Review: 9 TO 5 at Music Theatre of Wichita at Century II Concert Hall

9 to 5 is one of my favorite shows - it’s entertaining, it’s full of comedic moments, and it has some great lessons in self love, trusting your instincts, and believing in yourself. It shows us not only how far we have come in terms of respecting women’s rights, but also shows us how much more needs to be done in terms of equal rights for not only women, but for all minority groups.

9 to 5: The Musical is based on the 1980 film starring Jane Fonda,  Dolly Parton, and Lily Tomlin. The music and lyrics were written by Dolly Parton, with book by Patricia Resnick, based on the screenplay by Resnick and Colin Higgins. The musical premiered in Los Angeles in September 2008, and opened on Broadway in April 2009. Keeping with Artistic Director Brian J. Marcum’s “Year of the Woman” theme, the musical is set in the late 1970s, when women were seeking equal pay for equal work, good childcare options, and the right to be respected in the workplace. We watch gleefully as our three working girl heroines, Violet, Judy, and Doralee, devise a plan to get even with Mr. Hart, their sexist, egotistical, lying, hypocritical bigot boss. The show moves at a quick pace, and their are tons of laughs along the way.

Prior to the show, the Trust Company of Kansas Rising Stars Youth Ensemble warmed us up with their version of Texas Hold ‘em by Beyonce!

Great voices, great energy, and a lively pace are all hallmarks of an Eric Sciotto show. You may remember his excellent work from last season on the 2023 MTW season opener, Rock of Ages. Sciotto’s staging for 9 to 5 was clever and tight, and his choreography was visceral and muscular, showing the workers’ struggle to move through their day, to move through all the red tape of bureaucracy just to get ahead. Musical direction by Thomas W. Douglas keeps the orchestra and the voices moving and sounding great throughout this fast paced show.

Set Coordinator Jordan Slusher did a great job of reworking the bones of this set, designed by Robert A. Kovach. This set was used for the 2012 MTW production of 9 to 5, and it’s nice to see some editing and updates in the pieces, set dressing, and projections. Lighting Designer Helena Kuukka does a beautiful job here, particularly in Here For You. The look is particularly striking job, isolating Hart, Doralee, and the Boy’s Club perfectly.

Costume Designer Shannon Smith-Regnier, a graduate of WSU, who currently teaches Costume Design at Avila University, did a fabulous job capturing the 1970s era in all its glory! Katie Crandall, who is currently the Wig and Wardrobe Supervisor for Playwrights Horizons, was also faithful in recreating some of the more interesting aspects of the era. Standouts included Doralee’s mountainous wig in the first act, a nod to the disco perm phenomena of that time period - and Judy’s ex, Dick, with his comb over.

There were some great female leads! Doralee was played by Kathryn Adeline, a recent OCU grad. If you closed your eyes, you could her channel Dolly. Her rendition of Backwoods Barbie was excellent. Adeline’s voice is so flexible and fluid, and wonderfully athletic and energizing in Cowgirl’s Revenge. Her Doralee “Rooster to a hen” moment was spot on and won the audience over to her side for good! Adeline also had the best shoes in Act II!

Judy, played by Amanda Lea LaVergne, originated the role of Campbell in Bring it On: The Musical, and has numerous Broadway credits. LaVergne starts Judy out as a mousy, frumpy girl, desperate and at the end of her rope, who is going along to get along. In the second act, when Judy’s ex, Dick, asks her to take him back, she finally realizes what she has been putting up with from all the men in her life, Judy bursts out of her chrysalis and morphs into the strongest of them all. In the 11 o’clock number, Get Out and Stay Out, LaVergne’s delivery is so powerful and moving, building to a chill inducing final chorus that brought the house down.

Violet, played here by Soara-Joye Ross, a Lucille Lortell Wine for her role in Carmen Jones, and fresh off of Hadestown on Broadway, keeps the pace brisk and the action moving. In Violet’s  Fantasy, an obivious Disney parody where she comically plays Snow White poisoning Hart, I loved the sweet irony that Ross was also in Disenchanted! Ross belts out One of the Boys, deeply enjoying her control over the Boy’s Club. In Violet’s final speech, “I’m not the guy,” Ross was exceptionally powerful, pleading her case so convincingly the house burst into applause when she was done.

Veteran MTW performer and local favorite Injoy Fountain played Hart’s right hand Roz Keith with a great straightforward delivery and lots of physical comedy. Fountain really explores her vocal range in this show, plumbing the depths of her sultry mezzo tones, sometimes growling and generally tearing it up, fantasizing a “relationship” with her boss in Hart To Hart. However, in the second act, for all the comedy in Hart to Hart, Fountain switches to a super beautiful poignant delivery showcasing her upper range in 5 to 9.

Broadway Veteran Matt Allen (Once Upon a One More Time, Something Rotten) plays Mr. Franklin Hart, a real jerk of a boss who can’t help Manspreading all over the set, at every opportunity, to hysterical effect, and Mansplaining his way out of all his situations. Allen’s portrayal of Hart was a refreshing step away from toxic alpha machismo, and gravitated more towards the not so smart guy, the sleazy weasel white collar crime guy in a 1970s cop show like the Rockford Files, who always gets away with things to the detriment of others.

Violet’s love interest Joe, played here by Stephens College graduate Eddie Andrews, does such a great job being so affable, such a normal, regular guy who is so easy to love.  Andrew imbues Joe with a nerdy yet impeccable confidence; an accountant type who doesn’t give up. Ross and Andrews do a beautiful job on Love Can Grow, as Joe convinces Violet to let down her guard and give love another chance.

The Ensemble was brilliant. All that complicated choreography was no doubt drilled down and woodshedded by Assistant Choreographer Sam Hewes. Kassi McMillan, a recent CCM graduate, plays Mrs. Hart as a statuesque, well bred beauty with lots of class. Judy’s husband Dick, played by Wichita native Chris Loucks, does a great job here. Loucks shows us a man who was forgettable in a way that you wondered what Judy ever saw in him and why Mindi ultimately left him. Myranda Sanchez, a rising Sophomore at MT Major at the University of Oklahoma, plays Maria, the minority secretary who gets fired for asking too many intelligent questions, with lots of humour, grit, and determination. Last but not least, MTW Veteran Tim Robu gives us Hart’s boss - a marvelous Tinsworthy - who had a splendid Colonel Sanders/T Boone Pickens vibe.

There were so many great moments in this show! The transition into Bob’s Promotion scene in the first act was sublime! The pot smoking scene with our three leads was hysterical, and the psychedelic projections added so much atmosphere. The second act really tightens up and moves quickly to the show’s conclusion. The laughs were a mile a minute and the audience was right there with cast, along for the ride.

Up next for MTWichita is Disney’s Frozen, which will feature brand new sets and costumes specifically for this production! It runs July 5th through July 14th, 2024.

Make sure to get your tickets for Star Night, which is a fundraiser for the company, June 21 and 22, 2024, at Mosley Street Melodrama.

Go to mtwichita.org to order tickets online, or call the Box Office at 316-625-3107Century II Concert Hall is located at 225 W. Douglas, Wichita, KS 67202

Photo Credit: Kacy Meinecke

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