Roll outta bed and I stumble to the kitchen...
Pour myself a cup of ambition...
softeranswer and I went to see 9 to 5 last night. It just started previews on September 10th, which was a few days later than originally planned because of "technical difficulties" (which we got to see some of last night, more on that later.)
I was most excited about this initially because it was a chance to see Allison Janney on stage. I never got to see her when I lived in NYC and I always regretted it. Especially after watching her kick illegal amounts of ass on The West Wing for 7 years. Also, Dolly Parton wrote the ENTIRE score and lyrics. In case anyone was wondering if there was anything Dolly can't do? She apparently can do it all.
Anyway, softeranswer got us some amazing seats to see the show in. We were in the second row of the mezzanine with a good view of everything. We got down to the Music Center about an hour early, intending to grab dinner beforehand. Turns out they were re-opening the new Mark Taper Forum with a big gala, there was a performance of The Fly opera at Dorothy Chandler and of course, 9 to 5 at the Ahmanson. Needless to say, the underground parking was filled. We had to park at the Walt Disney Concert Hall down the block. No biggie. Dinner selections were scarce because of the gala going on, but we managed.
Onto the show...spoilers therein, but honestly, if you've seen the movie.....I'm not spoiling much.
Set in 1979 or thereabouts, the show stays pretty faithful to the original film screenplay. There's a few added things, such as a small love story for Violet and an expansion on the Roz role, but overall, most of the dialogue came straight out of the film, and it worked pretty well. (Including the "I'll turn you from a rooster into a hen with one shot!")
The show is really heavily carried by the three leading ladies: Allison Janney, Megan Hilty and Stephanie J. Block. They are all wonderful in their own way. As I suspected from the get-go, Allison doesn't have much of a singing voice. It's definitely not Pierce Brosnan in Mamma Mia! terrible, but when you put her in-between a former Elphaba and Galinda, it's going to show that she's definitely the weakest vocally. This is somewhat amusing because she has 4 songs. Allison plays "Violet Newstead" which is the Lily Tomlin role from the film. She's the older, more seasoned, can totally run the office in her sleep character. The woman whose been passed over for promotion after promotion simply because she's female. She's a widow with a son named JOSH. (JOSH, y'all. It just hit me this morning why this was so funny when she kept saying it.)
Fortunately most of her songs are in a mangeable register and while it's not exactly "speak singing," she doesn't go for the high notes, and it's better that way. The weakest two numbers were the "Potion Notion" fantasy, where she's dressed pretty much as SNOW WHITE fantasizing about poisoning Hart. It works in the sense that it's fantasy so audiences may be willing to forgive it a bit. The duet/love song between Violet and Joe (Andy Karl, last seen as the UPS guy from Legally Blonde) was sweet, but definitely where I heard her go out of tune the most.
That said, she does great with the larger ensemble numbers that she's leading, especially her big second act number "One of the Boys" where she glams out in a very sexy white tuxedo and dances with all the men from the ensemble, including on tables, complete with high kicks. The audience went bonkers.
Her acting and comedic timing really sell the role. We all knew AJ was funny and she proves it here. The scene where Violet, Judy and Doralee get stoned is, like, so freakin' funny. Violet is doing shots of Reddi-Whip directly from the can. Seriously, I was rolling. She's also exceptionally sweet with her son. There's a song called "The One I Love" where she sings a bit of a duet with her teenage son that was very sweet.
I've seen Megan Hilty three times as Galinda in Wicked so I went in knowing what she could do. She was Doralee right down to her double D's. She's got a huge voice and good timing. Her biggest number is in the first act with "Backwoods Barbie," which is actually a song from Dolly's latest CD. She also does really well with "Cowgirl's Revenge" -- Doralee's "Kill Hart" fantasy. And as softeranswer should agree, walking around in the spike heels she has to sport as Doralee deserve a mention all on their own. That can't be comfortable. It just can't.
Stephanie J. Block plays the Jane Fonda role of Judy Bernly, a woman whose just starting her career after her husband left her for his secretary. Let me get it out of the way by saying that Judy gets the best song in the entire show, the 11 O'Clock number "Get Out and Stay Out." SJB could've accepted the show on this song alone. It's a fiercely empowering song about a woman who has finally taken back her life and is standing on her own two feet. Easily the loudest applause of the night. She also has the tough job of going from naïve Judy to empowed Judy in two acts. I think she's wonderfully funny and her voice is fantastic. She got a HUGE LAUGH when she dropped a "No good deed goes unpunished" line. It was clear a lot of the audience were familiar with Wicked.
