Dolly Parton's Tony Award-Nominated 9 TO 5 Comes to Los Altos Hills

Multi-award winning Foothill Music Theatre presents 9 to 5 The Musical, featuring eight-time Grammy Award winner Dolly Parton's Grammy and Tony Award-nominated, country, gospel, and pop music-infused score. Based on the 1980 film of the same name, 9 to 5 The Musical is the story of three working women, eager to bust through the glass ceiling, who team up against their chauvinistic horror of a boss and take care of business. Set in the late 1970s, this romp through the Rolodex Era is a hilarious and empowering story of friendship, love, and women's roles in workplace, relationships, and society. Aided by a quick-witted book by the movie's screenwriter Patricia Resnick, this fantasy of female revenge, while lighthearted, may take on new resonance in today's politically fraught climate. Under the direction of Milissa Carey and musical direction by Dolores Duran-Cefalu, 9 to 5 The Musical will play March 1 - 18, 2018 (press opening: March 2) with performances 7:30pm Thursdays, 8:00pm Fridays & Saturdays, and 2pm Sundays at the Lohman Theatre, 12345 El Monte Rd (I-280 & El Monte Road), Los Altos Hills. Tickets ($12 - $32) and information can be found at www.foothill.edu/theatre or by phone at (650) 949-7360.

9 to 5 The Musical premiered in Los Angeles in September 2008, winning two Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Awards. Its shift to Broadway in 2009 garnered four Tony Award nominations, three Outer Critics Circle Award nominations and a record 15 Drama Desk Award nominations (the most received by a production in a single year). Variety called 9 to 5 The Musical a "light and lively crowdpleaser," and The Telegraph hailed it as "a winning mix of feminist indignation, raucous good humour and...genuinely touching moments."

Featuring Parton's score full of showstoppers like "Joy to the Girls," "Shine Like the Sun," and the ever-popular title song "9 to 5," as well as a host of show tunes with a country twang, 9 to 5 The Musical stars a cast of female powerhouse vocalists. Allie Townsend (Doralee), Glenna Murillo (Violet), and Rachelle Abbey (Judy) make their Foothill Music Theatre debuts. Allie Townsend takes on the role of spitfire secretary Doralee Rhodes, originated by Dolly Parton in the film. Seen recently as Lily St. Regis in Annie at Woodside Community Theatre, Townsend has also performed with Pacifica Spindrift Players, Stage 1 Theatre, and Redwood City Community Theatre. Glenna Murillo performs as senior office manager and single mother Violet Newstead. Murillo has been seen at Tabard Theatre Company, South Bay Musical Theatre, Sunnyvale Community Players, and Hillbarn Theatre. Rachelle Abbey plays Judy Bernly, the office newcomer. Seen recently as Brenda Strong in West Valley Light Opera's production of Catch Me If You Can, Abbey has also performed with Palo Alto Players, South Bay Musical Theatre, Hillbarn Theatre, Tabard Theatre Company, Sunnyvale Community Players, and Woodside Community Theatre.

Chauvinistic boss Franklin Hart is played by Aaron Hurley, who returns to Foothill Music Theatre where he was featured in Damn Yankees. Most recently seen in Los Altos Stage Company's production of 1940s Radio Hour, Hurley has performed at local theatres including South Bay Musical Theatre, Sunnyvale Community Players, and Woodside Community Theatre. Angela Ceseña, who was also seen in Foothill Music Theatre's Damn Yankees, plays Roz Keith, the office gossip queen. Ceseña has performed at Cabrillo Stage, Tabard Theatre Company, Sunnyvale Community Players, Woodside Community Theatre, and West Valley Light Opera, among others.

Rounding out the principal cast is Adam Cotugno as the accountant Joe, and Jorge Diaz as Doralee's husband, Dwayne. Cotugno, who returns to Foothill Music Theatre where he was featured in Sunday in the Park with George, has also been seen onstage at Stage 1 Theatre, Sunnyvale Community Players, Palo Alto Players, Broadway By the Bay, and Los Altos Stage Company. Diaz, who returns to Foothill Music Theatre after his performance in Shrek The Musical, has also performed frequently with Foothill Theatre Arts, including the recent It Can't Happen Here.

