9 to 5 (musical)
Encyclopedia
9 to 5: The Musical is a stage musical
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...

 with music and lyrics by Dolly Parton
Dolly Parton
Dolly Rebecca Parton is an American singer-songwriter, author, multi-instrumentalist, actress and philanthropist, best known for her work in country music. Dolly Parton has appeared in movies like 9 to 5, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Steel Magnolias and Straight Talk...

 and a book by Patricia Resnick, based on the 1980 movie Nine to Five
Nine to Five
9 to 5 is a 1980 American comedy film starring Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, Dolly Parton, and Dabney Coleman. The film concerns three working women living out their fantasy of getting even with, and their successful overthrow of, the company's autocratic, "sexist, egotistical, lying, hypocritical...

. Resnick had co-written the screenplay with Colin Higgins
Colin Higgins
Colin Higgins was an Australian-American screenwriter, actor, director, and producer. He was best known for writing the screenplay for the 1971 film Harold and Maude. and for directing the films Foul Play and Nine to Five .-Biography:Higgins was born in Nouméa, New Caledonia to an Australian...

, the director of the film, in which Parton had her first screen role.

The musical premiered at Center Theatre Group
Center Theatre Group
Center Theatre Group is a non-profit arts organization located in Los Angeles, California. It is one of the largest theatre companies in the nation, programming subscription seasons year-round at the Mark Taper Forum, the Ahmanson Theatre and the Kirk Douglas Theatre...

/Ahmanson Theatre
Ahmanson Theatre
The Ahmanson Theatre is one of the four main venues that comprise the Los Angeles Music Center.Through the generosity of philanthropist Robert H. Ahmanson, construction began on March 9, 1962. The theatre opened on April 12, 1967 with a production of More Stately Mansions starring Ingrid Bergman,...

 in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

 in September 2008 and opened on Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...

 on April 30, 2009. It was nominated for 15 Drama Desk Award
Drama Desk Award
The Drama Desk Awards, which are given annually in a number of categories, are the only major New York theater honors for which productions on Broadway, Off-Broadway, Off-Off-Broadway compete against each other in the same category...

s, the most received by a production in a single year. It was also nominated for four Tony Awards. The Broadway production closed on September 6, 2009, and a National Tour began in September 2010.

Workshops (2007)

A reading of the musical was given on January 19, 2007, with a cast including Tracey Ullman
Tracey Ullman
Tracey Ullman is a British stage and television actress, comedienne, singer, dancer, screenwriter and author ....

, Allison Janney
Allison Janney
Allison Brooks Janney is an American actress, best known for her role as C.J. Cregg on the television series The West Wing.- Personal life :...

, Megan Hilty
Megan Hilty
Megan Kathleen Hilty is an American stage and television actress.- Early years :Hilty was born in Bellevue, Washington and is the daughter of Jack and Donna Hilty. She attended Sammamish High School in Bellevue and the Washington Academy of Performing Arts Conservatory High School in Redmond,...

, Stephanie J Block, Norm Lewis
Norm Lewis
Norm Lewis is an American actor and baritone singer. He has appeared on Broadway as well as in regional theatre.-Life:Lewis was born in Tallahassee, Florida and grew up in Eatonville, Florida...

, Marc Kudisch
Marc Kudisch
Marc Kudisch is an American stage actor, who is best known for his musical theatre roles on Broadway.-Early life and education:...

, Amy Hohn, and a supporting ensemble. A revised draft was tested in a week-long workshop beginning on June 20, 2007, with an industry presentation in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

 on June 28, 2007. The workshop cast included the previously mentioned performers, along with Bebe Neuwirth
Bebe Neuwirth
Beatrice "Bebe" Neuwirth is an American actress, singer and dancer. She has worked in television and is known for her portrayal of Dr. Lilith Sternin, Dr. Frasier Crane's wife , on both the TV sitcom Cheers , and its spin-off Frasier...

 and Andy Karl
Andy Karl
Andy Karl is an American actor and singer, best known for performing in musical theatre. He has appeared on Broadway in the original productions of Legally Blonde and 9 to 5, as well as appearing in Wicked.-Early life:...

.

Los Angeles Tryout (2008)

The musical began previews at Center Theatre Group/Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles on September 9, 2008, officially opened on September 20, and ran through October 19. It won two Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle
Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle
The Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle is an organization located in Los Angeles, California, dedicated to excellence in theatrical criticism, and to the encouragement and improvement of theatre in the Greater Los Angeles Area....

 Awards, for Parton for Musical Score and for Andy Blankenbuehler
Andy Blankenbuehler
Andy Blankenbuehler is an American dancer, choreographer and director primarily for stage and concerts. He won the Tony Award and Drama Desk Award for his choreography for In the Heights.-Biography:...

 for Choreography.

Following the Los Angeles run, a lawsuit was filed by the estate of Colin Higgins, the film's co-screenwriter and director, against Higgins' former attorney, now representing Resnick, for the musical's failure "to secure Mr. Higgins’s stage rights for the musical project," among other issues.

Broadway (2009)

The musical began previews on Broadway at the Marquis Theatre
Marquis Theatre
The Marquis Theatre is a legitimate Broadway theatre located at 1535 Broadway in midtown-Manhattan.Situated on the third floor of the Marriott Marquis Hotel, the 1611-seat venue was designed by developer/architect John C. Portman, Jr...

 on April 7, 2009, and officially opened on April 30, 2009. Joe Mantello
Joe Mantello
Joseph Mantello is an American actor and director best known for his work on Broadway productions of Wicked, Take Me Out and Assassins, as well as earlier in his career being one of the original Broadway cast of Angels in America...

 directed, with choreography by Andy Blankenbuehler
Andy Blankenbuehler
Andy Blankenbuehler is an American dancer, choreographer and director primarily for stage and concerts. He won the Tony Award and Drama Desk Award for his choreography for In the Heights.-Biography:...

