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ABC News
ABC News
National
music & pop culture reporter Mawunyo Gbogbo

From Dolly Parton superfans to an accidental convert, this is what the audience thought of 9 to 5 the Musical

9 to 5 the Musical is currently showing at the Capitol theatre in Sydney.  (David Hooley)

Inspired by the 1980 film starring Dolly Parton, Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin and Dabney Coleman, 9 to 5 the Musical is a tale of sexism, revenge and, ultimately, female empowerment.

The Australian production of the West End musical stars Casey Donovan, Marina Prior, Erin Clare, Caroline O'Connor and Eddie Perfect, with music by Dolly Parton.

Entertainment reporter Richard Reid went and saw the show the night it premiered in Sydney.

"I've always been a big fan of the movie, and of course, Dolly making her big screen debut," he said.

"So, I was really struck and pleasantly surprised when they really opened up the movie into a full-scale musical."

Reid said every actor on stage delivered, but he singled out Casey Donovan.

"We all know her as just a superb singer, but her acting – I was just so blown away by the pathos and the emotion that she brought to the role, and her comic timing is supreme," he said.

The script was written by Patricia Resnick, who also wrote the screenplay for the movie.

Richard Reid saw 9 to 5 on its opening night in Sydney. (David Hooley Photography)

"Of course, the movie is one of those comedy classics from I believe it was around 1980," Reid said.

"It was really the beginning of equal pay for equal jobs, and it really had a very feminist stamp to it.

"And to see the stage show, it really showed how far we haven't come in terms of equal pay for equal jobs, and women in the workforce really not being taken seriously."

While Reid would consider himself a Dolly Parton superfan, Wynonah Dove says she is more than a superfan.

And Parton, although she doesn't know it, has an enormous impact on Dove's life.

Dove has been a musician herself since the age of 15 and worked as a Dolly Parton tribute artist and impersonator for about a decade.

"It's actually how I came to Australia" she said.

"I was in a show playing Dolly Parton and I met my partner, who is Australian, and he was the drummer in the show.

"And that's how I ended up in Australia because of Dolly Parton."

Wynonah Dove hasn't performed as Dolly Parton since she moved to Australia in 2014, but wouldn't shy away from it if the opportunity again arose. (Supplied)

But it's more than just Parton's music and her "genius song writing", Dove admires how Parton has used the success she's had to give back.

"She's just done so much in terms of trying to assist and help other people and [it's] not about padding her own pocketbook, and patting herself on the back," Dove said.

"She's just a true humanitarian. And that's what I love about Dolly.

"I think that's what draws me to her, is she's a good human, she's good people."

So, it goes without saying that when Dove went to see the 9 to 5 musical at the Capitol theatre in Sydney, she was "tickled".

"I was surprised because I really didn't know what to expect," she said.

"And to be honest with you, I don't really get to musicals very much.

"I come from a very rural Appalachian area in America so that wasn't a thing I really ever got to do, and I never got to go to New York and see musicals, so I was so excited to get to go to see this."

Wynonah Dove isn't just a Dolly superfan. The Americana musician says Dolly Parton has influenced so many aspects of her life.  (Terry Phillips/EyeGraphics)

Dove said if anything, the musical over delivered.

"It just got to your heart. It made me so happy. I cried, I laughed," she said.

"All of the actors did such a phenomenal job; the music, the singing, everything.

"I was blown away and I was very pleasantly surprised.

You might expect Reid and Dove to find 9 to 5 spectacular, especially Dove, who said she almost had a heart attack when she saw Parton narrating part of the show.

But spare a thought for Sydneysider Louise Capistrano who went along to see the musical last weekend.

"All I knew was the song, and that was it," she said, adding that she only found out there was a movie of the same name on the day of the show.

Louise Capistrano went to see 9 to 5 with her fiance Darrell Lobrio. (Supplied)

Despite this, Capistrano said she loved the musical, and thought even the villain was likeable.

"And I think the overall theme of it is just still so relevant, especially for a woman," she said.

"Also, for me, I've started in the workforce, in the office environment maybe five years ago … and I mean, to watch that, and to now be where they are in some sort of sense, and [for it] to have that sort of relevancy, I'm like, 'Oh my God, this is insane'.

"What happened to the progress? Is there progress? I don't know."

Sally Bartlett doesn't work a 9 to 5 day. She's up much earlier refilling shelves and preparing online shopping orders at a supermarket.

But she too could relate to the story.

"I think they did a really good job of bringing the movie to life," she said.

"I thought it was amazing – the energy from the cast, and the songs – it was so well done.

"It was such a beautiful set."

Siblings Christian and Sally Bartlett flew from Adelaide to Sydney to watch 9 to 5, and caught it last weekend. (Supplied)

She travelled to Sydney from Adelaide specifically to see the show after the soundtrack popped up in her Spotify playlist a couple of years ago.

"I'm actually hoping it'll come to Adelaide so I can maybe take someone else to see it as well," she said.

She attended the show in Sydney with her brother Christian Bartlett, an actor who works in musical theatre.

"I thought it was a brilliant show," Mr Bartlett said.

"It's very funny, but also has a strong message.

"And I think it was good to be able to see what it was like for her in that time and how they got through, and had a bit of fun while doing it."

9 to 5 is currently showing in Sydney, before moving to Brisbane in May, and Melbourne in July.

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