The cast also features a stellar ensemble, including Megan Brown, Daniel Cardenas, Seton Chiang, Jordan Covington, David Evans, Tim Ford, Ryan Kain, Kimberly Kay, Kayvon Kordestani, Greg Lynch, Jenn Martinelli, Katie Mazon, Ginny Moore, Alea Selburn, and Todd Wright.

Milissa Carey (Director) joined the Foothill faculty in 2003 and teaches in both the Theatre and Music Departments. Carey has directed Foothill Music Theatre productions of Spring Awakening, Little Shop of Horrors, South Pacific, Sunday in the Park with George, All Shook Up, Working, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, She Loves Me, Side Show and most recently Shrek The Musical. Other directing credits include Kiss Me Kate and Almost, Maine. She has directed projects at RADA (The Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London), the American Conservatory Theater M.F.A. Program, Broadway By the Bay, Los Altos Stage Company, California Conservatory Theatre, Opera Academy of the West, among others. An award-winning Bay Area actress, Carey has performed leading roles with many Bay Area theatre companies including TheatreWorks Silicon Valley, Center Repertory Theatre of Walnut Creek, San Jose Repertory Theatre, American Musical Theatre of San Jose, CentralWorks, and 42nd Street Moon. She was in the cast of the 25th Anniversary Broadway National Tour of Evita under the direction of Hal Prince. Carey is on the faculty of the M.F.A. program at American Conservatory Theater and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.

Dolores Duran-Cefalu (Musical Direction) returns to Foothill after serving as Musical Director for Side Show. She has worked as a music director and conductor extensively throughout the Bay Area, with credits including The Snow Queen at San Jose Repertory Theatre, Guys and Dolls at Broadway By the Bay, Stuck Elevator at A.C.T, and Next to Normal and A Minister's Wife at San Jose Rep. She has played for several touring shows in San Francisco, including Book of Mormon, Wicked, Shrek The Musical, In The Heights, and Mamma Mia!, and has music directed or played more than 60 different productions around the Bay Area. Duran-Cefalu has two Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle Award nominations, and is currently Music Director for California's Great America.

Eight-time Grammy Award, nine-time Country Music Award, three-time American Music Award winner, and two-time Academy Award and five-time Golden Globe nominee Dolly Parton is one of country music's most honored female performers of all time. Since recording her first single at the age of 13, Parton has composed 3,000 songs and has released a record-holding 42 top 10 country albums. Including hits like "I Will Always Love You." "Jolene," and "9 to 5," she has had 25 songs reach number one on the country music charts. Parton is also an actress, featured in films such as 9 to 5, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Steel Magnolias, Rhinestone, and Joyful Noise, the author of Dolly: My Life and Other Unfinished Business, Dream More - Celebrate the Dreamer in You, and several children's books, as well as an outspoken advocate for literacy.

Patricia Resnick wrote the screenplay for films such as 9 to 5, A Wedding, Maxie, and Straight Talk and scripts for television including Olivia, The Battle of Mary Kay, Recovery Road, and The Arrangement. She also served as the executive producer of Olivia on Nickelodeon, and was a consulting producer on the final season of Mad Men.

Foothill Music Theatre has won Bay Area Theatre Critics' Circle Awards for Outstanding Production, Outstanding Ensemble Production, and Best Direction, among others. The company has also garnered numerous awards from the Los Angeles-based Drama-Logue, and kudos from myriad Bay Area critics for its sharp, handsomely mounted productions of Shrek The Musical, Side Show, She Loves Me, South Pacific, Little Shop of Horrors, Damn Yankees, Spring Awakening, The Producers, Bat Boy: The Musical, The Pajama Game, Sweeney Todd, and many other musicals.

Photo: Judy (Rachelle Abbey), Violet (Glenna Murillo), and Doralee (Allie Townsend) team up against their sexist boss Franklin (Aaron Hurley) in Dolly Parton's 9 to 5 The Musical, presented by Foothill Music Theatre at the Lohman Theatre, Los Altos Hills, March 1 - 18, 2018

Photo by David Allen.

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