The title song from the 1980 film “9 to 5” had a lyric that opined, “Working 9 to 5 ain’t no way to make a living.” A local
theater director says that the cast and crew of The Artists Civics Theatre has put in many eight-hour shifts themselves to
bring the musical version of the film to the stage.
Opening night of the ACTS production of “9 to 5: The Musical” is Friday, Oct. 5, at One Reid Street Theatre. Performances
will be at 7 p.m. Oct. 5, 6, 12 and 13, and at 3 p.m. Oct. 7 and 14.
“I’m a fan of the movie, and the plot of the musical is based off the movie, only with musical numbers written by Dolly Parton.
It’s a lot of fun, and very funny,” director Damien Thibodeaux said.
The musical will be presented in a concert format, a decision made to allow the actors more movement on stage, and to offer
less distractions for the audience.
“Because this show is drawn from the
movie there are a lot of scenes, if we didn’t do it in this concert
style that would
be a lot of time changing from one scene to another, and we wanted
to avoid that,” Thibodeaux said. “I decided to just do
it with a black stage, an ensemble of singers, a bandstand, a desk
and a sofa that come on and off stage; instead of being
literal it really suggests the stage. We felt that because of the
popularity of the movie, audiences would respond to it.”
Thibodeaux also said a tight budget contributed to keeping the set minimal.
The show was cast out of both newcomers and veterans of the ACTS stage, a move Thibodeaux says he often makes when casting
a show under time constraints.
“When it’s a production like this in
which there’s not a lot of time to put it together, it helps me to know
what a person
is like on stage,” he said, “and, for this show we only had about
eight and half weeks to put it together, including rehearsals;
it was intense.”
“It’s a great cast, that just fit these characters perfectly,” Thibodeaux said, “and, they all have very big voices which
they get to use to great effect during the show.”
The show’s cast is Haley Ford Coburn as
Judy Burnley; Kristen Harrell as Doralee Rhodes; Robin Prejean as
Violet Newstead;
Barry Whitten as Franklin Hart Jr.; Tracy LeMieux as Margaret; Kim
George as Kathy; Kelly Rowland as Roz; Ann Veillon as Marie;
Emmie Lancon as Missy; Michael Muffuleto as Bob Enright; Aaron Roy
as Joe; Allen VanMetre, Eric Malic Reed and Jordan Thibodeaux,
as the ensemble; and a special celebrity cameo appearance for
every per
The show’s opening performance will be a gala with a portion of the $35 ticket benefiting the Calcasieu Women’s Shelter, and
will feature a hors d’oeuvres menu with wine and champagne. Donations of women’s business attire to prepare clients of the
shelter reenter the workforce will be taken through the run of the show.
Tickets for all other performances cost
$25 for adults and $15 for students. They can be purchased by calling
ACTS Theatre
at 337-477-2287, online at www.actstheatre.com or at the Civic
Center box office, Lakeshore Medic Pharmacy or Moss Bluff Florist
& Gifts.