, scenic design by Scott Pask
Scott Pask
Scott Pask is an American scenic designer. He has worked primarily on stage productions in the United States, on Broadway and Off-Broadway, and in regional theatre, as well as in the United Kingdom...

, costume design by William Ivey Long
William Ivey Long
William Ivey Long is an American costume designer for stage and film. His most notable work includes The Producers, Hairspray, Nine, Crazy for You, Grey Gardens and Young Frankenstein.-Early life and education:...

, lighting design by Jules Fisher
Jules Fisher
Jules Fisher is a lighting designer and producer. He is credited with lighting designs for more than 200 productions over the course of his 45 year career in Broadway and off-Broadway shows, as well extensive work in film, ballet, opera, television, and rock and roll concert tours...

 and Kenneth Posner
Kenneth Posner
Kenneth Posner is an American theatrical lighting designer, working on Broadway, Off-Broadway, and in American regional theatre. His most notable designs include the musicals Wicked and Hairspray, two highly regarded musicals of the early 21st century...

, and projection design by Peter Nigrini and Peggy Eisenhauer
Peggy Eisenhauer
Peggy Eisenhauer is an American lighting designer for both theatre and films. She has designed more than twenty Broadway shows and frequently collaborates with Jules Fisher.-Career:...

. The opening night cast included Allison Janney
Allison Janney
Allison Brooks Janney is an American actress, best known for her role as C.J. Cregg on the television series The West Wing.- Personal life :...

, Stephanie J. Block
Stephanie J. Block
Stephanie J. Block is an American actress and singer. She is most well known for her work on the Broadway stage. She has additionally been nominated for a Drama Desk Award and a Drama League Award. She released her debut solo album through PS Classics in June 2009...

, Megan Hilty
Megan Hilty
Megan Kathleen Hilty is an American stage and television actress.- Early years :Hilty was born in Bellevue, Washington and is the daughter of Jack and Donna Hilty. She attended Sammamish High School in Bellevue and the Washington Academy of Performing Arts Conservatory High School in Redmond,...

, and Marc Kudisch
Marc Kudisch
Marc Kudisch is an American stage actor, who is best known for his musical theatre roles on Broadway.-Early life and education:...

. 9 to 5 closed on September 6, 2009, after 148 performances and 24 previews.

1st National US Tour (2010- 2011)

A national tour started at the Tennessee Performing Arts Center
Tennessee Performing Arts Center
The Tennessee Performing Arts Center, or TPAC, is located in the James K. Polk Cultural Center at 505 Deaderick Street in downtown Nashville, Tennessee, occupying an entire city block between 5th and 6th Avenues North and Deaderick and Union Streets. Also housing the Tennessee State Museum, the...

 Nashville, Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...

, on September 21, 2010. The tour was directed and choreographed by Jeff Calhoun
Jeff Calhoun (choreographer)
Jeff Calhoun is an American director, choreographer, producer and dancer.As a student at Richland High School, now Pine-Richland High School , Calhoun was interested in both athletics and performance, playing football and studying tap dance. He danced in the ensemble at The Kenley Players in Ohio...

, with co-choreography by Lisa Jones, scenic design by Ken Foy, and costume design by William Ivey Long. The tour closed on July 31, 2011 at Bass Performance Hall
Bass Performance Hall
The Nancy Lee and Perry R. Bass Performance Hall in Fort Worth, Texas is located in downtown Fort Worth near Sundance Square, occupies a whole city block, and was opened in 1998. It was built entirely with private funds and seats 2,056 people in a city with an estimated 2009 population of 720,250...

 in Fort Worth, Texas
Fort Worth, Texas
Fort Worth is the 16th-largest city in the United States of America and the fifth-largest city in the state of Texas. Located in North Central Texas, just southeast of the Texas Panhandle, the city is a cultural gateway into the American West and covers nearly in Tarrant, Parker, Denton, and...

.

The tour cast included: Dee Hoty
Dee Hoty
Dee Hoty is an American musical theatre actress. Over the course of her career, she has appeared in numerous high-profile Broadway productions and earned multiple Tony nominations for her performances.-Biography:...

 as Violet, Mamie Parris as Judy, Diana DeGarmo
Diana DeGarmo
Diana Nicole DeGarmo is an American singer and Broadway actress. She finished as the runner-up on the third season of the reality/talent-search television series American Idol, narrowly missing the win by about 2% out of over 65 million votes...

 as Doralee Rhodes, Joseph Mahowald as Franklin Hart, Kristine Zbornik as Roz, with Jane Blass, Patrick Boyd, Paul Castree, Holly Davis, Janet Dickinson, Madeleine Doherty, Marjorie Failoni, Gregg Goodbrod, K.J. Hippensteel, Jesse J.P. Johnson, Michelle Marmolejo, Ashley Moniz, April Nixon, Ryah Nixon, Rick Pessagno, Wayne Schroder, Micah Shepard and Travis Waldschmidt.

According to Calhoun, in preparing the musical for the tour, "Believing that a short show is a happy show, we jettisoned a second act song for the character of Mr. Hart, repositioned Roz's song in Act One and tried to make invisible cuts to the book." Diana DeGarmo had to leave the tour early to start rehearsals for Hairspray at the Hollywood Bowl. Her final performance was on July 17, 2011. She was replaced by her understudy Ryah Nixon, who began on July 18, 2011 and closed the tour on July 31, 2011.

