9 to 5: The Musical
“9
to 5” is a Broadway musical adaptation of the early 80’s film starring
Dolly Parton, Lilly Tomlin, and Jane Fonda as three uppity women who
fantasize about killing their innocently flirtatious boss, Mr. Hart.
Paper Wing Theatre unflinchingly addresses the dangers of what happens
when you allow the women-folk to leave the kitchen with shoes on and
enter the workplace. Can you imagine a world where women were treated
equally? Well, I am most certainly glad that someone is willing to
tackle the dangers of such thought. The show is set in the year 1979
Kate
Faber takes the lead as Violet, a single widow taking struggling to
make ends meet as she raises her unruly teenage son (Jordan Brewer). She
is the de facto office manager, training the new employees and running
errands for the heroic Mr. Hart (Michael Alliman). Kidding aside, Faber
has an amazing voice and plays up some of the tongue-in-cheek
anachronistic comedy with special nods to some modern references
scattered through the show. She opens the second act with a great song,
joined by the male ensemble, in one of my two favorite pieces for the
show. She’s joined by Judy (Alyca Tanner), a recent divorcee entering
the workforce when her husband leaves her for another woman, and Doralee
(Mindy Kruty-Crothers), an always chipper country-western singer
struggling to fit in when her “assets” draw unwanted attention from the
office men. The three ladies are constantly harangued by their sexist,
egotistical, manipulative, lying bigot of a boss and his trusty
secretary, Roz (Kelly Machado). Events transpire that draw them
together. The three women are forced into action after an accidental
poisoning forces them to kidnap Hart and hold him captive for a month in
his own home, allowing the three women to take control of the office
for a time. Their policies have an immediate effect, but I’m going to
say you should probably see the show if you want to know what those
policies are and what effect they had. I’m not going to sit here and
spoil it for you, faceless reader!
I
know some of you are aware that my earlier comments were a little
tongue in cheek in reference to the sexism being addressed by the show,
but let me be clear… Michael Alliman is cast as a slimy weasel of a
boss, filling the shoes of Dabney Coleman from the original production.
His dismissive attitude toward Judy, his lecherous advances toward
Doralee, and his dependant lack of appreciation for Violet gives each of
the women a reason to fantasize about his death in elaborate scenes
that feature the villain getting his come-uppance. The ladies are all
brilliant throughout these scenes, and Hart is the perfect foil to
common decency that everyone takes a certain degree of pleasure in
seeing him suffer.
My
favorite song in the show was, without a doubt, the solo piece from Roz
as she tells the audience how she truly feels about her boss and
expresses her unrequited passion. “Heart to Hart” is great and allows
actress Kelly Machado to take her moment to shine with both voice and
comedic timing, with a special appearance from Alliman who adds just the
right moment to the whole piece. I laughed so hard I nearly passed out!
A
big kudos to the rest of the cast and crew throughout the show, because
there was almost always a constant movement on the stage. The smaller
roles gave considerable momentum to the story arc as the ladies
navigate through office politics, social cliques, and even the amorous
affection of a young accountant vying for Violet’s regard. If I were to
sit here and write about everyone who left some sort of impression on me
I’d be writing long past anyone’s interest level, suffice to say that
there a bunch of people whose talents deserve more than just a brief
blurb in some guys blog.
5 out of 5.
No comments:
Post a Comment