Marc Kudisch has the difficult job of playing the"sexist, egotistical, lying, hypocritical bigot" Franklin Hart, Jr. (Dabney Coleman in the film.) He was really fantastic. Funny as hell. And anyone who can sing an entire song while being suspended in a harness in midair ("Mundania") gets super props from me. He's great with all three ladies and super funny with his right-hand gal Roz.
Andy Karl as Joe the accountant has a fairly thankless role, but he does well with it. He's Violet's paramour and spends most of the show trying to get her to have dinner with him because he's totally smitten with her. (Who wouldn't be? Violet's awesome.) She puts him off because of his age mostly, and because of her lingering sadness over the death of her husband three years ago. He's persistent, though. (During Violet's Snow White fantasy, you even see him in Prince Charming regalia.) There's a sweet long song with Violet and he ends up helping the ladies in the end, which is nice.
The ensemble standout is definitely Kathy Fitzgerald as Roz. Her song "Heart to Hart" in Act I has all the makings of a show-stopper, and she nailed it. I do think it made the first act a little long, though, and might be able to be reworked into Act II, but they probably aren't asking for my opinion. Her Act II number "5 to 9" is okay. Maybe a bit superfluous, though.
As we saw the show in previews, (it officially opens on September 20th) they are still working out a lot of production bugs. So when the entire production STOPPED after the awesome song "Tattletales," it wasn't surprising. They seem to be having trouble with scene transitions, and I don't know if it's the motorization or what, but the entire stage froze, with half of the sets on and half of them off. They lowered the scrim and brought up the house lights to half. The audience were good sports and obviously understood that this is the sort of thing that happens during a preview. There were a few announcements that they'd be back up and running soon. Everyone just went with the flow, even when they brought the house lights totally up and said it would be another five minutes. (I took the time to update my Facebook status.) When they finally got the show up and running again, Allison clearly went off script and said, "Sorry about that. The elevators were broken and that took forever!" The theatre went nuts. Both she and Andy Karl kinda cracked up and broke character for a second.
The sets are gorgeous. There seem to be some technical issues like I said, and I don't think the XEROX machine was functioning quite up to speed, which slowed down the "Out of Control" number by Judy, but I'm sure that can be fixed. I think once they get all the kinks worked out, it can definitely run as a "Well-Oiled Machine" (Another Doralee number.)
The costumes were all fantastic. Everyone looked really wonderful in the period clothing. They even gave Violet a kimono-like jacket similar to the one that Lily Tomlin wears in the movie. Doralee's costumes accentuate her Double D's and Judy's got more and more vibrant as the show went on, just like her character did.
Act I felt overly long to me, and not just because of the 20-minute technical delay. I understand that where they stop is a perfect spot to go to an intermission, but there has to be something to tighten up there. The score and lyrics are great. The songs will definitely stay with you. I think the song that needs the most work or something done with it is Judy's first number "Out of Control." It just felt like a real shift and slow down in the pace that had been set up. Again, maybe with a fully-functioning XEROX machine, it may work better. (SJB covered this wonderfully, btw.) Personally, I would cut "I Killed the Boss!" It just didn't work. They need the hospital sequence, obviously, but the song just did not fit. I would think they could get away with no song there and some strong dialogue instead. Although, the sight of Allison Janney pushing around a dead man on a gurney...definitely interesting. I wasn't blown away by the choreography, but it is choreographed by Andy Blankenbuehler, who just finished with In the Heights on Broadway.
Overall, a really fun evening at the theatre. The audience all seemed really into it. I bought myself a 9 to 5 keychain and the souvenir program (which I NEVER do, but I wanted the pictures.) I would actually see this again near the end of the out of town tryout to see how much tighter the show has gotten. I'm gonna file that away for a possibility of a cheap seat in the balcony.
And there are bootlegs already...three days in. God bless camera phones?
Most of the last number, low quality, but worth a look.