Regional Theatre

The regional theatre premiere will be held at the Merry-Go-Round Playhouse in Auburn, New York
Auburn, New York
Auburn is a city in Cayuga County, New York, United States of America. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 27,687...

 from June 27 to July 18, 2012. Another regional production will be held at Theatre By The Sea in Rhode Island
Rhode Island
The state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...

 from July 18 - August 11, 2012.

School Version

An MTI-produced student version of the musical was performed at French Woods Festival of the Performing arts in the summer of 2011. Stagedoor Manor also produced a production a few weeks later. These were the first non-equity production of the musical to date.

Casts

The principal casts of all major productions
Role Original Broadway Cast National Tour Cast
Violet Newstead Allison Janney
Allison Janney
Allison Brooks Janney is an American actress, best known for her role as C.J. Cregg on the television series The West Wing.- Personal life :...

Dee Hoty
Dee Hoty
Dee Hoty is an American musical theatre actress. Over the course of her career, she has appeared in numerous high-profile Broadway productions and earned multiple Tony nominations for her performances.-Biography:...

Judy Bernly Stephanie J. Block
Stephanie J. Block
Stephanie J. Block is an American actress and singer. She is most well known for her work on the Broadway stage. She has additionally been nominated for a Drama Desk Award and a Drama League Award. She released her debut solo album through PS Classics in June 2009...

Mamie Parris
Doralee Rhodes Megan Hilty
Megan Hilty
Megan Kathleen Hilty is an American stage and television actress.- Early years :Hilty was born in Bellevue, Washington and is the daughter of Jack and Donna Hilty. She attended Sammamish High School in Bellevue and the Washington Academy of Performing Arts Conservatory High School in Redmond,...

Diana DeGarmo
Diana DeGarmo
Diana Nicole DeGarmo is an American singer and Broadway actress. She finished as the runner-up on the third season of the reality/talent-search television series American Idol, narrowly missing the win by about 2% out of over 65 million votes...

 
Ryah Nixon
Franklin Hart, Jr. Marc Kudisch
Marc Kudisch
Marc Kudisch is an American stage actor, who is best known for his musical theatre roles on Broadway.-Early life and education:...

Joseph Mahowald
Roz Kathy Fitzgerald Kristine Zbornik

Act I

As the clocks ring and the workers wake up Violet, Doralee, and Judy prepare for work ("9 to 5"). The workers begin another mundane and hellish day at work under Franklin Hart Jr, president of Consolidated Industries. Judy and Violet meet for the first time and Judy reveals she does not have any work experience, but Violet states she will be proud to train her and gives her a few tips and pointers for surviving office life ("Around Here"). Franklin Hart Jr, is a domineering and equally lecherous man, who lusts after his secretary, Doralee, and has no shame in making those feelings known, which discomfits Doralee ("Here For You"). Judy is having major issues on her first day (such as being unable to work a Xerox machine) and feels there is something more inhibiting her. All three women, in separate settings, share mutual feelings, but all feel they can overcome it and make it all work out in the end ("I Just Might"). A new day rises upon the begrudged workers of Consolidated and life resumes as normal. Around the lunch hour, Doralee and Judy speak for the first time as Doralee asks Judy to go to lunch with her, but Judy subtly refuses and Doralee doesn't know why. She then reflects on her whole life, about just being a pretty face and nothing much more ("Backwoods Barbie"). Violet is passed over for yet another promotion, which angers her since it is somebody that she personally trained. After a heated confrontation in Hart's office, Doralee finds out about Hart's rumor about their supposed 'affair', which infuriates her to the point of threatening him. All three of the women, who are now seemingly united in their contempt for Hart, go back to Violet's house and light up a joint
Joint (cannabis)
Joint is a slang term for a cigarette rolled using cannabis. Rolling papers are the most common rolling medium among industrialized countries, however brown paper, cigarettes with the tobacco removed, and newspaper are commonly used in developing countries. Modern papers are now made from a wide...

. Suddenly, each woman lapses into a murderous fantasy involving Mr. Hart; Judy as an unforgiving femme fatale ("The Dance O' Death"), Doralee as a crack rodeo star ("Cowgirl's Revenge"), and Violet as a deranged Snow White
Snow White
"Snow White" is a fairy tale known from many countries in Europe, the best known version being the German one collected by the Brothers Grimm...

 ("Potion Notion"). All of these sadistic fantasies soon culminate into a celebration of Hart's death, which is quickly nixed after Hart is discovered alive ("Joy To The Girls").

The next day at the office, Violet unwittingly acts out her fantasy and believes she put rat poison into Hart's coffee. They all go to the hospital in panic, but learn he was never there. Roz overheard the ladies in the bathroom and tells Hart, who concocts a plan to scare them by pretending he was actually poisoned and to threaten them with the police. After Hart leaves, Roz sings a song confessing her obsessive love and fantasies for him ("Heart To Hart"). Hart confronts Doralee with the information and Doralee, acting on a fight or flight
Fight or Flight
Fight or Flight may refer to:* Fight-or-flight response, the biological response of animals to acute stress* "Fight or Flight!" , a song off the album Aneurythm by the American hard rock band Living Syndication...

 instinct, rips the phones out and ties up Hart with the wires, which he seems to get a quasi-sexual pleasure from. The women are seemingly puzzled as to what to do with Hart, but Judy and Violet create a plan in which they will imprison Hart in his own house. As they are carrying out their plan, they sing to Hart their issues with him and the problems in their own lives, but will begin to make the changes in their lives and have confidence to succeed ("Shine Like The Sun"). The women, empowered, have restrained Hart to a mechanical harness above his bed.

