9 TO 5

9 TO 5

WAOS
at the Public Hall, Witham

24.10.2017

A nostalgic journey back to 1979, nicely suggested in Witham by shades of brown and beige, with splendid hair and moustaches for the men, the villains in this vaguely feminist fairy tale.

This is “the Dolly Parton musical”; not a juke box selection of her greatest hits, but the play what she wrote, nearly ten years ago now, based on the 1980 film in which she starred with Jane Fonda.

She stars in this too – as a virtual presence, a one-woman Greek chorus projected behind the action – and vicariously as the Backwoods Barbie “too much make-up, too much hair”, played for WAOS by Sarah Miles. A very enjoyable performance, matched by the three other principal ladies – Matilda Bourne’s Judy, the new kid on the office block, Diana Easton’s Violet, a fine comedy presence and a polished vocalist, and Rhianna Howard’s excellent Roz, who’s besotted with the MCP boss of Consolidated, Franklin Hart Jr [Niels Bradley]. Emma Loring is the “old lush” Missy, and Dannii Carr the noble accountant who finally finds happiness with Violet.

“Glitchy” was the word in the interval bar: cues missed, lines fumbled, a recalcitrant harness. The big production numbers – One of the Boys, Heart to Hart, with the chorus in the aisles – worked well, but too often the songs were left to work their magic on an empty stage.

Nikki Mundell-Poole’s production has some fine dancing, and the fantasy sequences work well. James Tovey, the Musical Director, brings some so-so numbers to life – he has a convincing show-band in the Witham pit.

Had the show been done in the 70s – when the much missed Brigadoon was still thought a good night out – we could have expected similar tired cloths and wobbly flats. But no sound system pumping out the decibels, which might have resulted in a better band/vocal balance, allowing us to hear more of Ms Parton’s lyrics.

9 TO 5

9 TO 5

Brentwood Operatic Society

at Brentwood Theatre

21.10.16

Dolly Parton's “spankin' new musical” - based on the 1980 movie – was a sell-out success for BOS.

Ms Parton did the music and the lyrics; the book is by Patricia Resnick. It's a feel-good feminist-lite workplace story, in which the MCP CEO is ousted, first in fantasy, then for real, by a feisty trio from his office.

The music is big-hearted and brassy, excellently handled by the Ian Southgate's off-stage rock combo. The story is simplistic, the samey songs sometimes slow the action, and the first act seems far too long. But the BOS company give it their all, with outstanding performances by Rachel Lane as the widowed mother, Louise Byrne as the Backwoods Barbie - “too much make-up, too much hair” - and Juliet Thomas as the band-box neat newbie. An amazing character turn from Mandi Threadgold-Smith as dear old Roz with the hots for her boss; her Heart to Hart routine, backed by a chorus of look-alikes, is a highlight of the show.

Apart from Martin Harris's splendidly loathsome “sexist, egotistical, lying, hypocritical bigot”, the men are mostly ciphers, though we have a nice cameo from Bob Southgate as deus ex machina Tinsworthy.

Emma Sweeney's staging is inventive and stylish: the opening title number, the I Just Might trio, the power-dressing One Of The Boys. The scene shifting – everything is on castors – is impeccably choreographed, making the most of the stage area and bringing welcome variety to this uneven crowd-pleaser of a show.

company photograph: Brentwood Gazette