From April 10th to April 12th, Steinbrenner’s theater program performed their spring musical, 9 to 5, which was held in the auditorium at 7pm. This show was performed with three leads, Violet Newstead, played by Alanna Aquino Vassallo, Judy Bernly, played by Claire Ryan Allen, and Doralee Rhodes, played by Maddy Lucas. The storyline follows the three women who work for Franklin Hart, a “sexist, egotistical, lying, hypocritical, bigot” who was played by Tyler Brock.
The musical was set in the late 1970s and was based off Dolly Parton’s song 9-5 that served as the opening number. Violet, Judy, and Doralee all hate their boss who constantly looks down on them and takes advantage of them, making them do tasks not involved with their job such as making Violet get a present for his wife.
Violet has worked at Consolidated Industry for fifteen years and is constantly overlooked for promotions even though she does a lot for the company. One day, a new employee comes in with zero experience, Judy Bernly.
Judy and Violet make quick work of becoming friends as Violet mentors Judy. Doralee introduces herself to the new employee in hopes of making a friend in the office space and invites her to lunch but Judy rejects her nicely. It is later learned that the woman at Consolidated Industry does not like Doralee because she is having an affair with Hart, which is also revealed was a rumor that Hart spread.
After Doralee confronts Hart on the lie he spread, she quickly goes to Violet to confront her. At the same time Judy comes in asking Violet for help because Hart fired a girl over discussing salary. After all, three ladies confront one another, Violet offers to go back to her house, and they all together share a pot brownie, they share their fantasies on how they’d get back at Hart. Judy singing “The Dance O’ Death” and shooting him, Doralee singing her song “Cowgirl’s Revenge”, which is about tying him up and using a branding iron on Hart, and lastly Violets “Potion Notion”, where she poisons Hart’s coffee.
The night ends, and the next morning the three girls go back to work, where Violet makes Hart another coffee, and accidentally uses rat poison instead of Skinny and Sweet.
Hart fakes his death, and the later after office hours Violet, Judy, and Doralee go back to the office to clear the evidence. Doralee runs into Hart, and to not get caught, the three girls kidnap Hart and hold him hostage by tying him with a garage door opener.
To fix the sexist, overworked office place, Violet, Doralee, and Judy work together to make it more accommodating for everyone at Consolidated Industry while trying to get blackmail against Hart. Workplace efficiency jumped up by 25% and everyone was happier and more cooperative towards one another. Hart managed to escape and came back to the office, trying to get the girls in trouble with Russell Tinsworthy, played by Curtis Gordon, by ratting them out on how they kidnapped him.
Tinsworthy believes it to be a big joke, before giving Violet the credit of the new and improved workplace. He gives Violet the promotion to President of the company and sends Hart to Bolivia to manage the South American branch. Which leaves Violet in charge of the workplace and the play finishes with everyone happy in the workplace.
The cast members in the musical loved every second of it, from rehearsals to tech week to finally performing. It wouldn’t have been possible to create such an amazing play without the actors and technicians. The close dynamic between the cast ensures the comfort of everyone involved in the production. “I had a lot of intimate scenes with Tyler, but he made me feel very comfortable and safe,” said senior Maddy Lucas.
Some people found it very easy to get into character and be able to play their part. For example, Claire was able to see Judy as an extension of herself, using her own personal experiences and personality to help play Judy. Maddy though had to work harder to be able to play Doralee to her fullest capability. “It was definitely a challenge, I’d never played someone with an accent before, so it was definitely new to me. She’s very unlike me, in the fact that she’s blonde, she doesn’t look or act like me,” said Lucas.
Cast members had to learn new things and new skills to be able to portray their character effectively such as learning to tap dance. Though it was hard to learn for some, it was a good way for many to grow their skills.
Though some people were able to get into character easily and others had to work harder, it was a fun challenge for everyone involved. The production took a long time to come together seamlessly, and everyone had to put in enormous amounts of effort to make it work.
Many of the lead roles in this play were portrayed by seniors and it was a bittersweet ending for the seniors’ last show. Everyone from the cast has their own keepsake memories and photos from backstage and rehearsals that tie everything together. The cast even created a shared photos album where everyone sent their photos that they took so they could reminisce on the final show of the school year.
The musical 9 to 5 was a great success, and everyone put in their all for the last show of the year. Everyone had to put in extra work to make it come together even with the cramped time they had to do it after Finding Nemo Jr. The show was well put together and everyone had enjoyed the show so much and it was very fun for everyone to put on with one another.