I'm actually gonna leave this unlocked if anyone else is curious about the show, ask questions. I'll answer them as best I can.
softeranswer and I went to see 9 to 5 last night. It just started previews on September 10th, which was a few days later than originally planned because of "technical difficulties" (which we got to see some of last night, more on that later.)
I was most excited about this initially because it was a chance to see Allison Janney on stage. I never got to see her when I lived in NYC and I always regretted it. Especially after watching her kick illegal amounts of ass on The West Wing for 7 years. Also, Dolly Parton wrote the ENTIRE score and lyrics. In case anyone was wondering if there was anything Dolly can't do? She apparently can do it all.
Anyway, softeranswer got us some amazing seats to see the show in. We were in the second row of the mezzanine with a good view of everything. We got down to the Music Center about an hour early, intending to grab dinner beforehand. Turns out they were re-opening the new Mark Taper Forum with a big gala, there was a performance of The Fly opera at Dorothy Chandler and of course, 9 to 5 at the Ahmanson. Needless to say, the underground parking was filled. We had to park at the Walt Disney Concert Hall down the block. No biggie. Dinner selections were scarce because of the gala going on, but we managed.
Onto the show...spoilers therein, but honestly, if you've seen the movie.....I'm not spoiling much.
Set in 1979 or thereabouts, the show stays pretty faithful to the original film screenplay. There's a few added things, such as a small love story for Violet and an expansion on the Roz role, but overall, most of the dialogue came straight out of the film, and it worked pretty well. (Including the "I'll turn you from a rooster into a hen with one shot!")
The show is really heavily carried by the three leading ladies: Allison Janney, Megan Hilty and Stephanie J. Block. They are all wonderful in their own way. As I suspected from the get-go, Allison doesn't have much of a singing voice. It's definitely not Pierce Brosnan in Mamma Mia! terrible, but when you put her in-between a former Elphaba and Galinda, it's going to show that she's definitely the weakest vocally. This is somewhat amusing because she has 4 songs. Allison plays "Violet Newstead" which is the Lily Tomlin role from the film. She's the older, more seasoned, can totally run the office in her sleep character. The woman whose been passed over for promotion after promotion simply because she's female. She's a widow with a son named JOSH. (JOSH, y'all. It just hit me this morning why this was so funny when she kept saying it.)
Fortunately most of her songs are in a mangeable register and while it's not exactly "speak singing," she doesn't go for the high notes, and it's better that way. The weakest two numbers were the "Potion Notion" fantasy, where she's dressed pretty much as SNOW WHITE fantasizing about poisoning Hart. It works in the sense that it's fantasy so audiences may be willing to forgive it a bit. The duet/love song between Violet and Joe (Andy Karl, last seen as the UPS guy from Legally Blonde) was sweet, but definitely where I heard her go out of tune the most.
That said, she does great with the larger ensemble numbers that she's leading, especially her big second act number "One of the Boys" where she glams out in a very sexy white tuxedo and dances with all the men from the ensemble, including on tables, complete with high kicks. The audience went bonkers.
Her acting and comedic timing really sell the role. We all knew AJ was funny and she proves it here. The scene where Violet, Judy and Doralee get stoned is, like, so freakin' funny. Violet is doing shots of Reddi-Whip directly from the can. Seriously, I was rolling. She's also exceptionally sweet with her son. There's a song called "The One I Love" where she sings a bit of a duet with her teenage son that was very sweet.
I've seen Megan Hilty three times as Galinda in Wicked so I went in knowing what she could do. She was Doralee right down to her double D's. She's got a huge voice and good timing. Her biggest number is in the first act with "Backwoods Barbie," which is actually a song from Dolly's latest CD. She also does really well with "Cowgirl's Revenge" -- Doralee's "Kill Hart" fantasy. And as softeranswer should agree, walking around in the spike heels she has to sport as Doralee deserve a mention all on their own. That can't be comfortable. It just can't.
Stephanie J. Block plays the Jane Fonda role of Judy Bernly, a woman whose just starting her career after her husband left her for his secretary. Let me get it out of the way by saying that Judy gets the best song in the entire show, the 11 O'Clock number "Get Out and Stay Out." SJB could've accepted the show on this song alone. It's a fiercely empowering song about a woman who has finally taken back her life and is standing on her own two feet. Easily the loudest applause of the night. She also has the tough job of going from naïve Judy to empowed Judy in two acts. I think she's wonderfully funny and her voice is fantastic. She got a HUGE LAUGH when she dropped a "No good deed goes unpunished" line. It was clear a lot of the audience were familiar with Wicked.
