LOGAN – 9 to 5: the Musical is a simplistic revenge fantasy where three female office workers unite to overthrow a monster boss.
In its day – the show premiered in 1988, less than a decade after the 1980 film of the same name – this was a big deal. Nowadays – post Weinstein — not so much.
The show was scored by county star Dolly Parton and scripted Patricia Resnick, who wrote the movie. It is being directed by Valerie Rachelle for the Theatre Arts Department at Utah State University.
This show makes no apologies about being a period piece and is about as subtle as a rock through a plate glass window. However, it’s advocacy of equal pay, flexible hours and in-house daycare are tough to argue against, even now.
The female characters are the widow Violet, who is always passed over for promotion by less qualified men; Judy, a new divorcee who is overwhelmed by the laughable dated corporate tech; and Doralee, the office sexpot.
That trio is well-performed by McKenna Walwyn, Grace Garner and Nicole Frederick respectively.
Walwyn plays Violet as an office drone until she sings “One of the Boys,” surrounded by fawning male office workers.
Frederick is sensational and she gets the show’s best song, “Backwoods Barbie.”
Discovering her spine for the first time, Garner belts “Get Out and Stay Out” to her former husband, earning extended applause.
Preston Rowland delivers an over-the-top performance as sexist boss Franklin Hart, Jr. He personifies everything that was wrong with the male-dominated business world of the 1980s and then some.
Rounding out the leading performers are Ashlynn Rober, as Hart’s lone supporter, the office snitch Roz; and AJ Black as Joe, the accountant who is moonstruck for Violet.
The production numbers here are as strong as the individual performances.
The show opens and closes with “9 to 5” and the ensemble choreography throughout is excellent. That’s particularly true when the ladies have amusingly drug-fueled individual fantasies of what they like to do to their boss.
The climax of the show is pure deus ex machina, but who cares?
Kudos to the costume design team of Nancy Hills, Lauren Haskins, Adriane Dudley, Addie Mulholland, Kallie Andersen and Ana Marie Licon for recreating the colorful 1980’s fashion.
Also to Sera Shearer and Melanie Valera for subtle, but effective, projection designs.
Evening performances of 9 to 5: the Musical will continue in the Morgan Theatre in the Chase Fine Arts Center on the USU campus at 7:30 p.m. on April 20, 21, 22 and 23.