UTC students Pearson Smith (as Judy Bernly), left, Katie Mullins (as Violet Newstead) and Harrison Faulkner (as Franklin Hart Jr.) in the UTC Theatre Co. production of “9 to 5 the Musical.” Photo courtesy of UTC Theatre Co.
Get ready for some fun as Judy, Doralee and Violet hatch a plan to kidnap their boss and put an end to their sexist workplace.
Does that plot sound familiar?
The UTC Theatre Co. will present “9 to 5 the Musical” from Feb. 27 through March 2 in the UTC Fine Arts Center’s Dorothy Hackett Ward Theatre. Nightly shows begin at 7:30 p.m. with a 2 p.m. matinee performance on Saturday, March 2.
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Tickets for “9 to 5 the Musical” can be purchased online by clicking here and through the UTC Box Office—in person or by phone (423-425-4369). Tickets are $25 for general admission and $20 for students (with proof of student ID) and seniors.
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“9 to 5 the Musical” is based on the 1980 film of the same name. With music and lyrics by Dolly Parton and a book by Patricia Resnick, the musical follows three women in 1979 who revolt against their nightmare of a boss.
Steve Ray, head of the Department of Theatre and artistic director of the UTC Theatre Co., is directing the show.
The musical boasts a cast and crew of over 50, with most of the theatre department participating in the production. The orchestra features professionally hired musicians from the community.
Ray said this funny, empowering piece is a split from more serious shows from the last couple of years.
“We were also looking to have some fun,” he explained. “It has serious subject matter as well, but it treats everything with a light touch and a comic flare, making a very important message easy and fun to watch.”
The show also posed an exciting challenge for Ray. With much of comedy’s strength and success coming from timing, he said, the cast must learn when to deliver their lines and how to get the best reactions from the audience.
“That’s almost always the most fun part for me,” Ray said. “I love working with comedy and helping students find the things that are funny, and I love it when audiences respond to that.”
When casting a show, he said it’s important to know if you have at least one performer who can take on a specific role.
For “9 to 5,” senior Nancy Tillman is one of those students. Tillman plays Doralee Rhodes, one of the stars of the show.
“I asked the actors auditioning for this role to really lean into Dolly Parton’s vocalizations and mannerisms,” Ray said. “Nancy did her research and brought a sense of Dolly to her audition without letting it become just an impersonation. She made it her own while also letting us see Dolly in the role.”
Tillman, a native of Franklin, Tennessee, has had “the most fun” emulating the iconic singer and actress. She said it has been a “very silly and fun process trying to replicate” Parton’s distinct voice.
“I’ve never played a part where I was portraying a real person in any type of way,” Tillman said, “so I’ve already had fun just searching old Dolly Parton pictures. I want to put some of those around my dressing room mirror just for inspiration.”
She has been in seven shows at UTC since transferring sophomore year from Austin Peay State University, and others outside of academic theatre. With so much experience, nerves are a tool for her, not a distraction.
“I think that the trick is figuring out how to channel your nervous energy into adrenaline and sort of using it as fuel as opposed to letting it overtake you,” she said.
For more information, visit the UTC Theatre Co. page.
Cast
- Katie Mullins (sophomore, theatre education and Brock Scholar, Antioch, Tennessee)
- Nancy Tillman (senior, theatre, Franklin, Tennessee)
- Pearson Smith (senior, theatre entrepreneurship, Ringgold, Georgia)
- Harrison Faulkner (junior, marketing, Signal Mountain, Tennessee)
- Caton Taylor (junior, theatre: acting and modern and classical language and literatures: classics, Murfreesboro, Tennessee)
- Cameron Branch (sophomore, theatre: acting, Waynesboro, Tennessee)
- Eli Nelson (freshman, theatre, Ringgold, Georgia)
- Brandon Toste (junior, theatre, Collierville, Tennessee)
- MJ Moyle (junior, theatre, Spring Hill, Tennessee)
- Olis Diaz (junior, theatre, Chattanooga)
- Gunter Hullander (sophomore, theatre education, Ringgold, Georgia)
- Kyra Hollmon (freshman, theatre: acting, Memphis)
- Bronwyn McEwen (junior, theatre, Lookout Mountain, Tennessee)
- Matthew Patrick (sophomore, finance, Chattanooga)
- Jaden Partain (senior, theatre education and Innovations in Honors, Athens, Tennessee)
- Dandy Reynosa Diaz (freshman, computer science cybersecurity and Brock Scholar, Chattanooga)
- Miller Richardson (junior, communication, Collierville, Tennessee)
- Kaitlyn Sanders (sophomore, communication, Kingsport, Tennessee)
- Brooke Harwell (senior, music therapy, Memphis)
- Kaylee Miller (sophomore, theatre education, Hernando, Mississippi)
- Annie Mitchell (sophomore, humanities: liberal arts, Brentwood, Tennessee)
- Katie Forrester (junior, theatre: acting, Rocky Face, Georgia)
- Harris Thompson (freshman, theatre: directing, Signal Mountain, Tennessee)
- Harrison Holbrook (freshman, music, East Ridge, Tennessee)
- Karlee Ming Jamieson (sophomore, theatre, Florence, Alabama)
- Calista Geralds (senior, theatre: acting, Chattanooga)
- Payton McLain (sophomore, theatre education and Brock Scholar, Franklin, Tennessee)
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