9 To 5

Dolly Parton’s title song ‘9 To 5’ tells of ‘a cup of ambition’, not sure if ‘9 To 5 The Musical’ is a cup 1/2 full or 1/2 empty. Missing is the successful use of the pounding opening chord rhythms that propel the song forward with spark and spunk.
Overproduced, chock full of massive flying set pieces and constantly changing projections distract behind a cluttered office set that makes the action and choreography seem cramped and muddled. The big fantasy sequence, which we now expect to be wowed like ‘Mary Poppins’, disappoints or just didn’t seem ready.
But more problematic are the performance choices, boasting a stellar Broadway veteran cast, it’s surprisingly not well sung. Allison Janney, in he Lily Tomlin role, really can’t sing and she has the most songs, a problem. Stephanie J. Block, a powerhouse voice in the Jane Fonda role, is kept shy & meek to a fault, she becomes boring. Her big ‘woman taking control, hear her roar’ number ‘Get Out And Stay Out’ has been castrated, turned into a ballad, beautifully sung but losing the song’s point & power. Megan Hilty as Dolly Parton is exactly that, Megan as Dolly, she does a perfect impersonation of Dolly, she’s wonderful but it just seems odd and you wonder why we just don’t just get Dolly. There’s a demo of Dolly singing a few of the songs from the show and she out performs anyone on the stage on the demo.
The orchestrations don’t help the show either, sounding more pop like the ill-fated ‘Footloose’ than the more comparable ‘Guys & Dolls.’
Looking at the cup 1/2 full, the show has Dolly’s large adorable heart and is a crowd pleaser. It’s a long way till NY and this is what previews & tryouts are for, to fix what isn’t working so let’s hope ‘9 To 5’ like ‘Curtains’ will come a long way baby from it’s Ahmanson previews to Broadway.