Review: 9 to 5 (The Musical) – A Dollytastic Show!

(Ben Richards & Amy Lennox in 9 to 5 – The Musical. Photo: Simon Annand)

Sheffield Lyceum Theatre | 24th April 2013, 7:45pm

Friendship, Gossip, Poison, Murder? These ladies have all the fun sticking girl power directly in the face of sexism in Dolly Parton’s hit musical, 9 to 5.

Girl power is back! If it isn’t Legally Blonde or even the original girl-power divas in the Spice Girls, currently rocking their own musical adaptation in Viva Forever!, then it’s the hit 1980s film led by the ultimate feisty blonde, Dolly Parton.

9 to 5 – The Musical is written by Patricia Resnick, with music and lyrics by Dolly Parton. It follows the lives of three women: the office veteran, the new girl and the busty blonde, all struggling to fight against their ‘sexist, egotistical, lying, hypocritical bigot’ boss, played by television regular Mark Morgaghan.

Minus a slight technical hitch with Dolly Parton freezing mid-opening, calling for a quick re-start of the entire show, the moment Parton’s famous song rings through the theatre, you are transported back to the 1980s with clashing outfits, crazy hair and even a dancing virtual Dolly Parton narrating you through it all.

In the original film, Parton played Doralee Rhodes, the busty secretary to boss Franklyn Hart Jr., who makes the lives of his staff members Judy Bernly and Violet Newstead (played originally by Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin) a living hell.

This isn’t a lame old film dragged across two hours with songs added in for extra measure, no. 9 to 5 reimagines its hilarious storyline and adds a few surprises along the way.

As expected, the show’s stars are its three feisty ladies in Doralee, Judy and Violet, perfectly cast as Amy Lennox, Jackie Clune and Natalie Casey respectively.

Credit must go to Parton in giving all her girls their own big number, sticking their finger up to any sexist male from their lives. Clune, as office veteran Violet, gets her own male dancers as she showcases her life at the top of business in ‘One of the Boys’, whilst Casey as vulnerable Judy ends the show with her high-belting 11th-hour number ‘Get Out and Stay Out’, rivalling any top musical theatre performer on vocal talent alone.

However, the show’s star is the feisty blonde Doralee Rhodes, played by ex-Legally Blonde cast member Amy Lennox. Whether it’s her slim build, gorgeous vocals or busty boobs like the original country girl herself, Lennox has it all. Not many people can sing a Dolly Parton song better than the lady herself, however, Lennox’s rendition of the famous 2008 hit ‘Backwoods Barbie’ is as gorgeous as the lady herself. This one song was almost worth the ticket price alone.

Having seen the production previously at its UK debut in Manchester, the piece is almost unrecognisable. The production has developed around its cast but has clearly listened to audience feedback, ironing out the previously awkward pauses and unfunny gags.

It is better suited to a larger stage, restricted slightly by the stage space available at the Sheffield Lyceum. This became most noticeable when a male ensemble member seemingly misjudged his positioning and took a ‘low blow’ during one of the show’s large ensemble numbers.

It’s great to watch a stage adaptation that honours its original piece whilst keeping true to its slightly naughty original film. What would a Dolly Parton musical be without revealing outfits and a naughty office assistant? That comes in the shape of Anita Louise Combe, who recently replaced stage favourite Bonnie Langford as Franklin Hart Jr.’s PA and devout admirer Roz Keith.

A deep purple all-in-one suit, horrible hair, but one heck of a singing voice. I imagine it would be difficult to follow in the footsteps of a stage legend like Langford however Combe makes the role her own, adding fight and even vulnerability to the role, something Langford didn’t. As the rather excitable couple in front rightly said after her big musical number ‘Heart to Hart’: “well I wasn’t expecting that voice”.

I couldn’t help but miss Ben Richards as Franklin Hart Jr., however Morgaghan is a great replacement. Richards is currently away working on other projects in America and will return to the tour in May.

Although the show will never win any awards for its original concept or staging, its has all the dedication, humour and heart to lead it around the UK and hopefully into a more permanent fixture in London in the not-so distance future. 9 to 5 is a hit show that will get you dancing in the aisles alongside Dolly at curtain call.

If you get the chance to go back to the 1980s and dance with Dolly, do! I’ve no doubt you’ll love every minute, y’all.

9 to 5 – The Musical closes at the Sheffield Lyceum this Saturday (27th April) before opening at the Mayflower Theatre, Southampton (29th April – 4th May).

Tickets available direct at: www.9to5themusical.co.uk

Header and all photographs copyright to http://www.9to5themusical.co.uk and @9to5Official.

