On the surface, 9 to 5 is a revenge story. Three mistreated women finally tell their boss they’ve had enough. They kidnap him, take over the office, and eventually get him out of their hair. However, you’ll find that the revenge is more of a vehicle in which these women find themselves. Each of our heroines are searching for their voice, whether it is to find independence, courage, or love. And they only begin to find that when they find each other.
Dolly Parton makes it look so easy. A woman whose class and resilience goes beyond what most of us find possible. She started her career as a country star, but is known today for a myriad of talents, including songwriter, actress, businesswoman, philanthropist, and feminist icon.
I remember when I first was introduced to Dolly. I looked at her the way the office looks at Doralee. Silly blond. Dumb. Only cares about her looks. As I got older, I watched her intelligence and poise on tv and talk shows and I realized that, much like Doralee, her appearance is only a fraction of what makes her the woman that she is.
After I first saw 9 to 5, the Musical, I understood what drove Dolly to create the music for this show. In a sense, we are all Violet, Judy, and Doralee. Like Violet, we have a side that is all business: our goals driving us ever forward. But our focus may lead us to forget the other aspects of life that make it worth living. Like Judy, we have a side that feels lost: maybe in a job, in our relationships, or in our day to day. We sometimes look around and think ‘how can everyone else get it right, but not me?’ And like Doralee, we have a side that is frightened to speak out. A side that dwells on what others think instead of standing up for ourselves and loving who we are. In the end, the goal is to have those three sides of us find each other, and hopefully we can kidnap all the doubts and fears to be the best version of ourselves.
This is the first musical that Taft has done since the pandemic. This production is unique in that none of the performers on this stage have done a musical at the Varsity Campus. As daunting as that sounds, these actors have risen to the challenge (and then some). Everyone has put in an incredible amount of work, and we would not be here without the support of the school, our families, and the staff who helped during this process. We hope you enjoy the results!