Marc Kudisch has the difficult job of playing the"sexist, egotistical, lying, hypocritical bigot" Franklin Hart, Jr. (Dabney Coleman in the film.) He was really fantastic. Funny as hell. And anyone who can sing an entire song while being suspended in a harness in midair ("Mundania") gets super props from me. He's great with all three ladies and super funny with his right-hand gal Roz.
Andy Karl as Joe the accountant has a fairly thankless role, but he does well with it. He's Violet's paramour and spends most of the show trying to get her to have dinner with him because he's totally smitten with her. (Who wouldn't be? Violet's awesome.) She puts him off because of his age mostly, and because of her lingering sadness over the death of her husband three years ago. He's persistent, though. (During Violet's Snow White fantasy, you even see him in Prince Charming regalia.) There's a sweet long song with Violet and he ends up helping the ladies in the end, which is nice.
The ensemble standout is definitely Kathy Fitzgerald as Roz. Her song "Heart to Hart" in Act I has all the makings of a show-stopper, and she nailed it. I do think it made the first act a little long, though, and might be able to be reworked into Act II, but they probably aren't asking for my opinion. Her Act II number "5 to 9" is okay. Maybe a bit superfluous, though.
As we saw the show in previews, (it officially opens on September 20th) they are still working out a lot of production bugs. So when the entire production STOPPED after the awesome song "Tattletales," it wasn't surprising. They seem to be having trouble with scene transitions, and I don't know if it's the motorization or what, but the entire stage froze, with half of the sets on and half of them off. They lowered the scrim and brought up the house lights to half. The audience were good sports and obviously understood that this is the sort of thing that happens during a preview. There were a few announcements that they'd be back up and running soon. Everyone just went with the flow, even when they brought the house lights totally up and said it would be another five minutes. (I took the time to update my Facebook status.) When they finally got the show up and running again, Allison clearly went off script and said, "Sorry about that. The elevators were broken and that took forever!" The theatre went nuts. Both she and Andy Karl kinda cracked up and broke character for a second.
The sets are gorgeous. There seem to be some technical issues like I said, and I don't think the XEROX machine was functioning quite up to speed, which slowed down the "Out of Control" number by Judy, but I'm sure that can be fixed. I think once they get all the kinks worked out, it can definitely run as a "Well-Oiled Machine" (Another Doralee number.)
The costumes were all fantastic. Everyone looked really wonderful in the period clothing. They even gave Violet a kimono-like jacket similar to the one that Lily Tomlin wears in the movie. Doralee's costumes accentuate her Double D's and Judy's got more and more vibrant as the show went on, just like her character did.
Act I felt overly long to me, and not just because of the 20-minute technical delay. I understand that where they stop is a perfect spot to go to an intermission, but there has to be something to tighten up there. The score and lyrics are great. The songs will definitely stay with you. I think the song that needs the most work or something done with it is Judy's first number "Out of Control." It just felt like a real shift and slow down in the pace that had been set up. Again, maybe with a fully-functioning XEROX machine, it may work better. (SJB covered this wonderfully, btw.) Personally, I would cut "I Killed the Boss!" It just didn't work. They need the hospital sequence, obviously, but the song just did not fit. I would think they could get away with no song there and some strong dialogue instead. Although, the sight of Allison Janney pushing around a dead man on a gurney...definitely interesting. I wasn't blown away by the choreography, but it is choreographed by Andy Blankenbuehler, who just finished with In the Heights on Broadway.
Overall, a really fun evening at the theatre. The audience all seemed really into it. I bought myself a 9 to 5 keychain and the souvenir program (which I NEVER do, but I wanted the pictures.) I would actually see this again near the end of the out of town tryout to see how much tighter the show has gotten. I'm gonna file that away for a possibility of a cheap seat in the balcony.
And there are bootlegs already...three days in. God bless camera phones?
Click to viewMost of the last number, low quality, but worth a look.
I'm actually gonna leave this unlocked if anyone else is curious about the show, ask questions. I'll answer them as best I can.