CLO's '9 to 5' is still a lively romp through the workplace
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9 to 5 Touring cast, from left, Dee Hoty, Diana DeGarmo and Mamie Parris. -
Dee Hoty, left, Diana DeGarmo and Mamie Parris work hard for the money in "9 to 5: The Musical" at the Benedum Center through Sunday. -
Joseph Mahowald as Mr. Hart and Mamie Parris as secretary Judy.
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Entertaining Broadway-tested diversions from the workaday world come few and far between, so "9 to 5: The Musical" arrives like cool breeze amid a heatwave -- or more to the point in this circa-1979 story, like a newly minted answering machine to a beleaguered secretary.
The six-month New York run in 2009 was the test drive for this national tour, brought to you by the Pittsburgh CLO at the Benedum Center. Dolly Parton, who starred in and delivered the chart-topping title song for the "9 to 5" movie 30 years ago, has revisited the theme of sexual harassment in the 1970s workplace with an original, Tony-nominated score with such snappy numbers as "Backwoods Barbie" and rousing anthems as "Shine Like the Sun."
In case you don't recall the movie that inspired the Broadway musical, the voice of the film's original Doralee Rhodes, Dolly herself, is piped in for narration to get the show rolling. She introduces the main trio of women and their particular baggage while the song "9 to 5" follows a bunch of working stiffs from home to the subway to the busy office of a company called Consolidated. It doesn't matter what's produced there; all we need to know is the boss is an egotistical sexist pig and the women are underpaid, underappreciated and sexually harassed.
The office staff includes busty blond secretary Doralee, played by "American Idol" finalist Diana DeGarmo with, shall we say, chest enhancements, a curly blond wig and super high heels, as well as a country-girl confidence and a Tennessee lilt a la Dolly.
- Where: Pittsburgh CLO at the Benedum Center, Downtown.
- When: 1 and 8 p.m. Thursday; 8 p.m. Friday; 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday; 2 p.m. Sunday.
- Tickets: $21-$61.75, pittsburghclo.org or 412-456-6666.
She is at first shunned by the women in the office who are willing to believe the boss' lies that she is sleeping with him. They include efficient office manager Violet (Dee Hoty) and newly divorced Judy (Mamie Parris). Judy is a newcomer to the workforce, and it's her first day at Consolidated, which she soon discovers is run by the aforementioned egotistical sexist pig Franklin Hart, played with crass arrogance by Joseph Mahowald, a familiar face on stages from Broadway to Pittsburgh CLO.
First Published June 2, 2011 12:00 am
