boss, Franklin Hart (Steven O’Mara). Franklin has no time for women’s rights or workers’ rights and is also up to some shady financial activity.
Excellent performances all round, with the three central women doing more than justice to the songs and the themes. This show is not all comedy and the production remains aware of that. .
How the women plot their boss’s downfall and achieve some kind of workplace justice is at the core of the story and a big cast give it great energy and drive. Office furniture and walls move around with flexibility to create the many settings and there’s a somewhat 70s feeling to the costumes.
Jen Hinton leads the pit orchestra powerfully in all the scores’s nuances and energy. Choreographer Lauren Chapman creates some splendidly coordinated moves, especially with all those men in grey suits. And it is great to see some subtlety in the follow spot work.
The sound was not the best in the first half but came good in the second.
In a way, despite the vigour of Parton’s songs we are really waiting for the title number, which is hinted at then finally used full bore at the end. Fans of the film will find much to satisfy in this production which is clearly a creation in its own right.
Alanna Maclean.
