Allison Janney Down the Octave

Last weekend we were lucky enough to see Dolly Parton's 9 to 5. And we mean lucky enough. It was so great and fun! After crying through the last two shows we saw- Hair and Next to Normal- this was a nice change. We were really sad our mom couldn't see it with us, though, because it involves everything she loves: Dolly Parton, country music, Allison Janney, and feminism. If the show had somehow involved gourmet mints then she would have been a producer.

Megan Hilty, Stephanie J. Block, and Allison Janney made the most perfect trio. Megan Hilty literally looked, sounded, and acted exactly like Dolly Parton which was incredible. And made us really jealous. Stephanie J. Block had the most awesome strong, single woman song that blew us away. And Allison Janney is just too much. She's hilarious and so real onstage and she really knows how to hold her alto harmony. After the show Elyse said, "We can be like the three of them!" And our friend Chris said, "Yeah! Elyse, you would be Megan Hilty because she's the one with the big boobs, I would be Allison Janney because she's the gay one, and Annie would be Stephanie J. Block because she's the Jewish one." ...Okay. Is that not an amazing quote?

There were only three things we didn't like about the show. First, we didn't like that they had the same video screen backdrop thing as Guys and Dolls did during their Tony performance. Second, we didn't really like the choreography. It was done by the same guy who did In the Heights. Okay. His choreography is PERFECT for those of us from Washington Heights. However, there's only but so much popping and locking that needs to be done to country music in a suburban workplace in the 1970s. Just sayin'. Third, Marc Kudisch is really really bowlegged and it weirded Elyse out. Annie and Chris didn't even notice it. BUT she was right! Conrad Birdie himself knows he's bowlegged. And now Elyse feels kind of bad for being so freaked.

All in all we absolutely loved the show and are most definitely seeing it again with our mom in tow. So if you're in New York and want to see something which doesn't make you cry and boasts three amazing girls, opt for this. And speaking of Marc Kudisch, have y'all watched the Broadway.com interview with Gavin Creel, Sutton Foster, and Marc Kudisch at Ruby Foo's? It's a 30 minute interview that is totally worth it to watch just to see what they're like in real life. Our verdict? Eh, we'll pass.