JAMESVILLE-DEWITT CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT – Jamesville-DeWitt High School’s music department packed the school’s Osborn Auditorium night after night last week for its presentation of “9 to 5: The Musical.”
The three evening performances Feb. 8 through 10 featured the talents of 100-plus people between the cast members, the pit orchestra musicians, the production staff and others comprising the crew.
The musical put on at the high school was based on the 2009 Broadway stage adaptation of the 1980 comedy film of the same name. The film was also turned into a television series that ran on ABC.
Set in the late 1970s when the Rolodex was all the rage, the storyline follows three female coworkers who have their work overshadowed and undermined at every turn, always having to play catch-up as some of their male colleagues play golf.
Meanwhile, the man they call their boss—described as “sexist, egotistical, lying, hypocritical” and more—makes harassing remarks and unwanted advances. Pushed to the boiling point, the three friends, Violet, Judy and Doralee, hatch a scheme to get even with their boss, boot him out, and give their workplace a dream makeover.
Though largely identical to it in plot and from one line to the next, the district’s production differed in ways from the musical that debuted on Broadway, which boasts a book by screenwriter for the film Patricia Resnick along with extra music and lyrics written by Dolly Parton.
To tailor it to the high school setting, J-D’s staging of the musical tamped down certain scenes by tweaking some of the language and either skirting around or simply alluding to drug and alcohol use instead of outright showing it.
Jordan Berger, the musical producer for J-D’s show, said that although the material is comedic it hits the audience with a layer of reality and moments of slight discomfort. He added that there’s a deep overarching message in its depiction of women who align against the gender discrimination they’re facing.
“The women feel like they’re not able to get ahead and that they’re not being taken as seriously in the workforce as they should, which is reflective of the time it takes place in, but it’s still I think a theme that many people can connect with that hasn’t gone away completely,” said Berger, who teaches in the high school’s social studies department.
He said he and others in the music department chose the show because it provided the students an opportunity to tackle mature subject matter and tap into the experiences of adults in an office setting.
Berger said the last few shows the high school has selected, including last year’s musical “The Prom,” stood out as ideas to run with because they differed from what other high schools might be choosing.
“A lot goes into the decision of what show we’re going to do—the group of kids we have, their maturity, the kinds of things that they’re interested in,” said Chelsea Colton, the choreographer for J-D’s production of “9 to 5.” “When this show came up with its message of women empowerment and seeing the women that we have in this music program, we knew it would be a great fit.”
Senior Megan Keough, who played the character Parton portrayed, Doralee Rhodes, said she had to get used to the blonde hair and Southern accent the role called for.
“It’s very different from my typical persona, so it’s really cool to be able to turn that on and bring that energy,” said Keough, who can now say she’s been part of both the cast and crew for J-D musicals.
Adding that the way the show deals with workplace struggles “still holds true today,” Keough said that the main takeaway, however, is the musical’s uplifting nature and its push for unity.
She said she enjoyed working with every single person involved in the show and that starring in it was one of the best experiences she’s had.
“We got really lucky with the people that we have,” Keough said. “I think if it wasn’t this specific group, it wouldn’t have been the same at all.”
Chelsea Colton, the choreographer for the musical at J-D High School, said the three leading ladies “rose to the occasion” more than anyone could have expected.
“They loved the message of the show, they felt it, and our whole ensemble backed them,” Colton said. “They all just kind of rallied around this idea that everybody deserves to have their rights and their say and their way. It was a beautiful thing to see come together.”
Colton said her personal goal was to make sure that the performers’ movements were well-suited to their singing and everything being acted out onstage, all while serving the story. She said she also sought for everyone to have fun throughout the process.
For J-D’s crack at “9 to 5,” auditions began in mid-October and the rehearsal process kicked off in November a couple of weeks before Thanksgiving break.
Over the ensuing weeks, the pit worked through the music—including the hit title song—and the solidified cast members practiced their lines, their singing, their blocking and the choreography until those pieces as well as the technical elements like sound and lighting came together around mid-January.
“When you’re involved in a musical, you kind of go through waves of excitement in the beginning and then you get into some of the tough rehearsals that get longer as we go,” Berger said. “Then we come back from winter break and we’re kind of like ‘how are we gonna pull this off?’ but then we always find a way. It’s a rollercoaster of emotions as you go through the production, but that makes the end product really enjoyable when you think back on how far everyone’s come and how much they’ve grown.”
During the theatrical run at the high school, posters were set up in the foyer that detailed the background of the women’s labor movement itself known as 9 to 5 that started in Boston.
Members of the cast and crew also collected donations for the Literacy Coalition of Onondaga County after each performance, going along with Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library reading program that involves gifting books to kids before they start school.