Around Here
What happens during Around Here in 9 to 5: It’s another day at Consolidated Industries and veteran employee Violet meets new kid on the block Judy for the first time. Agreeing to take the newbie under her wing, the lyrics of 'Around Here' are mainly Violet’s tips and tricks on how to get by in their everyday office life.
What makes Around Here good: This brilliant number makes use of the ensemble cast as many of the employees at Consolidated are present in the scene, chiming in with Violet to give pointers to Judy. This means that there is full staging involved and group choreography that will leave you mesmerised!
Around Here lyrics sample: You gotta get it right on the first try, honey / Cause each mistake means they're losing lots of money / No time to dilly-dally / No time to bend the rules / 'Cause there are ones that keep a tally
Backwoods Barbie
What happens during Backwoods Barbie in 9 to 5: When Doralee asks the new girl, Judy, out to lunch, she declines. Doralee is then left to question her whole life and how she may just be a pretty face.
What makes Backwoods Barbie good: This song is a quintessential Dolly song that even takes inspiration from her own life because the Queen of Country wasn't always rich and glamourous. In fact, she really was born in the 'backwoods' because her father was allegedly so poor that he had to pay the doctor who delivered her with a bag of oatmeal. (America has never had universal healthcare and Dolly was born 2 years before the UK's NHS was even founded). And long after rising to the top and becoming a country music icon, Dolly once famously said of her looks, 'It takes a lot of money to look this cheap.' In 9 to 5, 'Backwoods Barbie' acts as a fantastic song to flesh out the story and give it depth while also developing the character of Doralee.
Backwoods Barbie lyrics sample: I've always been misunderstood because of how I look / Don't judge me by the cover cause I'm a real good book / So read into it what you will, but see me as I am / The way I look is just a country girl's idea of glam
Heart to Hart
What happens during Heart to Hart in 9 to 5: Roz Keith (to be played by Bonnie Langford) sings about her secretly obsessive infatuation with the CEO of Consolidated Industries, after eavesdropping on a conversation between Violet, Judy, and Doralee as they were fantasising about killing their boss.
What makes Heart to Hart good: The fact that an employee is in love with the evil boss adds a lot of contrast to the main trio and thereby creates one of the conflicts in the story.
Heart to Hart lyrics sample: I'll use my love as my magic wand / On the women who clutter your wold / And I'll zap them aside 'Cause I truly despise / How they treat you, but I am your girl
Shine Like The Sun
What happens during Shine Like The Sun in 9 to 5: The last song in Act I right before the interval sees the girls tie up Mr. Hart using telephone wires as they sing to him about all their many life problems.
What makes Shine Like The Sun good: It is an empowering number that marks the girls' newfound determination to make a better life for themselves. From here on out, they won't be taking any rubbish from anybody.
Shine Like The Sun lyrics sample: I'm gonna shine like the sun / When these clouds roll away from my door / When it's all said and done / I won't be at your mercy no more
Get Out and Stay Out
What happens during Get Out and Stay Out in 9 to 5: The second to last number is about Judy and her ex-husband, Dick. When Dick comes knocking on the door, begging for Judy to take him back after his girlfriend called it quits, Judy rejects him, opting for a 'life without Dick' altogether.
What makes Get Out and Stay Out good: Judy is a strong and independent woman who doesn't need a man. She refuses to go crawling back to someone who never truly loved her in the first place, making 'Get Out and Stay Out' the ultimate break-up song.
Get Out and Stay Out lyrics sample: I used to need you, then I finally learned / I used to want you, not the tables turned / I used to love you, now it's your time to squirm / Cause I'm saying goodbye and I won't wait for your return
9 to 5
What happens during 9 to 5: The song '9 to 5' serves as both the opening number and the final reprisal. Judy, Violet, and Doralee wake up to the sound of their alarm clocks and get ready for long day of work, singing about the mundainity of their morning routine in the process. In the closing reprisal of 9 to 5, the characters reveal what happens to them after the events that transpired in the musical.
What makes 9 to 5 good: It has brilliant lyrics that really show off Dolly Parton as a masterful songwriter. The song also has an interesting creative backstory. When filming the 1980 movie, Parton realised that she could imitate the sound of a typewriter by clacking her long acrylic fingernails against a desk to form a beat and from there, she wrote the lyrics. The song was critically lauded and won two Grammy Awards in 1982 for Female Country Vocal of the Year and Country Song of the Year. It also won the 1981 People's Choice Award for Favorite Motion Picture Song and was certified platinum.
9 to 5 lyrics sample: But you got dreams he'll never take away / In the same boat / With a lot of your friends / Waiting for the day
Now that you know the best 9 to 5 music, you can look forward to the 9 to 5 premiere! 9 to 5 The Musical opens at the Savoy Theatre on 28 January 2019 and is booking until 31 August 2019. Tickets to 9 to 5 are selling out fast! Avoid disappointment and book your tickets today for the best seats and ticket prices!
Purchase your tickets to 9 to 5 The Musical at the Savoy Theatre.