Act II

After the Entr'acte
Entr'acte
' is French for "between the acts" . It can mean a pause between two parts of a stage production, synonymous to an intermission, but it more often indicates a piece of music performed between acts of a theatrical production...

, in Hart's office the three women are pondering on how they can keep the office in the dark about Hart's disappearance, when Doralee's skill of being able to forge Hart's signature comes into play. Judy and Doralee both point out to Violet that she is, in a sense, the new Operating Officer of the company. Violet then lapses in a fantasy and sings a song about she is now a hard-hitter like the rest of the male employees (who seems to rank above the women) ("One Of The Boys"). Roz begins to get nosy and wonders where Hart actually is, which creates a new obstacle for the ladies to rid of. Judy formulates the idea to send Roz to a one month language seminar to learn French, which isn't necessary and is only a way to rid of her. Roz receives the memo from Violet and is heartbroken, because she believes that Hart doesn't like her, and that the time she isn't at work is lonely and boring ("5 To 9"). As Hart is still strung up in his bedroom, he passes time by watching countless hours of soap operas. Doralee enters to give him a meal and Hart lashes out at her saying that he still has the control and will use it when he is free. Doralee brushes him off and leaves the room. Hart begins to recount how most of the men in history had "downfalls" by women and that he is no different, which angers him ("Always A Woman").

Back at the office, the new changes the women have made under Hart's name have seemed to ease the workers' lives and changed their outlook on work ("Change It"). Joe, who has shown admiration toward Violet through the show, asking her out many times, confronts her and asks why she rebuffs him. She claims she was a "one-man woman" and that her husband's death three years before has prevented her from dating again. Joe tells her that it is time to move on and possibly give someone new a chance ("Let Love Grow"). Violet accepts, as they walk out of the scene holding hands. Later on that evening, Judy's ex-husband, Dick, shows up at Hart's house and asks her to take him back (since his secretary girlfriend dumped him). She rebuffs him and states she is a changed woman who will not crawl back to someone who broke her heart, showing strength as she orders him to leave ("Get Out And Stay Out").

The next day, Hart storms in to the office with Judy hostage, which shocks the women, who have collected evidence about Hart's "creative accounting" and embezzling practices to use against him. The women, seemingly defeated, prepare to submit to Hart's wishes when they learn that the CEO of Consolidated, Mr. Tinsworthy, is paying a visit. The women and Hart meet Tinsworthy, who, after noting the changes in office life, gives the credit to Hart. Violet and the others step up and say they made the changes, but are shot down. However, in a comedic twist, Tinsworthy sends Hart to manage the South American branch in Bolivia. Violet is then promoted to Hart's position as President of the company and a celebration ensues, while Roz is devastated over the loss of her obsession. The characters deliver epilogues about what happened after the events of the story (Finale: "9 To 5" Reprise). Hart was captured by natives in the jungles of Bolivia and was never seen or heard from again. Roz found a new love - Hart's wife. Violet and Joe have been together for the past 30 years and are very happy together. Doralee went to Nashville and became a successful country western singer. Judy is single and loving it and wrote a bestselling book, "Life Without Dick."

Musical numbers

Act I
  • "9 to 5" § — Violet, Doralee, Dwayne, Judy and Ensemble
  • "Around Here" — Violet and Ensemble
  • "Here for You" — Franklin Hart, Jr.
  • "I Just Might" § — Judy, Doralee and Violet
  • "Backwoods Barbie" § — Doralee
  • "The Dance of Death" — Judy, Hart and Ensemble
  • "Cowgirl's Revenge" — Doralee, Hart and Ensemble
  • "Potion Notion" — Violet, Hart and Ensemble
  • "Joy to the Girls" * — Judy, Doralee, Violet, Hart and Ensemble
  • "Heart to Hart" — Roz and Ensemble
  • "Shine Like the Sun" § — Doralee, Judy, Violet


Act II
  • Entr'acte — Orchestra
  • "One of the Boys" — Violet and Boys
  • "5 to 9" — Roz
  • "Always a Woman" *† — Hart and Men's Ensemble
  • "Change It" *§ — Doralee, Violet, Judy and Ensemble
  • "Let Love Grow" § — Joe, Violet
  • "Get Out and Stay Out" § — Judy
  • "Finale: 9 to 5" — Company

  • † Removed for the US National Tour.
  • * Added to production after Los Angeles pre-Broadway run
  • § Has been recorded/covered by Dolly Parton
    Dolly Parton
    Dolly Rebecca Parton is an American singer-songwriter, author, multi-instrumentalist, actress and philanthropist, best known for her work in country music. Dolly Parton has appeared in movies like 9 to 5, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Steel Magnolias and Straight Talk...

     on a studio album
    Studio album
    A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...

     or EP
    Extended play
    An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...


Other 9 to 5 songs

The following songs were in the Los Angeles pre-Broadway run and have since been cut from the final version of the Broadway production.
  • "Out of Control": This song took place during the scene where Judy is using the Xerox
    Xerox
    Xerox Corporation is an American multinational document management corporation that produced and sells a range of color and black-and-white printers, multifunction systems, photo copiers, digital production printing presses, and related consulting services and supplies...

     machine. The song begins after Violet leaves Judy alone with the copy machine, having instructed her on how to use it. As the song progresses, Judy begins to feel confident that she is finally doing something right. Then suddenly the machine begins to go crazy; papers flying all over the place, etc. The aforementioned is what is currently present in the musical.

