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Office girls promise lots of laughs
WEST END hit musical 9 to 5 is the Alex's
Christmas present to Birmingham and the West Midlands, providing a fun
alternative to traditional panto. Dolly Parton's starred
in her own musical film but this latest reincarnation stars another
multi-talented female performer in Bonnie Langford, who made her West
End debut at the tender age of seven in 1971 in
Gone with the Wind
at the Theatre Royal in Drury Lane. In one of those strange theatrical quirks I was
editor of Sennet, the newspaper of London University Student Union, at
the time and, a tad older than seven, and reviewed Miss Langford on her
debut on that opening night 41 years ago. The show was memorable for its special effects, particularly the burning of Atlanta. Since then she has been a regular in the West End and Broadway, on TV and in numerous films and from 2000 has made regular appearances in Dr Who as Mel and come third in Dancing on Ice. Her last visit to the Midlands was as the Lady of
the Lake in Spamalot – “I loved it, such a fun show and such a
great company” and she returns in this girl power musical in the role of
Roz Keith. The appeal? She said: “It's fun, it's vibrant and it's fun. “I like doing something new. It is good to do
something that is different and although the show has been done before
on Broadway and the West End it is evolving again. I am extremely
different to any of the ladies who have played Roz before. I am not
denying that and I said why do you want me and they said we went
something different.
“There is stuff that is created just for me and
that is good for my creative juices. It has changed a lot from the
Broadway production. There are three new songs. The concept is the same
and the basic story is the same because that is what everyone loves, but
Dolly has written a new song, she has written me a new song , there is a
new song for the girls and it is nice to feel part of something that has
so much input. “The storyline is the same and it is very
farcical. We are not doing Chekov here, it is a fun show and it has that
slick American quality to it. It is a big show too, with a lot of people
in it, playing multi characters. “There is country in there, obviously, and a bit
of big band, bit of Bluegrass, rhythm and blues, a bit of Broadway . . .
I was talking to the Musical Director the other day and he was saying
how interesting it was to get the mixture of musicians because he needed
so many different players so we have a specialist guitarist in there and
a fabulous trumpeter who can play all the big band stuff and normally
you don't get that mixture of musicians in a band.” For stars of the theatre whether in panto or
shows for the festive period they they are everyone else's Christmas and
often miss out on their own. Bonnie said: “We never do Christmas in our
world we just do it. It is harder because I have a 12-year-old daughter
but the fact I have Boxing Day this year is a bonus. “The last time I did Christmas in Birmingham was Guys and Dolls and it was great. You are in a group and we all celebrate together.“ Amy Lennox, who plays Doralee Rhodes, the part
played by Dolly in the film, is on her first tour. She said: “It is a
nice show. I can't think of many shows with three main females
dominating and it is all about them taking control. “This is pretty much a brand new show. Dolly has
written new songs, the script has been re-written and there are scenes
that were not in the Broadway production, so it is very exciting to be
part of the creation of this show instead of coming in as a second cast.
Just that bit more magical. “It is more like the film than Broadway. They
have gone back to the film and taken bits from it. The great thing is
that is not a jukebox musical. It is a musical, not a storyline made to
fit in with a bunch of songs from an album.”
For Jackie Clune, who plays the Lily Tomlin role
of Violet Newstead, the show is a chance to use her skills honed in her
other life as a stand-up. “It is great to play a role where you can sing,
because I love singing, and get all the dry one liners. I have
some great lines. “I haven't done stand-up for a while but I have
been doing musicals for six years. It is very different to be an
employee. I miss doing comedy but it is so hard. For an older woman it
is ever harder. “There is less pressure in a musical. If your bit
goes wrong you know there will be a good bit along it a minute. There is
a lovely feeling that it is a collaborative exercise.” She has struck up a friendship with Natalie
Casey, who plays Judy Bernly which could have its moments. “It might get
messy on stage. There may be some ad libbing. I think this needs to be a
real romp and it could be riotous.” Natalie, who, like Jackie, has a background in
comedy, said: “The brilliant thing about this and with Jeff Calhoun as
the director, is that it is being treated as something new. The first
day of rehearsals he said ‘best idea wins', which is something you
hardly ever hear, so if you have idea for something and you can put it
across, your idea will be used, which is amazing. “It is brilliant working with a creative team who
respect you as a performer. At some point you have to make sure the show
is set though, but you can tweak a few things- hopefully you want to
get the best product.” And the best product runs at the New Alexandra Theatre from 17-12-12 to 05-01-13 - sort of 17 to 5. Roger Clarke |
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