Production Review: 9 to 5: The Musical

9 to 5: The Musical was performed on Wednesday 27th November at the Greenwood Theatre. The musical is a revival of the play which was originally composed by Dolly Parton and reached popularity due to its witty humour and strong feminist themes. This performance was produced by the King’s Musical Theatre Society, with the exceptionally talented crew including Tori Taylor as director, Kiera Pagett as producer and Melissa Stewart as the choreographer. 

The show, set in the 1970s, tells the tale of three heroines, Judy Bernly, Violet Newstead and Doralee Rhodes. Fed up with the patriarchal dynamics of their office, they come together to take down their dominating and misogynistic boss, Franklin Hart. It is a heartwarming show with strong themes of female friendship, self-empowerment and an authentic depiction of what life was like for working women in the 1970’s. Tori and Melissa’s own friendship is what inspired the show to come together; they were both hard working members of the King’s Musical Theatre Society and took inspiration from the amazing and talented women on their team to produce a play dedicated to them. Eager to put on a play with fierce tones of female empowerment they decided to pitch the show in June 2024 to the committee and it was rightfully approved. Tori’s directorial debut is flawless and Melissa’s fantastic choreography highlights the true talents of her skilled cast. 

The chemistry between the three female leads throughout the performance was powerful. Sophia, who played Judy, had seamlessly encapsulated her role within the play; she conveyed perfectly exaggerated facial expressions to provide moments of comedic relief as well as deep relatability through her struggles in becoming an independent woman. Her powerful singing particularly shone in act two with the song “Get out and Stay out” where the audience truly got to see her embody the strength of the character. The part of Doralee, played by the talented Lulu, was a groundbreaking contradiction to the usual ‘pretty girl’ often typical of musical theatre. Lulu played Doralee with a fierce, Texan confidence that wowed the audience. And last but definitely not least was the brilliant Emilia who played the loveable Violet. At first Violet is presented as a strong single mother working hard for her son, but throughout the play we get to know her softer, more vulnerable side which Emilia played brilliantly. Furthermore, Violets’ speech towards the end of the second act where she speaks of the hardships of womanhood was an astonishingly emotional moment for all the women in the audience. It was comparable to America Ferrera’s speech in Barbie (2023), due to Emilia’s spectacular deliverance. 

The ensemble cast were equally as talented, performing all the sequences with charismatic effortlessness. Two of the most memorable side characters were Franklin Hart and Roz. Josh, who played Mr Hart, depicted him full of misogynistic arrogance, enough to make the audience despise him, which was a testament to Josh’s incredible acting. And Roz, played by Rhe, was the most loved supporting role with the audience vigorously clapping whenever she came into and left a scene. However, it was Rhe’s performance in the song “Heart to Hart” which solidified her as a fan favourite for the rest of the show. Her over-the-top, sultry dancing and the unexpected reveal of her gothic lingerie underneath her grandma-like office clothes was the perfect mix of comedy and shock to produce an authentic amount of laughter and love from the audience.   

The set was minimal, opting instead to use props, and colourful lighting to change the atmosphere. Sometimes it was during the group performances that the actors themselves would cleverly change the set from a daydream fantasy back to the boring office. At other times the stage crew swiftly changed the set with new props. Due to the limitations in funding, the society had to get creative. For example, instead of building an entire elevator prop they simply hung some cardboard with string and presented it as an elevator by drawing on some doors. Despite its obvious deceit, it went down well with audiences who enjoyed the cheaper, yet more creative takes on the props. Another was the printer which again was a cardboard box made to look like a printer with a cast member sitting inside the box throwing paper out to give the illusion that paper was flying out from the machine, another successfully comedic decision. There were some issues with the audio at the start with the actors mics cutting out but this merely highlighted the cast's talent. They remained unfazed and carried on acting with professionalism despite the slight disruptions. 

Overall, the production was uplifting yet sentimental; highlighting powerfully the struggles of womanhood and the power formed by female solidarity. It was also incredibly witty and humorous, never ceasing to make the audience laugh. It was only enhanced by its incredible cast’s performance and hard-working production team who worked tirelessly for nearly 10 weeks straight to put on this incredible show. A must watch!

Sukhman Kaur 

Edited by Romy Brill Allen