In 9 to 5: The Musical, empowerment is achieved through unity, not competition.
Despite differences in appearance, style and personality, characters Judy, Violet and Doralee are burdened by the despair of being born women.
That is the bleak realization the three women share as they attempt to navigate working in a patriarchal institution designed by men, for men.
With music and lyrics by Dolly Parton and a film by Patricia Rasnick and Colin Higgins, the musical is based on the 9 to 5 movement organized by a group of office women in the 1970s advocating for equal wages and treatment for women in the workplace.
The story, rife with comedic sequences, was presented by Carleton’s Musical Theatre Society and ran from March 5 to 8 at Kailash Mital Theatre. Directed by Kenzie Barrera, the colourful production merged with riveting performances to follow the hectic lives of three ambitious and overworked office secretaries.
Each character is styled with precision in a lineup of vibrant colours by costume designer Brynn Burchill. Dazzling pink hues match Doralee’s radiant personality. Violet is styled in sleek suits with muted purple to match her stern character. An elegant blue dress highlights Judy’s shyness.
Behind the actors on-stage lies a window overlooking the city — a sunset view with tall buildings and a large daunting clock in the centre to symbolize the rigorous and restrictive eight-hour office hustle culture, designed and painted by set designer Rémie Ostrosser-Strong.
The play opens with an immersive upbeat number “9 to 5” set in a vigorous New York office.
Beginning with a vivacious ensemble, Rorey Brown’s Violet’s solemn and sarcastic tone is met with Doralee’s exuberant and bubbly character, played by Kaia Bater. Alex Becke’s Judy enters the frame with flustered facial expressions, her voice trembling with angst at the start of a new job as a divorcee and former house-wife. All three sing powerfully, a glimmer of hope seeping through their vocal cords and worried expressions.
Hiding behind a thin smile, one mistake away from anxiously snapping, Becke’s Judy is a sincere and open-hearted character. Lacking confidence, Judy begins her journey as a shy character, remaining naive even when taken advantage of by her boss, Franklin Hart, played by Alex Simion.
Simion’s convincing depiction of Franklin Hart’s perverse and sexist personality was perturbing, to say the least, with the comedic spunky number “Here For You” unveiling Hart’s objectifying and misogynistic view of the women in his office.
Suppressing her frustrations with being overlooked, Brown’s portrayal of Violet epitomizes an overworked employee whose contributions go unnoticed by their superiors.
As the stage lights dim to a deep violet, Brown’s voice flows sternly as she paints the nervous Judy a portrait of her new life in “Around Here,” giving insight into the patriarchal culture of the corporate world.
As the sparkling country personality of Consolidated Industries, Bater’s rendering of Doralee challenges the presumption that femininity equates to weakness. As Bater sings “Backwoods Barbie” with intensity, her vocals brim with vulnerability and frustration — longing to be seen as a person, not an object.
The three polar opposites, Violet, Judy and Doralee realize the common enemy is not each other but the system. They begin to bond over their shared experiences with Mr. Hart, longing for autonomy over their lives as sung in “Shine Like the Sun.” The ensemble’s harmonies sync with the vocal prowess of Brown, Becke and Bater — their expressions glowing with newfound confidence in their fight for recognition.
Violet’s solo, “One of the Boys,” grapples with having to act more like a man to be taken seriously.
The three women take the responsibility of changing the system to be more flexible, inclusive and considerable in the number “Change It.”
9 to 5: The Musical vocalizes the power of unity when challenging injustice — a powerful theme conveyed with fluency by the Carleton Musical Theatre Society.
Featured image provided by Carleton Musical Theatre Society.
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