Review: Rocky Horror 40 years old and still rocking… just

Full of fun, energy and the crazy life of Richard O’Brien; Rocky Horror celebrates 40 years of creation but loses touch with younger audiences.

Richard O’Brien’s cult-hit musical The Rocky Horror Picture Show arrived at the Sheffield Lyceum Theatre this past Monday; celebrating its 40th year rocking audiences worldwide.

Created by Richard O’Brien and Jim Sharman as a tribute to science fiction and horror B movies, the show follows the lives of Brad and Janet; a young couple that breakdown on their way home through a dark forest and call for help at a mysterious house.

Unfortunately, that is where the depth of the storyline ends. I couldn’t help but find the writing weak and without substance. In a society where individualism is celebrated so easily, and musicals such as Cabaret and Priscilla so popular, men dressed in female clothing just doesn’t have the same shocking factor I imagine it did during the shows creation 40 years ago.

Although other narratives do occur throughout the 2 hour production; the creation of a tanned muscle man through science and played very well by Harry Neale (Rocky), and bed-hopping between Frank N Furter and the romantic leads, the show drags on through poorly-written song and dull and unimaginative dance routines.

The show does however have the occasional gentle moment, most noticeably taken by Frank N Furter, however they unfortunately don’t last.

A featured member of the ensemble, who’s name and role undeservingly isn’t featured, took my favourite moment of the show; opening with ‘Science Fiction, Double Feature’. Gorgeous vocals and a great opening to the show. I was hooked from the beginning; just a shame it didn’t last.

Audiences however weren’t put off by the mid-week performance still taking to the streets of Sheffield in full stocking and suspenders; and that was just the men!

Once you get passed the initial shock of all the performers, and almost all the men offstage too, wearing suspenders and small pants, the show becomes very hollow.

I couldn’t help but notice many other younger audience members feeling disengaged with the piece itself; almost questioning what was going on.

Audiences though were continually on their feet dancing throughout the show; not noticeably during the most famous number from the show: ‘Time Warp’.

The show was later turned into a hit film in 1975 by the same name.

The show however belongs to the tall, long-legged leading man in Oliver Thornton. Recently back from a three-year stretch in the Australian outback in Priscilla – Queen of the Desert in London’s West End, Thornton is every-bit comfortable in the stockings, suspenders and high-heels and commands every inch of the iconic role; Frank N Furter.

Carrying himself with confidence in the heels, the highly revealing outfits and demands full attention of the audience from his first entrance 25 minutes into the show.

Thornton is an example of character research and pure talent together.

Oliver Thornton performing ‘Sweet Transvestite’.

It’s weak writing aside, the production is held together with a strong cast of supporting actions. Credit must go to Kristian Lavercombe as Riff Raff and Philip Franks as The Narrator; both delivering vocally sublime and hilarious character portrayals respectively.

As is tradition with the show, its romantic leading lady was cast by a television celebrity. It was great to experience an understudy performance in Rachel Grundy, covering for an ill Roxanne Pallett, as Janet Weiss.

Dancing on Ice star Sam Attwater also made a great addition to the cast as Brad Majors.

The legacy of the show itself is clearly visible throughout the evening with the audience singing along loudly from the opening to the final number. Audience support and younger audience members curiosity in the cult no-doubt helping out in filling theatres still today.

I enjoyed my evening in heels, makeup and dress at Rocky Horror however without the party atmosphere and audience support throughout the show, Rocky Horror would be a weak school production at most.

Tour venue and ticket information available the official Rocky Horror website at: http://www.rockyhorror.co.uk

Header and all photographs copyright to http://www.rockyhorror.co.uk and @RockyHorrorUK.

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My journey with Acorn Antiques

It’s been 2 weeks since Acorn Antiques finished so I thought now would be the right time to reflect back on my time as a cast member but most importantly as Publicity Manager.

This was the first job that i’ve ever done in leading publicity at such a large scale venue as the Sheffield Lyceum Theatre so I knew that I needed to use all the experience i’d developed from previous roles in publicity from productions back home.

My biggest concern when I was first approached about the role was being able to balance between my publicity role and my role as Minchin’s Lad within the production itself, but they both seemed to fit perfectly alongside each other as the weeks went by. When I wasn’t focused on one role, I was the other, thus making my time at rehearsals rather busy but just the way I like it!

Alongside leading publicity for Acorn Antiques, I was able to work with Fiona Hannon who was Croft House‘s other marketing manager and playing the role of Miss Bonnie in the production. Both of us have had experience in publicity and knew a lot about Croft so ensuring that we kept our eye on the production and fully knew the story and what was going on at rehearsals, marketing the show should be easy… we hoped!

