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The trio in 9 to 5: The Musical at Riverside Theatre (Photos by Tai Randall)
By Linda Gordon Hengerer
Fans of the movie 9 to 5 will be delighted by 9 to 5: The Musical, playing through May 10 at the Riverside Theatre. The characters you remember and the premise of three working women coping with their domineering boss are the same, with changes made for the musical story to flow better.
Violet Newstead, Doralee Rhodes, and Judy Bernly are three women working at Consolidated Industries in 1980. The office environment is one we’d call toxic today, run by “sexist, egotistical, lying, hypocritical bigot” Franklin Hart, Jr., President of Consolidated.
Recently divorced, Judy is new to the workforce. Violet is the experienced manager/trainer who takes Judy under her wing. Doralee is Hart’s secretary and shunned by her coworkers. All three need their jobs but dream of how the company might be if people’s needs were taken into account.
Roz Keith is Hart’s administrative assistant who is in love with Hart and tattling on staff to curry favor. Joe is a Junior Accountant with a crush on widowed Violet.
When Violet is passed over for promotion to someone she trained, she loses her composure and reads Hart the riot act, reveals to Doralee that everyone knows she’s sleeping with Hart, and leaves. Doralee now realizes why people are unfriendly, and she leaves. Judy joins Violet and Doralee, and all three go over to Violet’s home.
Smoking a joint that Violet’s son gave her, the women dream about ways to kill Hart. Judy is a 1920s femme fatale in “The Dance of Death,” Doralee is a rodeo star chasing Hart and hogtying him in “Cowgirl’s Revenge,” and Violet is an unforgiving Snow White in “Potion Notion.”
After mistakenly believing she’s killed Hart with rat poison, Violet panics. To buy time to figure out how to stay out of jail, and with help from Doralee and Judy, they keep Hart hostage in his home while his wife is on a four-week cruise.
During the time Hart is out of the office, Violet, Doralee, and Judy institute new policies to make the workplace more productive.
Hart escapes and takes Judy hostage, returning to Consolidated the same day that Mr. Tinsworthy, CEO of Consolidated, makes an unexpected visit. He is impressed by the increase in production under Hart in the past few weeks. Violet tells him it was actually the three women who instituted the policies, but Hart claims credit.
Tinsworthy sends Hart to manage the South American operation in Bolivia and promotes Violet to President of Consolidated.
Violet, Doralee, and Judy haven’t aged a day in the intervening years, but the times have. Set in the late-70s/early-80s work environment, we see the norms of yesteryear and realize both how far we’ve come and how far we have yet to go. As someone who worked for a large corporation beginning in the late 70s, I can say that the attitudes in 9 to 5: The Musical were standard operating procedure.
The entire cast are terrific singers and dancers, with decades of experience between them. Opening night was successfully carried off by the main cast and ensemble of 20, seasoned veterans in leadership roles, and 10 musicians.
Stacia Fernandez is wonderful as Violet. We feel Violet’s frustration with being passed over for promotion because she’s a woman, even though she trained the man who got the job. We understand how uncomfortable Violet is with Joe’s desire to date her; she’s widowed and she’s older than he is. In the pre-cougar 70s, she would have been ridiculed for dating a younger man.
Kathlynn Rodin channels Dolly Parton as Doralee. Kathlynn performed in Dolly: A True Original Musical and was the understudy for Dolly. That experience shows in the way she makes Doralee her own but with Dolly as the template for a woman pursued for her looks and not her brain.
Emily Fink plays Judy’s uncertainty and tentative foray into the workforce with skill. We like Judy for her willingness to learn and to move past being dumped by her husband in favor of his secretary. We cheer when Judy has moved past the discomfort of being on her own and won’t return back to her husband when he slinks back.
Ken Sandberg is at his smarmy best playing Franklin Hart, Jr. as a sexist pig. His leering at Doralee, his dismissal of Violet’s skill in favor of a man, and his lack of empathy for anyone had the audience cheering when karma served up justice.
Returning to Riverside Theatre are Richard Stafford (Director/Choreographer), Kurt Alger (Costume & Wig Designer), Julie Duro (Lighting Designer), Craig Beyrooti (Sound Designer), Anthony Narciso (Assistant Sound Designer), Wojcik Casting Team (Casting), Ingrid Pierson (Assistant Stage Manager), and Katie Wilhelm (Assistant Stage Manager).
New to Riverside Theatre are Milton Granger (Music Director), Kyra Teboe (Assistant Music Director), and Ruth E. Kramer (Production Stage Manager). John Farrell (Scenic Designer) has done a terrific job creating the main open office, Hart’s office, Violet’s garage, Violet’s living room, and Hart’s bedroom where he’s kept captive.
The music and lyrics are by Dolly Parton. The book is by Patricia Resnick, who co-wrote the screenplay with Colin Higgins (9 to 5’s movie director). A musical stage adaptation premiered in Los Angeles in late 2008 and opened on Broadway in April 2009. Featuring new music written by Dolly Parton, it received 15 Drama Desk Award nominations and four Tony Awards nominations.
Venue doors open one hour before showtime, and theatre seating opens 30 minutes before showtime. A full bar and indoor seating are available for early arrivals and during intermission. Lunch is available on Saturday’s with a scheduled matinee performance.
This is Riverside Theatre’s last production this season. The 2026-2027 season begins October 15.
Backstage tours, Behind the Scenes classes, and dance classes for adults are available. Youth classes include theater, dance, and music appreciation. An acclaimed children’s theatre has moved from their cramped former quarters onto the Main Stage.
9 to 5: The Musical runs through May 10 at Riverside Theatre, 3250 Riverside Park Drive, Vero Beach, (Riverside Park). Matinees are Wednesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays at 2 p.m.; Evening performances are Wednesdays-Saturdays 7:30 or 8:00 p.m. Running time is approximately 120 minutes with a 15-minute intermission. Prices range from $35.00 (Student Age 17 or younger, weekday matinee balcony) to $115 (Adult, Saturday night orchestra). Call the theater box office at 772-231-6990 or visit riversidetheatre.com for more information or to purchase tickets.
