ALLEGANY, N.Y. — Doralee will be chased around the office by her lecherous boss and her friends will come to her rescue with songs on their lips in this weekend’s performances of “9 to 5: The Musical” at the Allegany-Limestone High School auditorium at 3131 Five Mile Road.
The Olean Community Theatre (OCT) production, directed by Eric Van Druff, will be staged at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday. Admission to the comedy, which is suggested for mature audiences, is $12 for senior citizens and students 18 and under, and $14 for adults.
Van Druff said he is pleased with the cast, which hails from local communities across the Twin Tiers.
“We have a lot of first-time folks here, especially the Bradford (Pa.) performers who haven’t done an OCT show before,” Van Druff said of his cast. “We have a lot of newcomers and old veterans who have been here awhile.”
Van Druff said the show has been a lot of fun to produce and he expects it will be fun for the audience to watch.
“It’s very much like the movie; they kept almost all the original script in,” Van Druff continued. “For the most part, they just added songs. Dolly Parton (who played Doralee in the 1980 film) wrote the music for the Broadway production.”
Van Druff said veteran OCT performer Paul Nelson plays the perfect overbearing, opinionated, sexist boss, Hart. The employee that Hart sexually harasses, Doralee, is played with gusto by Kyle Leslie, who is relatively new with the theater company. When Doralee gets even with her creepy boss, she is helped by co-workers Violet, played by Marcia Wymer, and Judy, performed by Tanaka Losey.
Leslie said she likes playing in the period piece in the role of a tough woman who takes matters into her own hands.
“It’s fun to be back in the ’70s and ’80s, but it’s amazing that so many of these issues we address in the show still apply today,” Lesliesaid. “I think we’ve come a long way, but a lot of the issues still apply.”
Leslie said she also enjoys playing alongside the other leads, Wymer and Losey, as both are seasoned performers.
“I just love singing with them, it’s so fun,” she added. “And it’s a little daunting trying to be Dolly Parton.”
Other performers in the production include Joy Wilber, David Merwine, Andrew LaBorde, Jake Riggs, Andrew Sherburne, Rodney Stebbins, Alan Bernstein, McKenzie Forrest
Jessica Anderson, Angela Emley, Nelle Davis, Sarita Schwindler, Nicholas Youngs, Rawny Reed, Jessica Ann Coder, Connie Shank and Letha Rollins.
An intermission will be held in the lobby with snacks and beverages available as well as a display by the Cattaraugus County Arts Council.