Problems arose when either myself or Fiona were away from rehearsals or involved in a certain scene that we had identified as a piece of potential publicity material that we weren’t able to capture. Often we had to throw a camera or camera-phone at another cast member and ask them to snap away. One of the main points I learnt during my time with Acorn Antiques was that team work is vital in the world of publicity!

Weeks before our move to the Lyceum, I decided that we needed just that extra bit of material online and the only thing that we hadn’t done as a cast would be a video so I took a camera from Uni and began filming. In addition, I was wanting to test myself at University and video was a part of my blog that I hadn’t explored yet so it seemed like the perfect match.

My trailer is still the single piece of work that I am most proud of.

Having my friend Dave available to film half of the rehearsal and me taking over when not rehearsing allowed me to get the shots I wanted. Although it took hours of extra work to put together, i’m so proud of the final piece and will be showing it to many people with projects to come!

https://vimeo.com/61291652

The trailer shows the very best of the show without giving anything away or spoiling the show for those attending weeks later at the Lyceum. It also gave a great morale boost for the cast to see how really amazing the show we have been rehearsing is. Its very easy to become wrapped up in your part and not appreciate the performances others are giving around you so getting to watch others performances, for myself certainly, was a great reward, and I know was for many other cast members too.

Another piece that worked very well for our publicity drive was my interview with the director of Acorn Antiques, Mark Harris. Giving people that extra little look inside the production before either visiting us in March or even deciding on buying a ticket worked really well. People’s curiosity into what the show is even about or what goes on in getting a production to the Lyceum was matched by my interview and gave them that extra bit of inside knowledge they may have been craving.

Moving to the theatre is always difficult when working in publicity as you get caught up so easily in the huge transition the entire production has just made and it tends to slip into second place alongside being a performer within the show. With Acorn Antiques, I wanted to ensure this didn’t happen. This wasn’t helped that I had started a new job on the Monday that we had out dress rehearsal and all our performance week so I needed to make use of any free time I had before I started my new job to complete any outstanding tasks. These included arranging publicity at the theatre; posters and flyers etc, prevent any potential problems with reviews from opening night by contacting all newspaper or online theatre reviewers and letting them know event details and when they can expect production photographs and generally covering anything that could cause time delays or harm the publicity Fiona and I had worked so hard on for months.

I was fortunate to be able to manage the shows online presence by using the Facebook Pages app on my iPhone. Having this gave me access to the Croft House page and ability to publish all photographs to our following from wherever I might be. These were often published during breaks and intervals during my new working day. Although small things, they attracted a vast response from friends and family of Croft and cast members as can be seen from the photographs below.

Connecting with the cast’s friends online allowed for a real buzz to develop around the show and gave everyone that final boost they needed!

Posts throughout the week included….

By adding photographs from band call, technical rehearsal or post-show presentations from honoured guests allowed those that are attending the show later on in the week to have a quick look at how we transition from rehearsal room to stage and beyond. Although a small part of my job, it received a great response online.

And then Fiona and I faced our biggest challenge… VICTORIA WOOD!

Trying to keep our cast from telling the world that she was attending, included through out own excitement, was often difficult but but was all worth it come our Friday evening performance. I know the entire production team, backstage crew and cast were beyond excited and a little scared that the writer and creator of our show was attending that night but it turned out to be a truly mesmerising night for us all and was helped by the swamp of cameras that captured us all meeting Victoria backstage after the show. Finally, a moment where a publicity manager didn’t have to take control with a camera!

My favourite moment from Friday evening wasn’t meeting Victoria Wood but that in some photos, i’m stood almost immediately by her side and surprisingly without a camera, even thought i took over 20 photographs that evening of our guest. Often throughout the show, whenever a photograph was taken, i’m seen taking one of someone else. Sometimes the little things make those that dedicated extra time to a production really happy!

A few other great pieces of publcity between Fiona and myself included a video capture from reharsals of one of our leading ladies recieving a letter of good luck from original television and West End star Celia Imrie…

Or even competitions in magazines, video teasers, press releases online or even in local papers. Together it all added up for us working together and spreading a bit of the Acorn Antiques love across Sheffield and beyond!

When Saturday night’s performance ended and Acorn Antiques had reached its final point, alongside a great deal of relief, I was immensely proud of all that the show had achieved. I was very proud of my fellow cast members for their performances that week, myself included, but mostly for what Fiona and I had achieved along our journey to March 23rd at 9:45pm. I was then able to join my friends, family and cast members for a well-earned drink and celebration of a fantastic week in Manchesterford.

