A Cappies review of 9 to 5 at Dominion High School on April 22

By Cecil Turner-Veselka
from Loudoun Valley High School

Clock in, type, fetch coffee and files, get pushed around by the men in your office, get passed up for a promotion, get laughed and leered at, clock out and walk home to a life you have no help running one day, you’ll have had all you can take. 

Herself an iconic, self-made woman from the seventies, Dolly Parton wrote 9 to 5 The Musical based on her hit comedy film of the same name from 1980. The musical features both the situational gags familiar to the era and the convictions of the era’s working women: Violet, the experienced secretary at Consolidated, longs to be respected for all of the work she does, Judy hopes to make a career for herself without her husband, and Doralee wants to be seen and cared for beyond her good looks. 

When Violet accidentally poisons their boss Hart’s coffee, a cascade of hijinks leads the trio into several criminal charges, unexpected career opportunities, and, despite the cards stacked against them, self-actualization. Settle in with a TV dinner and prepare to laugh along because Dominion High School’s production is the bomb.

The three women, Violet, Judy, and Doralee, had responsibility for both the comedy and themes of the show, and each went about it with simple honesty. 

Violet, played by Ella Greer, blazed with righteousness at being pushed aside, a fire which influenced her dry, violent wit as well. She filled the stage to the brim with a voice that matched the power of her character, and she bubbled with charisma during her tap number in the second act. Her convictions and pride made her an elegant foil for Katy Price’s Judy. 

This once wide eyed and uncertain character grew into her independence with an iron spine, culminating in a passionate rendition of Get Out and Stay Out which sent shivers through the air. 

Violet and Judy were both explosive personalities and their counterweight was Ashley Anoubon Momo’s Doralee, whose delicate convictions and lovely, floating vocals upheld the balance between flirty and firm that her character needed. She called herself a ‘Backwoods Barbie,’ but her personality was, by far, more her own than the title suggests. All three of them balanced their country-style harmonies well, and sold their outrageous comedic moments with the fundamental truth of the female experience that the show discusses.

Because the themes of the show are anchored within the time period, it was important for the show to maintain a late seventies aesthetic. This was done extraordinarily well by Isadora Trimboli and the costume department. Every character was given an array of bright plaids and patterns, with a new outfit in nearly every scene. 

Each brought dimension to their personality – Violet’s sensible pants suits, Judy’s shoulder pads, and Doralee’s frilly dresses all brought vibrancy to their dynamics. This commitment to period was aided by the men of the show: the sleazy and vicious Franklin Hart (Chase Bochenek), for example, firmly sold his horridness in a stomach-turning way and Violet’s gentle love interest Joe (Eli Quinones) was endearingly shy and soft. The show was run crisply by Andy Jayner and crew, so the sitcom experience never lost its luster.

Dominion High School’s production shows how powerful friendships between women can be, and how even stereotypes that would be considered old-fashioned these days callous executive, abandoned housewife, and attractive secretary signify complex women with pride, guts, and aspirations beyond the holes they’ve been placed in. The women of Dominion’s 9 to 5 The Musical are no one’s fool, and their production brings life to a mundane office full of dreams.