  • "Tattletales": A song performed in the office cafeteria when Judy is eating lunch with Violet and the girls. They ask Judy to "spill her story" and she refuses. Kathy (Ann Harada's originated role) urges her to tell them and the cafeteria patrons all begin to explain how they "learned to gossip". Doralee enters in the middle of the song, wearing Judy's scarf, and the girls continue to spread rumors.

  • "9 to 5 (Reprise)" / "The One I Love": In the current and final version of the show a song called "I Just Might" takes place over these two songs. "9 to 5 (Reprise)" was a small song that takes place as the Consolidated employess head home at 5PM after a long day of work. "The One I Love" comes shortly afterwards and involves each of the three women at home either chatting with their husbands or with their children. Judy explicates that she may still love and have feelings for her ex-husband Dick, Violet with her son, and Doralee with her husband.

  • "I Killed the Boss!": As Judy, Violet, and Doralee are at the hospital, they hear a doctor explaining to someone that "he is dead". Violet, believing that the doctor was speaking of Hart, has become overly dramatic and thinks that she has killed Hart by putting the rat poison in his coffee.

  • "Mundania" / "Mundania" (Reprise): The song basically has the same message as "Always a Woman" which replaced these songs. Hart is "hanging around" bored doing nothing and is finally sick and tired of the trio of girls and attempts to escape. He finally escapes during the reprise.

  • "Willin'" / "Well-Oiled Machine": Was replaced by "Change It" and has the same meaning. The Consolidated employees are puzzled and concerned by all of Mr. Hart's changes and the girls urge them to continue working as a team.

Recordings

An original Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...

 cast recording
Cast recording
A cast recording is a recording of a musical that is intended to document the songs as they were performed in the show and experienced by the audience. An original cast recording, as the name implies, features the voices of the show's original cast...

 was recorded on May 3, and May 4, 2009, at Legacy Recording Studios in New York. The cast recording of the show was available on July 14, 2009 through all digital formats (including iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....

), and through Dolly Parton
Dolly Parton
Dolly Rebecca Parton is an American singer-songwriter, author, multi-instrumentalist, actress and philanthropist, best known for her work in country music. Dolly Parton has appeared in movies like 9 to 5, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Steel Magnolias and Straight Talk...

's official website. The hard-copy CD was available on July 28, 2009. It was released ahead of schedule at the Marquis Theatre
Marquis Theatre
The Marquis Theatre is a legitimate Broadway theatre located at 1535 Broadway in midtown-Manhattan.Situated on the third floor of the Marriott Marquis Hotel, the 1611-seat venue was designed by developer/architect John C. Portman, Jr...

 as of July 2, 2009. The cast recording has 18 tracks; the entire original score minus the Act II entr'acte
Entr'acte
' is French for "between the acts" . It can mean a pause between two parts of a stage production, synonymous to an intermission, but it more often indicates a piece of music performed between acts of a theatrical production...

. On December 4, 2009, when the Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...

 nominee's were announced, the cast recording was nominated for Best Musical Show Album
Grammy Award for Best Musical Show Album
The Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album has been awarded since 1959. The award was given only to the album producer, and to the composer and lyricist who wrote at least 51% of the music which had not been recorded previously....

.

Critical response

Los Angeles

The Los Angeles try-outs received mixed reviews from critics. Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...

praised the three female leads but suggested cutting act one: "Giant production numbers lose sight of character and quickly wear out their welcome." Further, the review praised the choreography, design, and Parton's music, saying that the "score mostly achieves its intended goals of variety, build and likability, at its best nailing character with images as resonant as the title tune's 'Pour myself a cup of ambition.'" The review noted: "Joe Mantello consistently indulges business in dubious taste." The Theatremania.com review, while praising the choreography, costumes, set and performances of the female leads, concluded that "ultimately, the whole enterprise lacks the freshness it needs to make it a truly first-rate musical." The Ventura County Star praised the director and choreographer, "along with music director Stephen Oremus
Stephen Oremus
Stephen Oremus is an American musician who has worked on Broadway theatre productions as musical director and as orchestrator. His credits include arranger and orchestrator for the music for Avenue Q, musical director and arranger for Wicked, arranger and orchestrator for All Shook Up, and musical...

, whose arrangements add to the texture of the show... the classy Allison Janney and two actor-songbirds, Megan Hilty and Stephanie J. Block, who carry the delightful burden of keeping the faith with much more of Parton's energizing, warmhearted way with words and music". The Orange County Register
The Orange County Register
The Orange County Register is a daily newspaper published in Santa Ana, California. The Register is the flagship publication of Freedom Communications, Inc., which publishes 28 daily newspapers, 23 weekly newspapers, Coast magazine, and several related Internet sites.The Register is notable for its...

praised the three female leads but wrote that "this production is more tricked out than it needs to be. Director Joe Mantello and his creative team have spent a great deal of time and energy turning a modest story about office politics into a bells-and-whistles Broadway show".

Broadway

Following the Broadway opening, Ben Brantley
Ben Brantley
Benjamin D. "Ben" Brantley is an American journalist and the chief theater critic of The New York Times.-Life and career:...

 of the New York Times described the show as an "overinflated whoopee cushion" and a "gaudy, empty musical" that "piles on the flashy accessories like a prerecession hedge funder run amok at Barney’s." He thought the stage adaptation turns its "feminist revenge story into an occasion for lewd slapstick (which feels about as up-to-date as the 1940s burlesque
Burlesque
Burlesque is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects...

 revue
Revue
A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century American popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own during its golden years from 1916 to 1932...

