You may recall that way back at the beginning of September I paid a visit to South Staffs Musical Theatre Company in rehearsals for 9 to 5 so I was very excited to see how the show had developed when I took my seat in the Grand Theatre last night. Hearing those first few bars of the iconic Dolly Parton hit instantly got me in the mood for what was a loud and lively show.
The show centres around on office run by a sexist, egotistical male boss where three women decide to give him a little of what he deserves and take over the running of the office. The whole cast was very strong with all the principles getting a chance to show us what they can do. The role of Doralee suited Lexie Bennett to a T- her Texas accent never faltered, even while singing, and she certainly looked the part too. Abbie Rai as Judy was witty and lovable and her rendition of Get Out and Stay Out completely blew the audience away. Maria Shee (Violet) had a wonderfully slick dance number (One of the Boys) in Act 2 and her character development throughout the show was clear. Other shout-outs have to go to Simon McGee as Mr Hart and Natasha Bennett as Roz, both of whom had us stitches for the duration of the show.
Overall the show seemed to run very smoothly. The costumes and set were bright making it both visually and audibly exciting. The songs were catchy (my personal favourites were Around Here, Shine Like the Sun and Change It) and having previously only heard them in rehearsal with piano accompaniment, they were brought to life brilliantly by the band led by musical director Rob Murray.
It was clear to me that the whole cast were just having such a great time on stage which, for me, made the show even more enjoyable. I'm always impressed by the quality of South Staffs MTC's productions and this was certainly no exception. They've already announced that their next big production will by Spamalot this time next year and if 9 to 5 is anything to go by, it's going to be fabulous.
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