Wednesday, October 01, 2008

What Way to Make a Living

Tonight, at the Ahmanson, I witnessed the musical 9 to 5. They took the movie, added tons of new songs by Dolly Parton, lots of 1979 office design, catchy choreography, expressive mid-century Dali-esque sequences, a huge screen in the rear with backlit visual effects, very particular period props (a great sequence with a tank of a photocopier), a couple of the musical theatre stars from Wicked and Allison Janney who is totally game and solid. It was enjoyable. Directed by Joe Mantello.

The show stopper was in Act II when Judy, played by Stephanie Block (originally played by Jane Fonda in the movie) sang Get Out and Stay Out, a plea to her ex-husband to leave her be so she could get on with her life of empowered single womanhood. Stephanie, as many people know, can sing he ass off. She certainly did tonight. Force of nature, really.

Look, I don’t know why people like musicals so much. Hell, I love them. There’s something about sitting there with all that going on. It’s a great expression of life. You have story, acting, design, music, dancing. What else could you throw in there? I guess sex and guns. But wait! This play has those, too.

I don’t know if I would suggest that you should put down your white out and run down to the Ahmanson to see this office musical right this minute. I mean, it’s pretty corny and the cause-vagine is so thirty years ago, it is hard to understand why one would need to see it now. And as a piece of feminist history, let’s face it, how could it carry any weight? Being a musical-from-a-movie-via-Dolly Parton-etc.?

But it’s a romp. And maybe the point is, it can be just a romp now that we’ve come so far in the work place. Sure, women still don’t make as much money as men for the same work and men are still pigs in their hearts if not in their actions, but there have been considerable advancements. Just look at C. Rice or S. Palin or that CEO, who was she?

The play is less political than it is entertaining. And there we are. This show is on its way to Broadway. Try to get free tickets.

2 comments:

Todd HellsKitchen said...

Yeah, it's pretty much a sure fire Broadway hit....

Cheryl said...

I think musicals are so awesome because the best ones make songs out of key turning points in the story--they use music to reveal character and depict change. Which makes them sort of over-the-top and obvious too, but it's forgivable because music is visceral, not cerebral. Listening to a good musical is a great way to learn how to plot a story.