Acorn Antiques is a truly hilarious show and was brought together by a brilliantly talented cast and the perfect production team.

Its a show and journey I know I will never forget and hopefully be a show I can look back at, remember where my time as Publicity Manager at the Lyceum started, and look back without question and the fondest of memories.

Acorn Antiques … its been a COMPLETE pleasure!

Croft House’s next production at the Lyceum Theatre is the cult-classic Grease!

All being well I will be able to join back with Croft and lead their publicity with Grease! Keeping all crossed.

Until then… make me the one that you want 😉

William J.

Victoria Wood at Acorn Antiques – The Musical (Sheffield Lyceum)

So, Victoria Wood…

We first heard rumour that Victoria may be attending the show way back in the early stages of rehearsals.

It was at a rehearsal in October and our Director Mark Harris burst into the rehearsal room whilst we were setting ‘Oh, Oh, Mrs O.’ and blurted out in pure excitement that we may have a special guest visiting us during our performance week. Naturally, everyone gasped and got rather excited even at the prospect of Victoria potentially seeing the show. The excitement quickly turned into nerves

Months of rehearsals went by and we occasionally mentioned in rehearsals that we may have a visitor when we move to the Lyceum but with it never confirmed we always treated with a slight bit of caution.

Rehearsals ended and we were over half way through our performance week at the Lyceum and our Friday performance began fast approaching.

Everyone arrived early at the theatre that evening, us all being very unsure as to what tonights performance will entail and if the rumours would turn into reality.

We all began getting ready for the show and then the whispers began circulating; she was here! Cast members that had family members watching the Friday performance noticed Victoria arriving at the theatre and our management committee that would oversee her visit to the show greeted Victoria and took her into her own pre-show room for privacy.

It was official, tonight I would be performing in Acorn Antiques – The Musical, a show written by Victoria Wood, for Victoria Wood. Very quickly, the nerves kicked-in.

So we started. The show began at 7:15pm and as big as tonights performance was, the show moved as normal as it did all previous nights; we almost forgot that it’s writer and creator was watching.

Act one finished and cast members began reading text messages from friends in the audience asking if Victoria Wood was watching as they’ve seen her.

Now the secret was out, all the shows social media sites went a little crazy commenting and tweeting about our special guest.

We continued on with the show and 5 minutes before our curtain call we received from our stage manager that we were to all stay on stage as someone wanted to meet the entire cast!

The show ended, the curtain fell and all our dreams for Acorn Antiques came true… Victoria Wood was here!

Arriving from stage left, she chucked her coat to a member of her team and walked on to a huge applause from the cast and crew and with hands clasped, opened up to the entire cast on how much she enjoyed the show and that she was a proud writer following tonights show.

Victoria apologised for other original production team members being unable to attend due to the bad weather and let the cast know she will be taking back extracts from the show.

Complimenting us all on the high quality of the show, Victoria said: “I took photos throughout to take back to the original production team. I loved it.”

She then laughed with the cast and continued to speak for a further 10 minutes.

Victoria then agreed to have photographs with the entire cast, said her goodbyes and left but not without a quick chat with a few cast members. Her most noticeable was with Helen Kempton who lead the show as Mrs Overall. Victoria pointed at Helen and said in a gust of excitement: “And you, I love you!” What a compliment for our talented leading lady.

Our Director Mark Harris sat behind Victoria throughout the entire show and told us after she had left that she laughed continually from start-to-finish. I think it would have been very easy, having devised, wrote and followed the show since its original creation in London, to be bored or unsure about a new interpretation of the show however to know she enjoyed the show and even managed to laugh throughout was the biggest honour and a point I know many cast members were very proud of.

Photos of the show began spreading on our social media platforms, one gaining over 140 likes and comments which was the highest Croft House had ever received.

We all began getting changed from our costumes and left the theatre before our final two performances on Saturday and saying goodbye to Acorn Antiques.

I’ve met many theatre stars and celebrities throughout my life but to perform for Victoria Wood in her original musical and to receive such touching comments on the production is a dream come true. A very proud night to be a member of Croft House Theatre Company.

What a complete honour and a memory I know i’ll never forget!

William J.

Victoria Wood!!

Victoria Wood backstage at Acorn Antiques – The Musical following our show on Friday 22nd performance.

Production stills: Acorn Antiques – The Musical

Acorn Antiques Trailer

https://vimeo.com/61291652