 Hellzapoppin) and a mail-order catalog of big production numbers, filtered through that joyless aesthetic that pervaded the 1970s." He added, "The comic sensibility certainly feels vintage, rather in the smirky mode of sitcoms
Situation comedy
A situation comedy, often shortened to sitcom, is a genre of comedy that features characters sharing the same common environment, such as a home or workplace, accompanied with jokes as part of the dialogue...

 like Three's Company
Three's Company
Three's Company is an American sitcom that aired from March 15, 1977, to September 18, 1984, on ABC. It is based on the British sitcom, Man About the House....

. The governing philosophy seems to be that it’s O.K. to leer if you wink at your own prurience... That’s true of much of the show. Its broad flirtation with tastelessness reminds you of how stylishly Mel Brooks
Mel Brooks
Mel Brooks is an American film director, screenwriter, composer, lyricist, comedian, actor and producer. He is best known as a creator of broad film farces and comic parodies. He began his career as a stand-up comic and as a writer for the early TV variety show Your Show of Shows...

 played with brazen vulgarity in The Producers
The Producers (musical)
The Producers is a musical adapted by Mel Brooks and Thomas Meehan from Brooks' 1968 film of the same name, with lyrics written by Brooks and music composed by Brooks and arranged by Glen Kelly and Doug Besterman. As in the film, the story concerns two theatrical producers who scheme to get rich...

."

In the New York Daily News, Joe Dziemianowicz rated the production three out of five stars. He thought the "bouncy, big-hearted songs" were "fresh and original," although "Not every tune is a home run, and some lyrics are too plain-spoken. But enough of them stand out." He thought the creative team "has struggled to open the show up for the stage." In conclusion he said, "Is 9 to 5 as hip as TV's The Office or as joyously hit-filled as How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying is a musical with music and lyrics by Frank Loesser and book by Abe Burrows, Jack Weinstock, and Willie Gilbert, based on Shepherd Mead's 1952 book of the same name....

? No, but if you're looking for a little diversion, it will do the trick from 8 to 10:15."

Linda Winer of Newsday
Newsday
Newsday is a daily American newspaper that primarily serves Nassau and Suffolk counties and the New York City borough of Queens on Long Island, although it is sold throughout the New York metropolitan area...

called it "lavish and harmless entertainment... with a shiny-colored and efficient score" and said "the squarely old-fashioned show fills a tourist-ready Hollywood slot left vacant by Legally Blonde
Legally Blonde (musical)
Legally Blonde is a musical with music and lyrics by Laurence O'Keefe and Nell Benjamin and book by Heather Hach. The story is based on the novel Legally Blonde by Amanda Brown and the 2001 film of the same name. It tells the story of Elle Woods, a sorority girl who enrolls at Harvard Law School to...

and Hairspray
Hairspray (musical)
Hairspray is a musical with music by Marc Shaiman, lyrics by Scott Wittman and Shaiman and a book by Mark O'Donnell and Thomas Meehan, based on the 1988 John Waters film Hairspray. The songs include 1960s-style dance music and "downtown" rhythm and blues...

. The thing feels less created than assembled from recycled musical-comedy components, but Broadway doesn't have one of these right now, and summer approaches."

Writing for the New York Post
New York Post
The New York Post is the 13th-oldest newspaper published in the United States and is generally acknowledged as the oldest to have been published continuously as a daily, although – as is the case with most other papers – its publication has been periodically interrupted by labor actions...

, Elizabeth Vincentelli rated the show three out of four stars and called it "goofily entertaining." About Dolly Parton she said, "It shouldn't surprise anybody she's taken so well to the stage: She's always been a storyteller first and foremost. Her countrified pop, enhanced by fiddle and pedal-steel guitar, fits perfectly on Broadway. Of all the mainstream artists who've tried their hand at show music in the past few years, she may be the most convincing."

Variety critic David Rooney thought that, although the material showcasing the female leads "is an uneven cut-and-paste job that struggles to recapture the movie's giddy estrogen rush, plenty of folks will nonetheless find this a nostalgic crowd-pleaser." He continued, "As composer-lyricist of the country-flavored pop score, Parton is a significant presence... not just in the evergreen title tune but particularly in a handful of new songs... [that] reveal the songwriter's authentic personality," and concluded, "The pleasures of 9 to 5 are less guilty, but they're also less satisfying than they should be. The promising material and terrific performers are too often sold short by clumsy story-building, overwhelming sets and unfocused direction."

Ed Pilkington of The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...

called the stage adaptation "a triumph" and praised Parton, describing her as "the real star of the show" and adding, "She is not on stage, but her presence fills it. She has composed a set of songs, accompanied with her own lyrics, that complement the original song. The greatest triumph of the night was that the film has been reinvented as a musical so successfully. It seemed improbable, given the cult status of the movie, but the stage show has met it and raised it, rather than being its pale imitation."

