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THEATER REVIEW OCT's '9 to 5' a fun blast with a serious message Comment By Jeffrey Gillespie For the Tidings DailyTidings.com By Jeffrey Gillespie For the Tidings Posted May. 3, 2016 at 6:32 PM Updated May 3, 2016 at 6:33 PM By Jeffrey Gillespie For the Tidings Posted May. 3, 2016 at 6:32 PM Updated May 3, 2016 at 6:33 PM » RELATED CONTENT '9 to 5: The Musical' --> Music and Lyrics by Dolly Parton, book by Patricia Resnick  Directed by Michael Jenkinson, Musical Director Jennifer Schloming Through July 3 at Oregon Cabaret Theatre 2... » Read more X '9 to 5: The Musical' Music and Lyrics by Dolly Parton, book by Patricia Resnick  Directed by Michael Jenkinson, Musical Director Jennifer Schloming Through July 3 at Oregon Cabaret Theatre 241 Hargadine St., Ashland 541-488-2902, theoregoncabaret.com • Working women overthrow boss in '9 to 5: The Musical' • Backstage: Oregon Cabaret Theatre AD says storytelling entertains, educates, edifies... • Chef shines at fine dining » Social News As spring bursts into bloom in the Rogue Valley, so to does a pervasive feminist theme, if the current offerings from Ashland’s two main resident theatres are anything to go by. With their cousin down the street offering a gritty and unflinching look at the effects of Roe v. Wade on the American culture war, Oregon Cabaret Theatre has opted for a significantly lighter, but no less important, comment on the experience of second-wave feminists during that same era with their offering of “9 to 5: The Musical” — and if opening night was anything to go by, OCT is continuing to move from strength to strength as a major player in regional musical theater. Set in the late 1970s, in a corporate environment hostile to — well, just about anyone with the exception of white males — “9 to 5” is a trip down memory lane that most of us who have lived through that era might feel squeamish in taking. But with the combined talents of a sterling cast of talented artists, led by three women of distinction — namely Katie Beck, Alyssa Birrer, and Suzy Newman, as the put-upon female troika of office grunthood going by the names of Judy, Doralee and Violet — this production, under the direction of Michael Jenkinson, is a tightly choreographed, hysterically funny, altogether engaging musical that had the audience enthralled from start to finish. The spell that was cast came in no small part thanks to Ms. Birrer, an Oregon native back in town from New York. As Doralee, Birrer is a total delight. Saucy and sexy and poured into a series of revealing outfits that had most of the audience drooling, Birrer is a very pretty face, but her Doralee is no pouting floozy. A strong Southern woman with a heart of gold, she fights off the advances of her licentious employer, with all the grace and good humor that she can muster. Birrer, like the rest of the cast, is a ferocious triple threat; singing and dancing her way through an intensely challenging role, she puts not a foot wrong. Her natural charisma and hypnotic beauty affect everything in her orbit; she is fittingly cast in a role originally created for Dolly Parton in the film version of the show. As Doralee’s appalling boss, Mr. Hart, Galloway Stevens plays the pants off of his role, literally. A cartoon wolf man who is completely tone deaf to the concept of sexual harassment, Stevens, clad in a horrifying brown suit, chases down his prey with a single-minded commitment that might be better applied to doing his job. The scenes of seduction between Stevens and Birrer are among the best of the evening; both actors play off of each other like pros. As Judy Bernly, Katie Beck is another feminist archetype — an earnest and reserved woman with no real work history, cast by circumstance back into the lion’s den. Beck’s Judy is the hopeful heart of the play. Her naivety and sweetness are touching; so too is her metamorphoses into a woman grounded in her power and enjoying the company of her teammates. In a particularly funny scene where the three heroines find their voice, and their mutual bond, over the ashes of a “jazz” cigarette, it is Judy who finds herself most convincingly. During the song and dance numbers, she shows that she can be as feminine and provocative as any of her compatriots. Beck really shows her range as she develops the character of Judy from timid newbie to empowered tigress. Overseeing both of them is Violet Newstead, played by Suzy Newman. Newman’s Violet is already a strong woman, who has long since learned to find her way through the maze of office politics, but she is still vulnerable in other areas of her life. Love had not yet found her, and she has a family to think about which prevents her from giving her degenerate male overlords what-for. Newman does a smashing job as a tough but true woman of a certain age — in a fantasy scene, where she appears as Snow White, both your reviewer and his date could barely stay in their seats — rolling in the aisles would have been more appropriate. A word must also be said for Jessica Blaszak, playing Roz, the button-down personal assistant with a secret crush on the boss. Roz starts out with her hair in a bun and her collar starched, an unsympathetic enforcer for the man upstairs. But as the show goes on, Blaszak takes Roz on a journey into territory reserved for the star-crossed romantic. She is in love, but cannot drop the façade and make that fact known. As such, she suffers in silence. Perhaps the best moment of the show is when Blaszak gives us a private burlesque show as she sings of her torment at the hands of the oblivious object of her affection. The glasses come off, the hair comes down, and the coiffed office cyborg becomes a flesh-and-blood woman of passion. The rest of the ensemble did a beautiful job of fleshing out the play with multiple roles each, filling every moment with fun, fresh song and dance numbers. With the combined talents of some very capable artists, Oregon Cabaret’s “9 to 5” is a pedal to the metal, gregarious, all-out blast — a giddily entertaining musical that also carries a serious message about equality in the workplace. For a great evening of musical theater, you couldn’t do much better this side of Broadway. Ashland resident Jeffrey Gillespie is a Daily Tidings columnist, arts reviewer and freelance writer. Email him at gillespie.jeffrey @gmail.com. By Jeffrey Gillespie For the Tidings DailyTidings.com By Jeffrey Gillespie For the Tidings Posted May. 3, 2016 at 6:32 PM Updated May 3, 2016 at 6:33 PM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. 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