Edinburgh Music Theatre brings Dolly Parton’s hit musical ‘9 To 5’ to the Church Hill Theatre in Morningside until Saturday 8th April. ‘9 To 5’ follows Violet, Judy & Doralee as they struggle to work under their misogynistic and egotistical boss, Franklin Hart Jr. When they take matters into their own hands, things escalate quickly, leading to the three leading ladies kidnapping Hart. How will it work out for the office girls? Will they get away with it or will they find themselves in the slammer?
The three leading ladies within this production absolutely shine like the sun. Denise Treanor as Violet Newstead delivers the savage work torn manager well. Her unfiltered and blunt approach to Violet works perfectly with the comedy featured in the book. And oh my goodness ‘One of the Boys’ is a beauty of a number, the choreography that Denise performs is jaw dropping. This is a delightful take on Newstead. Sarah-Louise Donnelly is hilarious as Judy Bernly, the quirky and nervous newbie to the office has never been performed with such nuance. Not only that but ‘Get Out and Stay Out’ is an utter showstopper, Sarah-Louise’s vocals are stunning, this is the best rendition of the song that’s been heard by this critic. A truly outstanding performance from Sarah-Louise. Monica Fowler’s take on Dolly’s Doralee Rhodes is lovely, she’s less ditsy and more a confident funny young woman. The accent is also brilliant, Monica nails the Southern American accent. This is a great performance.
Peter Tomassi also really leans into the comedy as the womanizer and misogynist Franklin Hart Jr. Peter does well to wring out the seediness and comic nuance of this character. ‘Here for You’ brilliantly delivers the first insight of sleaziness to the audience brilliantly, yet you love to hate the horrid boss. The only slight critique is that there is sometimes a minor drop of Hart’s accent, yet it’s mostly consistent. This is a fun and enjoyable portrayal from Peter. Rosie Sugrue is brilliant as the only one in the office who admires the sleazy boss in the form of Roz Keith. Rosie’s quirky, flirtatious yet strait laced office supervisor is hilarious, and an audience favourite purely due to the humour and heart Rosie pours into the character.
Andrew Hally also features as Joe, the young office accountant who has fallen for Denise’s Violet. This is a lovely portrayal from Andrew, who takes a different approach to the character that is often perceived as the office stud.
Edinburgh Music Theatre have a huge ensemble that bring so much energy, amazing vocals and perform the choreography brilliantly. The ensemble are as follows Chris Cotter (Dick), Andrew Lodge (Dwayne), Robbie Noble (Josh), Joanne Cairncross (Kathy), Jill Howie (Margaret), Sheona Dorrian (Maria), Meli Patterson (Missy), Alastair Russell (Bob Enright), Dom Sugrue (Mr. Tinsworthy), Mhairi Summers (Detective), Joanne Skilling (Doctor), Ellen O’Keefe (Candy Striper), Sean Vannet (New Employee), Caroline Peddle (Dancer), Elizabeth Martin (Dancer), Hannah Mattison (Dancer), Lily Pietrzak (Dancer), Sadie Byrne (Dancer), Samantha Doig (Dancer), Shelby Bodily (Dancer), Ailsa Winter, Ali McVie, Chiara Menozzi, Kirsty MacDonald-Foster, Nicoletta D’Amico, Olivia Ejjaouani, Paula McGiffen, Robyn Broome and Tiia Kontro.
Niall King’s direction of this production does well to fully utilize the book and music featured within this musical, he wrings the comedy and the key themes of feminism. This is a fast-paced production with brilliant choreography from Chanel Turner-Ross, especially within ‘One of the Boys’. Each of the musical numbers sound fantastic under the musical direction of Libby Crabtree. The only scene that puts a wedge in the pace of this musical is the act one finale ‘Shine Like the Sun’, the number feels like the pace could be quicker and the blocking/choreography could be a bit livelier. Another little gripe is that the microphones weren’t loud enough at some points to be heard over the music, plus there were a few issues with sound in general. Also there were a few mistakes with the flats which help create each setting, as effective and fun as the set design is from Charlie Johnson-Walker, there were a few blips in putting the flats in place, however this was laughed off by the audience, and it’s opening night for this production so this can easily be forgiven. Plus the show looked great especially with costume from Allegro and George Cort’s lighting design.
‘9 To 5’ is a brilliant production from Edinburgh Music Theatre which truly delivers the comedy with this fabulous local talent.
Get tickets below:
https://www.citizenticket.com/events/edinburgh-music-theatre/9-to-5-the-musical/
Photos by Alan Potter.
Theatre Scotland 
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