It’s hard to overcome such inane material, but this production of 9 to 5: The Musical boasts three strong leads.
This musical is, of course, based on the 1980 film, which grew out of an idea by Jane Fonda, and starred Fonda, Lily Tomlin, and Dolly Parton in her first movie role.
The plot stays pretty much the same. Even though she has no secretarial experience, Judy starts a new job as a secretary at Consolidated Industries. She’s desperate: her husband has just left her for a 19-year-old. Fortunately, a widowed supervisor named Violet takes Judy under her wing. The villain of the piece is their boss, Franklin Hart Jr., who condescends to his female employees, promotes only men to senior positions, and sexually harasses his secretary Doralee.
Eventually, Judy, Violet, and Doralee join forces, and a series of farcical events leads them to kidnapping Hart.
While they’re figuring out what to do with their boss, the three friends take over the office, signing memos in Hart’s name that establish a workplace daycare, institute job sharing, and ensure equal pay for female and male employees.
I’m all for 9 to 5’s feminism, but it’s undermined by the plot, turned to steam by the overheated narrative. Yes, there’s something to be said for fantasies of retribution, but plot points that involve poisoning, shooting, and hogtying, are all so ridiculous that the story doesn’t resonate in a political sense. None of it has anything to do with real job action or its dynamics. None of it even begins to plunge the depths of the structures and mechanics of workplace sexism.
There’s another problem with the musical: composer Dolly Parton’s use of songs. As in Dolly Parton’s Smoky Mountain Christmas, too few of the musical numbers in 9 to 5: The Musical advance the plot or reveal new and crucial information about the characters’ emotional progression, so the storytelling sags and the evening gets boring.
“9 to 5” is by far the most memorable tune in the show. That said, the performers in this production also know how to work the rest. “Let Love Grow”, a duet between Violet and Joe, her erstwhile suitor, is pleasing thanks to the richness of both the voices and acting of Irene Karas Loeper and Gabriel MacDonald, who perform it near the end of Act 2. At the beginning of Act 1, this production comes alive for the first time with Loeper’s commanding entrance.
Right after “Let Love Grow”, Judy performs “Get Out and Stay Out”, a ballad about the power of single womanhood. On opening night, Madeleine Suddaby brought the house down with it.
Playing Doralee, Maia Beresford lends sweet vocals to every number she participates in and captures both the character’s pluck and pathos.
One more standout: as Roz, an office informant who’s in love with Hart, Jennifer Suratos makes a delicious, slyly hilarious meal of her love song “Heart to Hart”.
With a huge, sometimes inventive set by Emily Dotson, and Deborah Basterfield’s well chosen, often playful costumes, the physical production looks just fine, thanks.
Under Angus Kellett’s direction, the orchestra is tight, although, on opening night, it sometimes overwhelmed the vocals.
A staggering amount of work went into this production. As I so often find myself saying, I wish this effort and talent had been applied to better material.
9 TO 5: THE MUSICAL Music and Lyrics by Dolly Parton. Book by Patricia Resnick. Co-directed by Valerie Easton and Chris Adams. A Royal City Musical Theatre Company production. At the Massey Theatre until May 11. (Tickets and information)
PHOTO CREDIT: (The photo of Maia Beresford, Irene Karas Loeper, and Madeleine Suddaby is by Moonrider Productions)
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