Review: 9 TO 5 THE MUSICAL at Tibble Teater, Täby, Stockholm

In 1980, the film "9 to 5" about the secretaries who rebelled against their CEO when they were tired of his behavior, was a blockbuster at the cinemas worldwide. The film may well be seen as a classic because Dolly Parton's lead motive became such a success. Ten years ago, it opened as a musical in Los Angeles with music and lyrics by Dolly Parton and script by Patricia Resnick. In 2009 it opened on Broadway for a short period of time and has been played for example in England and in a couple of places in Germany and will open on January 28, 2019 at Savoy, West End in London. But the 23rd of November it was premiered at Tibble Theatre outside Stockholm, produced and directed by Robin Karlsson.

The plot is set about 30 years ago when there were a number of secretaries in all offices that wrote a machine and used tippex and they were not allowed to have photos at their desk, as it was meant to be an effective environment. First you are laughing at how old fashioned it was with typewriters and having to use tippex when you needed to correct mistakes. Fun to see the technical development since the! But then you stop laughing when one of the secretaries points out that one of the guys earns a couple of thousands more than she for the same job. Likewise, when you notice how the other secretaries with Violet (Therese Frimansson) in the lead are quick to judge Doralee (Jasmine Hansen) because she likes to put on make up and make her self beautiful and are wearing blouse with a deep neckline. To add to this the MD Franklin Hart Jr (Magnus Eriksson) spreads the rumor that they have a relationship. The technical development has taken a giant leap but the salary gaps and prejudice remain. On the surface this musical can been seen as a comedy but with #metoo it has a deeper meaning. This is really a current musical that is worth noting and seeing.

Violet is the head of the secretaries but she is always held back by the CEO who does not want to promote her despite her expertise and experience as she is a woman. Judy (Isabella Tancredi) is forced to start working after being left by her husband for a young girl and she is taught by Violet. Doralee is the girl from the country who looks like a Barbie doll but under the surface it's a very clever and serious woman. These three women join forces when they are tired of their CEO and decide to change things. Three strong women find each other and girl power arises. The highlight in the musical is Isabella Tancredi when she with full force and powerful voice sings the song "Get Out and Stay Out" when her husband comes crawling back. Therese Frimansson is good as Violet and Jasmine Hansen is charming and lovely as Doralee. Magnus Eriksson is just as horrible, sloppy, arrogant and pathetic as that kind of sexist men can be in his interpretation as Franklin Hart Jr. He has a good powerful voice, for example, in "Hear for you". Emma Pucek performs well as the narrator Dolly. This is a musical which celebrates strong women.

It is a talented ensemble, choreographed by Maja Stopp. The orchestra is led by conductor Steve Sherlock. The stage solution was simple and efficient as they had used the entire scene by letting one side of the scene be the room to the CEO. The clothes were styled as 70 / 80s with pleated skirts, which actually is back in fashion again. The music by Dolly Parton is a country-inspired and has a happy tone.

This is a good and current musical. I recommend that you see it here in Tibble so you do not need to travel to London to see it. But you need to hurry because it is only played November 30th and December 1st. As a Harry Potter fan you can also make a check mark on having seen the Swedish Hermione live on stage as Jasmine Hansen has made the Swedish voice to Hermione. I have almost succeeded in seeing all three main characters on stage of Harry Potter as I seen Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter) and Rupert Grint (Ron) in two plays in London.

Tickets are on sale at:

https://billetto.se/sv/e/9-to-5-musikalen-robin-karlsson-produktion-biljetter-306497