Original Los Angeles tryout

Year Award Ceremony Category Nominee Result
2008 LA Ovation Award Best Book/Lyrics/Music for an Original Musical Dolly Parton
Dolly Parton
Dolly Rebecca Parton is an American singer-songwriter, author, multi-instrumentalist, actress and philanthropist, best known for her work in country music. Dolly Parton has appeared in movies like 9 to 5, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Steel Magnolias and Straight Talk...

 and Patricia Resnick
Lead Actress in a Musical Megan Hilty
Megan Hilty
Megan Kathleen Hilty is an American stage and television actress.- Early years :Hilty was born in Bellevue, Washington and is the daughter of Jack and Donna Hilty. She attended Sammamish High School in Bellevue and the Washington Academy of Performing Arts Conservatory High School in Redmond,...

Allison Janney
Allison Janney
Allison Brooks Janney is an American actress, best known for her role as C.J. Cregg on the television series The West Wing.- Personal life :...

Best Scenic Design - Large Theatre Scott Pask
Scott Pask
Scott Pask is an American scenic designer. He has worked primarily on stage productions in the United States, on Broadway and Off-Broadway, and in regional theatre, as well as in the United Kingdom...

Best Costume Design - Large Theatre William Ivey Long
William Ivey Long
William Ivey Long is an American costume designer for stage and film. His most notable work includes The Producers, Hairspray, Nine, Crazy for You, Grey Gardens and Young Frankenstein.-Early life and education:...

Best Lighting Design - Large Theatre Jules Fisher
Jules Fisher
Jules Fisher is a lighting designer and producer. He is credited with lighting designs for more than 200 productions over the course of his 45 year career in Broadway and off-Broadway shows, as well extensive work in film, ballet, opera, television, and rock and roll concert tours...

 and Peggy Eisenhauer
Peggy Eisenhauer
Peggy Eisenhauer is an American lighting designer for both theatre and films. She has designed more than twenty Broadway shows and frequently collaborates with Jules Fisher.-Career:...

Best Sound Design - Large Theatre John H. Shivers
Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award
Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award
The Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Awards is an annual awards program presented by the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle . Established in 1969, the awards recognize excellence in theatre in the Greater Los Angeles Area....

Best Musical Score Dolly Parton
Dolly Parton
Dolly Rebecca Parton is an American singer-songwriter, author, multi-instrumentalist, actress and philanthropist, best known for her work in country music. Dolly Parton has appeared in movies like 9 to 5, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Steel Magnolias and Straight Talk...

Best Choreography Andy Blankenbuehler
Andy Blankenbuehler
Andy Blankenbuehler is an American dancer, choreographer and director primarily for stage and concerts. He won the Tony Award and Drama Desk Award for his choreography for In the Heights.-Biography:...


Original Broadway production

Year Award Ceremony Category Nominee Result
2009 Drama Desk Award
Drama Desk Award
The Drama Desk Awards, which are given annually in a number of categories, are the only major New York theater honors for which productions on Broadway, Off-Broadway, Off-Off-Broadway compete against each other in the same category...

Outstanding Musical
Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Musical
The Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Musical was first awarded at the 1974-1975 Drama Desk Awards and has been awarded every year since. Before the 21st Drama Desk Awards, acting awards were given without making distinctions between roles in straight dramas as opposed to musicals, nor were there...

Outstanding Book of a Musical
Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Book of a Musical
The Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Book of a Musical is presented by the Drama Desk, a committee which comprises New York City theatre critics, writers, and editors...

Patricia Resnick
Outstanding Actress in a Musical
Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Musical
The Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Musical was first awarded at the 1974-1975 Drama Desk Awards and has been awarded every year since...

Allison Janney
Allison Janney
Allison Brooks Janney is an American actress, best known for her role as C.J. Cregg on the television series The West Wing.- Personal life :...

Stephanie J. Block
Stephanie J. Block
Stephanie J. Block is an American actress and singer. She is most well known for her work on the Broadway stage. She has additionally been nominated for a Drama Desk Award and a Drama League Award. She released her debut solo album through PS Classics in June 2009...

Megan Hilty
Megan Hilty
Megan Kathleen Hilty is an American stage and television actress.- Early years :Hilty was born in Bellevue, Washington and is the daughter of Jack and Donna Hilty. She attended Sammamish High School in Bellevue and the Washington Academy of Performing Arts Conservatory High School in Redmond,...

Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical
Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical
The Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical was first awarded at the 1974-1975 Drama Desk Awards and has been awarded every year since...

Marc Kudisch
Marc Kudisch
Marc Kudisch is an American stage actor, who is best known for his musical theatre roles on Broadway.-Early life and education:...

Outstanding Director of a Musical
Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Director of a Musical
The Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Director of a Musical was first awarded at the 1974–1975 Drama Desk Awards and has been awarded every year since...

Joe Mantello
Joe Mantello
Joseph Mantello is an American actor and director best known for his work on Broadway productions of Wicked, Take Me Out and Assassins, as well as earlier in his career being one of the original Broadway cast of Angels in America...

Outstanding Choreography
Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Choreography
-1970s:* 1970: Ron Field – Applause** No nominees* 1971: Michael Bennett – Follies and Donald Saddler – No, No, Nanette** No nominees* 1972: Patricia Birch – Grease and Jean Erdman – Two Gentlemen of Verona...

Andy Blankenbuehler
Andy Blankenbuehler
Andy Blankenbuehler is an American dancer, choreographer and director primarily for stage and concerts. He won the Tony Award and Drama Desk Award for his choreography for In the Heights.-Biography:...

Outstanding Music
Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Music
The Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Music is an annual award presented by the Drama Desk, a committee comprising New York City theatre critics, writers, and editors...

Dolly Parton
Dolly Parton
Dolly Rebecca Parton is an American singer-songwriter, author, multi-instrumentalist, actress and philanthropist, best known for her work in country music. Dolly Parton has appeared in movies like 9 to 5, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Steel Magnolias and Straight Talk...

