For the most part, '9 to 5' works

Musical adaptation of the hit film could use a little more '70s flavor, but it provides some good fun

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At one point during the performance of “9 to 5: The Musical,” DollyParton’s face is projected onto a screen, beseeching the audience, essentially,to spread the good word about the show if they liked it, and if they didn’t, tokeep their big mouths shut. But Dolly, what if I mostly liked it but stillfound some room for improvement? Can I tell the people to go see it but cut itsome slack? I was certainly willing to give it a little wiggle room. I mean, asa red-blooded American, you can’t not love Dolly Parton.

And her DNA is all over this project. True, the movie onwhich this is based was Parton’s first foray into motion pictures, hardlymaking it “her” movie. But her hourglass figure, down-home earnestness and rawtalent made helped propel this to be the No. 1 comedy of 1980 and made Partonan instant breakout movie star. (Did you know Jane Fonda was actually the starof the movie? The ladies in front of me couldn’t remember.) But Parton wroteall the music for this stage version and it’s her avatar Doralee who is theheart of the show. Of course, it’s also her infectious title track serving asthe theme for seemingly half the songs.

It’s certainly not the acting or the music that keep thisgood musical from being great, although there were a couple of less-than-rousingnumbers, and you wonder why none of the songs went the disco or twangy country spoofroute, given that the movie was set in the pop culture wasteland of 1979.Similarly, the minimal set design could have benefitted from wallowing a littlemore in the awfulness that was par for the course for interior decoration atthe time. Really, not a single lime-green or brown-plaid color scheme? And theclunky additions to the original script are more groan-inducing than wink-and-nod-inspiring,including throwaway jokes about Enron, “Dallas” and “new” office terms such as “casualFriday” and “24/7.” But that all takes back seat to the female-empowermentplot.

Violet Newstead (Dee Hoty), the queen bee of the secretariesat Consolidated Companies, is saddled with hapless newbie Judy Bernly (MamieParris), who is struggling to start anew after her old life is swept out frombeneath her by a philandering husband. Meanwhile, office pariah Doralee Rhodes(Diana DeGarmo) fights off the advances of self-proclaimed “sexist,egotistical, lying, hypocritical bigot” and CEO Franklin Hart, Jr. (JosephMahowald). The system built to keep these women from achieving any level ofsuccess is the very thing that leads them to join forces, quit their bitchingand do something about it. The serendipitous introduction of a doobie serves asthe catalyst that gets the ladies as high as kites — and starts theirfantastical revenge schemes cooking.

As Doralee, the big-haired, buxom, squeaky-twanged object ofHart’s lust, DeGarmo doesn’t merely impersonate Parton: she expertly recreatesParton’s original portrayal, yet still effectively makes the character feelfresh. DeGarmo takes nothing for granted, really working to make us believethat she’s got a heart of gold pounding behind that ample bosom and an actualbrain humming beneath that blond wig. Her hypnotic stage presence andout-of-this-world voice demand your full attention at all times.

Mahowald has the leading man swagger and tenor down pat (notto mention a killer ‘70s porn ‘stache and sideburns), but needs to loosen up alittle and have some fun with the physical comedy aspects of the show. It’s acomedy! It’s OK to do spit takes, pratfalls and scrunch up that handsome mug ofyours into the occasional grimace.

Parris, meanwhile, as our eyes and ears into the world of 1979office life, is disappointingly conservative with her role, with two keyexceptions. The scene in which her character gets stoned and describes a metaphysicallyintricate vision she’s having is a slice of comic gold (and drew knowing laughsfrom one corner of the audience), but it is her timber-rattling “Get Out andStay Out” late in Act II, a smoldering torch song reminiscent of “And I AmTelling You I’m Not Going,” that cements her status as part of the power trio. We’dheard her harmonizing with her costars, but that song is the first time we hearthat truly impressive big voice come out of that little lady.

And in the good-things-come-from-strange-places department,Kristine Zbornik as Hart’s bookish minion Roz has the audience howlingthroughout “Heart to Hart,” her showstopping ode to the unrequited love she hasfor her boss. Her decidedly un-coquettish dance of seduction is an epic fail anda work of uproariously slapstick fun. Michael Scott couldn’t have done itbetter.

Bottom line: “9 to 5” is a genuinely fun show, albeit with afew flaws. The last thing I need is the wrath of Dolly Parton upon me.

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