CORRECTION: This piece was corrected on Jan. 21 at 8:20 p.m. CST. It previously stated that characters Violet, Judy and Doralee succeeded in killing their boss Franklin Hart. Jr. This information is incorrect as the characters did not succeed.
Girl power trio, anyone? Vanderbilt Off-Broadway’s spring production of Dolly Parton’s country-hit-turned-musical “9 to 5” gives “Totally Spies!” energy with its adult humor, murder and a country twist. The show’s leading ladies — Violet (senior Arlene Charles), Judy (senior Lindsey Carroll) and Doralee (senior Sarah Lovett) — fantasize about killing their “sexist, egotistical, lying, hypocritical” boss Franklin Hart Jr. (senior Will Henke), and they nearly succeeded.
Artistic Director and senior Audrey Molina explained that the “9 to 5” original screenplay and musical book were both written by Patricia Resnick, meaning there are many similarities between the two texts and even scenes taken verbatim from the movie in the musical.
“I wanted to take a whimsical approach to the show, which the team has executed beautifully,” Molina said.
(Christina Monaco)
Sitting in on one of the cast’s rehearsals in the days leading up to the show, I could sense the spirit of collaboration and camaraderie in the air. Every minor mishap was met with cool professionalism, and everyone who was given notes took them graciously.
Some of the cast members had previously acted together in VOB’s fall musical, “Carrie,” which may have played a hand in the chemistry and level of skill showcased in the rehearsal.
“We try to make it possible for members of VOB to be involved in multiple shows if they choose, so the stage managers of both shows will coordinate schedules so that we don’t overwork those actors,” Stage Manager and senior Christina Monaco said. “We’re just lucky that we work with talented people who can keep track of two completely different shows at the same time!”
“Carrie” sold out in the fall with its timely release during Halloweekend. When explaining why VOB chose “9 to 5” as their spring musical, Molina referenced the musical’s titular inspiration from Dolly Parton’s hit ‘80s song “9 to 5.”
“Being in Nashville — home to Dolly herself — ‘9 to 5’ was one of the first shows to come to mind for me,” Molina said. “The original movie is a feminist classic with so much heart, and the stage production [in the musical] provides an amazing sense of celebration and jubilance through Dolly’s score.”
(Madison Good )
Music Director and senior Madison Good expressed how excited she is for the show, emphasizing the hard work the cast put in to make the production a reality.
“It’s such a fun show that never ceases to make me laugh no matter how many times I have watched it,” Good said. “The music is phenomenally written, the script is entertaining but simultaneously has a lot of heart and the characters are extremely vibrant yet grounded in reality.”
“9 to 5” has three performances from Jan. 20-21 at Langford Auditorium.