Outstanding Lyrics
Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lyrics
The Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lyrics is an annual award presented by the Drama Desk, a committee of New York City theatre critics, writers, and editors...

Outstanding Orchestrations
Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Orchestrations
The Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Orchestrations is presented by the Drama Desk, a committee of New York City theatre critics, writers, and editors...

Bruce Coughlin
Outstanding Set Design
Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Set Design
The Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Set Design is presented by the Drama Desk, a committee composed of New York City theatre critics, writers, and editors...

Scott Pask
Scott Pask
Scott Pask is an American scenic designer. He has worked primarily on stage productions in the United States, on Broadway and Off-Broadway, and in regional theatre, as well as in the United Kingdom...

Outstanding Costume Design
Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Costume Design
The Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Costume Design is presented by the Drama Desk, a committee of New York City theatre critics, writers, and editors...

William Ivey Long
William Ivey Long
William Ivey Long is an American costume designer for stage and film. His most notable work includes The Producers, Hairspray, Nine, Crazy for You, Grey Gardens and Young Frankenstein.-Early life and education:...

Outstanding Lighting Design
Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lighting Design
The Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lighting Design is presented by the Drama Desk, a committee of New York City theatre critics, writers, and editors...

Jules Fisher
Jules Fisher
Jules Fisher is a lighting designer and producer. He is credited with lighting designs for more than 200 productions over the course of his 45 year career in Broadway and off-Broadway shows, as well extensive work in film, ballet, opera, television, and rock and roll concert tours...

 and Kenneth Posner
Kenneth Posner
Kenneth Posner is an American theatrical lighting designer, working on Broadway, Off-Broadway, and in American regional theatre. His most notable designs include the musicals Wicked and Hairspray, two highly regarded musicals of the early 21st century...

Outstanding Sound Design
Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Sound Design
The Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Sound Design is presented by the Drama Desk, a committee of New York City theatre critics, writers, and editors. It honors the sound designers of productions staged on Broadway, off-Broadway, off-off-Broadway, and for legitimate not-for-profit theaters, all...

John H. Shivers
Drama League Award
Drama League Award
The Drama League Awards, created in 1935, honor distinguished productions and performances both on Broadway and Off-Broadway, in addition to recognizing exemplary career achievements in theatre, musical theatre, and directing...

Distinguished Production of a Musical
Distinguished Performance Megan Hilty
Megan Hilty
Megan Kathleen Hilty is an American stage and television actress.- Early years :Hilty was born in Bellevue, Washington and is the daughter of Jack and Donna Hilty. She attended Sammamish High School in Bellevue and the Washington Academy of Performing Arts Conservatory High School in Redmond,...

Allison Janney
Allison Janney
Allison Brooks Janney is an American actress, best known for her role as C.J. Cregg on the television series The West Wing.- Personal life :...

Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...

Best Musical Show Album
Grammy Award for Best Musical Show Album
The Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album has been awarded since 1959. The award was given only to the album producer, and to the composer and lyricist who wrote at least 51% of the music which had not been recorded previously....

Outer Critics Circle Award
Outer Critics Circle Award
The Outer Critics Circle Awards are presented annually for theatrical achievements both on and Off-Broadway and were begun during the 1949-1950 theater season. The awards are decided upon by theater critics who review for out-of-town newspapers, national publications, and other media outlets...

Outstanding Actress in a Musical Megan Hilty
Megan Hilty
Megan Kathleen Hilty is an American stage and television actress.- Early years :Hilty was born in Bellevue, Washington and is the daughter of Jack and Donna Hilty. She attended Sammamish High School in Bellevue and the Washington Academy of Performing Arts Conservatory High School in Redmond,...

Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical Kathy Fitzgerald
Outstanding Choreographer Andy Blankenbuehler
Andy Blankenbuehler
Andy Blankenbuehler is an American dancer, choreographer and director primarily for stage and concerts. He won the Tony Award and Drama Desk Award for his choreography for In the Heights.-Biography:...

Tony Award
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...

Best Original Score
Tony Award for Best Original Score
The Tony Award for Best Original Score is the Tony Award given to the composers and lyricists of the best original score written for a musical in that year. The score consists of music and lyrics...

Dolly Parton
Dolly Parton
Dolly Rebecca Parton is an American singer-songwriter, author, multi-instrumentalist, actress and philanthropist, best known for her work in country music. Dolly Parton has appeared in movies like 9 to 5, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Steel Magnolias and Straight Talk...

Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical Allison Janney
Allison Janney
Allison Brooks Janney is an American actress, best known for her role as C.J. Cregg on the television series The West Wing.- Personal life :...

Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical
Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical
This is a list of the winners and nominations of Tony Award for the Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical. The award has been presented since 1947...

Marc Kudisch
Marc Kudisch
Marc Kudisch is an American stage actor, who is best known for his musical theatre roles on Broadway.-Early life and education:...

Best Choreography
Tony Award for Best Choreography
-1940s:* 1947: Agnes de Mille – Brigadoon / Michael Kidd – Finian's Rainbow* 1948: Jerome Robbins – High Button Shoes* 1949: Gower Champion – Lend An Ear-1950s:* 1950: Helen Tamiris – Touch and Go* 1951: Michael Kidd – Guys and Dolls...

Andy Blankenbuehler
Andy Blankenbuehler
Andy Blankenbuehler is an American dancer, choreographer and director primarily for stage and concerts. He won the Tony Award and Drama Desk Award for his choreography for In the Heights.-Biography:...


External links

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