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Regional Reviews: St. Louis 9 to 5 the Musical Also see Richard's review of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead
Justin Been directs, and Michelle Sauer and Sara Rae Womack choreograph (with sometimes thrashing group movement, as if the secretarial pool were entirely made up of the ex-wives of King Henry VIII). And most certainly, the director and choreographers are all well qualified for their jobs, based on past performance. But then! Both Act One and Act Two fell apart before our very eyes in the final five minutes of each, on opening night. The show that's supposed to go on, shut down in a creepy new way. Gradually, late in act one, transitions fell into a state of seeming uncertainty, as if we were watching a dream sequence. And the last three songs in that act became half-hearted, as if some planned cue had not occurred. Again and again, the actors seemed to land awkwardly in the semi-darkness. That's what it looked like to me. As a critic, it is perhaps my duty to say, "how trenchant, to portray the careless failures of modern corporate structures here on stage this way," as if the secretive investors at the top had abandoned the show, and simply run off with all the loot. And then it would fall to you to say, "but a show's not supposed to do that!" Though I suppose Haydn came close to it with his "Farewell Symphony." Except that here, everyone stands in a fresh new set of shadows, suddenly resembling store mannequins. I suppose it could be trenchant. But everyone seemed to have just given up and clocked-out near the end of act one, forcing me into the role of an efficiency expert, staring at my watch in disbelief, as the actors refused to clear the stage for minutes on end in a beautifully uniform misty violet half-light. At the end of a first act that's already overly long. The stage is cramped, back to front, with half of the orchestra on a platform behind the set in this case. The venue's interior, the circular sanctuary of an old church, has recently been replastered and repainted, making a forward pit unfeasible, I suppose, financially, as it might take away from needed ticket sales. I guess it's a fair trade, because the Abbey looks great again, at last. But Act Two likewise stalls awkwardly in its final minutes, even before a tedious "where are they now" video narration overhead, by the show's legendary composer. The tedium is compounded by a lot of barely choreographed dancing bows that go on forever at the end of this production (which, of course, is nothing new in the theatre, writ large). Stray Dog Theatre is a high quality production company, and my spies have been unable to provide any insight. And the main thing is that the three female leads are beyond fantastic. But in its "climactic" moments opening night it all looked like it had been taken over by some faraway oligarch who cares nothing for your silly old theatrical climaxes. The show first appeared in 2008 in Los Angeles at the Centre Theatre Group, before moving to Broadway for a five month run at the Marquis Theatre in 2009. In 2010, benefitting from various smart edits, 9 to 5 began its first national tour in Nashville. I saw an Equity production in St. Louis in 2017, but that production used the original 2009 material, which I found disappointing. Happily, this one starts out with the newer, trimmer 2010 version of the script, and 95% of it is wonderful, thanks primarily to Jenelle Gilreath Owens (as Violet), Mara Bollini (as Judy), and Sarah Polizzi (as Doralee). Ms. Owens is once again the embodiment of the actor's "super-objective," glowing with endless passion and determination, in this case as the senior secretary, passed over for promotion because the boss prefers to work with less qualified men. Decades before, it had been a familiar movie, directed by Colin Higgins. His estate later sued the theatre producers for part ownership of this musical. In any case, it's all much better live, and beautifully vivacious. Ms. Bollini is heartwarmingly real as the new hire, Judy. And, in certain musical numbers, Ms. Polizzi adds a remarkable, almost ghostly, classically operatic presence as Doralee, bathed in Tyler Duenow's lighting, in the "buxom country girl" role originated by the composer. Video projections of the beloved Ms. Parton hover, like a fairy godmother, over a workplace set designed by Rob Lippert. His set includes six lovely, cartoonish little typing desks, with nice graphic projections by Mr. Duenow. Ms. Parton's theme park-style narration ushers us into the familiar story of three secretaries who take over a branch of a soulless corporation and turn the lives of its workforce around. But then, in spite of the show's Fourth of July explosions of human rebirth on stage, this 9 to 5 suddenly disengaged the night I went, and faltered to a sputtering crawl in the final minutes of Act One, and something almost as bad at the end of Act Two, which left me dumbfounded. Ms. Owens, as Violet, glows like the sun, clarifying each moment. She artfully mixes up "Skinny N' Sweet" with rat poison, getting coffee for the delightfully wicked Joel Garrett Brown as Franklin Hart. Elsewhere, Ms. Bollini as Judy, belts out songs full of doubt and perseverance with stunning artfulness, in partnership with music director Mal Golden. And this Judy even gets a surprise laugh out of one of the movie's most unconvincing jokes, about a popular dime store candy. I can't tell if Ms. Owens is challenging Ms. Polizzi on stage, or the other way around, because they're both so incredibly gifted. As Doralee, Ms. Polizzi draws us in irrevocably, with help from excellent Josh Heffernan as husband Duane. Ms. Owens is ultimately paired with shockingly real Cole Gutman, who's unrecognizable here as Joe, an accountant in the firm. Both he and Mr. Heffernan show us how people used to quietly relish their own steaminess in those days. And Scott Degitz-Fries is once again outstanding in a variety of roles, delicious as Judy's warm and fuzzy, but spoiled rotten ex-husband Dick. Both he and Joel Garrett Brown (as Hart) gleefully evoke the bad old days, when women were automatically counted (publicly!) as far less intelligent than the dimmest of men. The great Laura Lee Kyro is wonderfully silly–but just a Planck length of reality away from the rest of us as Roz, who's slavishly devoted to the big bad boss. She also has an amazing dual identity on stage here. None of them imitates anyone from the original movie, but they each make the story so much grander than it had ever been in my own memories. Since I saw it in 2017, I always thought 9 to 5 the Musical was just another in a growing list of third-rate plays based on a second-rate movies. And now I respectfully eat my words. Stepping back, if (hypothetically) you were to ask me if there was something wrong overall at Stray Dog Theatre, I would give you a qualified "no." I think, in recent years, in their outward-facing presentations, that those glitches merely stand back silently in the lavender shadows for me now–while their outstanding theatre company blazes through 95% of this multi-star piece, as is often the case. And those glitches will be gone by the time you read this. 9 to 5 the Musical, produced by Stray Dog Theatre, runs through April 25, 2026, at Tower Grove Abbey, 2336 Tennessee Avenue St. Louis MO. For tickets and information, please visit www.straydogtheatre.org. Cast: Stray Dog Band: * Appearing during select performances Production Staff: |
