9 to 5 Auditions
9 to 5
Music and Lyrics by Dolly Parton
Book by Patricia Resnick
Directed by Steve Boden and Jonathan Howes
Performance Dates: 14th - 27th July 2027
Rehearsals Begin in early May - Upto four evening calls per week
Workshop & Audition dates:
Workshop - Sunday 11th October - 2pm - 6pm
Audition - Wednesday 21st October - 7pm
Audition - Sunday 25th October - 2pm - 6pm
ABOUT THE PRODUCTION
9 to 5 is a gloriously funny, energetic musical about three very different women - Violet Newstead, Judy Bernly and Doralee Rhodes - who discover that, together, they are considerably more powerful than they ever imagined.
When the three women find themselves pushed to breaking point by their sexist and thoroughly unpleasant boss, Franklin Hart Jr., they decide that enough is enough.
What follows is outrageous, ridiculous and enormously entertaining — but underneath the comedy is a genuinely warm story about friendship, confidence, equality and women discovering their own strength.
Dolly Parton’s score gives the show its distinctive personality, combining big musical-theatre numbers with country, gospel and pop influences.
Our 9 to 5
This is very much a fun musical comedy with opportunities for all. We’re looking for a diverse cast full of enthusiasm, commitment and a good helping of musical theatricality. There will be some dance/movement requirements, and you will need to be able to sing and act.
Our production will be firmly rooted in the late 1970’s early 1980’s— the clothes, offices, attitudes and visual world of the period will all be part of the fun — but the characters and comedy will be played with energy and honesty.
We’re looking for a company capable of strong characterisation, great comic timing, warmth, energy and a real sense of ensemble.
And although the three women are at the centre of the story, 9 to 5 offers opportunities for a larger company. There are terrific supporting characters, featured roles and ensemble opportunities, including opportunities for male performers.
If you are interested in auditioning or want to find out more, please email Steve Boden or Jonathan Howes for an audition pack
stephenboden@hotmail.co.uk and jonnyhowes@btinternet.com
Roles:
The principal characters
VIOLET NEWSTEAD – Female, playing age 40’s-50’s. Vocal guide F3–D5
The office professional. The organiser. The woman who knows exactly how things should be done.
Violet is the Head Secretary and Hart’s administrative assistant. She’s a single mother, experienced, intelligent and ambitious. She has spent years doing the job while men around her receive the recognition.
She isn’t a victim and she’s formidable.
The actor playing Violet needs strong comic instincts and the ability to establish authority immediately, while also allowing us to see the vulnerability and warmth beneath it.
Vocally, she needs strength and confidence.
We’re looking for:
Authority • wit • warmth • excellent musical-theatre technique • comic timing • emotional depth.
JUDY BERNLY – Female, playing age 30’s-40’s. Vocal guide A♭3-F5
The woman who discovers what she’s capable of.
Judy arrives at the office with very little experience and very little confidence. Her husband has left her for another woman and suddenly she has to work out who she is without him.
Her journey is perhaps the biggest of the three women.
She begins insecure, nervous and slightly overwhelmed — and ends up discovering a strength she didn’t know she possessed.
We’re looking for:
Strong acting • vulnerability • comic awkwardness • emotional intelligence • a powerful musical-theatre voice • a genuine transformation.
DORALEE RHODES – Female, playing age 20’s-30’s. Vocal guide G3-E5
Don’t make the mistake of thinking Doralee is just the blonde.
Doralee is glamorous, funny, warm and apparently very comfortable with herself — but she’s also intelligent, capable and nobody’s fool.
Hart’s inappropriate interest in her means she’s constantly having to deal with assumptions about who she is.
There’s a strong country flavour to the character and the score, but we’re particularly interested in finding an actor who can create her own Doralee, rather than simply doing an impression of Dolly Parton.
We’re looking for:
Huge personality • warmth • comic timing • confidence • strong singing • country style • great stage presence.
And yes — an ability to handle the Dolly-esque vocal style and accent is a definite advantage.
FRANKLIN HART JR. – Male, playing age 40’s-50’s. Vocal guide C3-G♭4
The boss everyone loves to hate.
Hart is sexist, arrogant, self-important, smarmy and thoroughly convinced of his own brilliance, while everyone else can see exactly what he is!
But he’s also one of the show’s biggest comic opportunities.
We need a strong comic actor who is completely comfortable being the centre of attention and isn’t afraid to look ridiculous.
We’re looking for:
Big personality • comic confidence • excellent timing • charisma • physical comedy • a strong singing voice.
ROZ KEITH – Female, playing age 30’s-50’s. Vocal guide G3-C5
Possibly the funniest woman in the building.
Roz is Hart’s devoted administrative assistant and has an enormous — and entirely unrequited — crush on him.
She’s a gossip, a busybody and a terrible judge of her own behaviour.
But she’s much more than a comic stereotype. The actor has the opportunity to create a wonderfully detailed character who can be hilarious, uncomfortable, pathetic and strangely endearing.
We’re looking for:
A strong character actress • fearless comedy • physicality • impeccable timing • someone who understands that playing the truth of Roz is funnier than simply “being funny”.
JOE – Male, playing age 20’s-30’s. Vocal guide B2-G4
The nice guy.
Joe is a young accountant who falls for Violet.
He needs to be charming without being bland and romantic without becoming overly sentimental.
Most importantly, we need to believe that Violet would actually like him.
OTHER NAMED CHARACTERS WHO WILL ALSO BE IN THE ENSEMBLE
MARGARET — supporting
Playing age: 40’s–60’s
Vocal: character singer rather than a conventional “musical theatre” voice.
Margaret is an experienced secretary who has become disillusioned with office life and has a drinking problem. She can initially appear to be the office eccentric, but there is a surprisingly human character underneath.
Margaret can get enormous laughs from relatively little stage time with fantastic comic timing and the confidence to play an imperfect, slightly chaotic woman.
MARIA DELGADO — supporting
Playing age: 25–45
Vocal: soprano/mezzo/alto.
Maria is one of the secretaries and becomes part of the women’s story.
She’s warm, friendly and has a family life outside the office. Her treatment by Hart gives her character a little more dramatic weight than might initially be apparent.
KATHY — supporting
Playing age: 20s–40s
Vocal: flexible — soprano/mezzo/alto.
Kathy is another office worker and is part of the secretary group.
DWAYNE RHODES — supporting
Playing age: 25–45
Vocal: tenor.
Dwayne is Doralee’s husband.
He’s an absolute sweetheart — supportive, loving and proud of Doralee.
He doesn’t need to be a huge comic character. He needs to be genuine.
JOSH NEWSTEAD — supporting
Playing age: late teens/early 20s
Josh is Violet’s son, he gives us a glimpse of Violet’s life away from the office and an excellent opportunity for a younger actor who doesn’t necessarily have the singing confidence required for the principals.
DICK BERNLY — supporting
Playing age: 35–55
Judy’s ex-husband.
This is a relatively small part but potentially a very good character opportunity because the audience needs to understand something about Judy’s previous life through him.
MISSY HART — featured
Playing age: 35–55
Hart’s wife.
Missy is particularly interesting because she can initially appear rather peripheral, but she’s part of the Hart storyline and gives the actor a chance to create a very specific character.
She is rather wonderfully oblivious to Hart’s behaviour.
RUSSELL TINSWORTHY — featured
Playing age: 50–70
The chairman of the company.
He’s senior to Hart and represents the corporate establishment.
ENSEMBLE AND SMALL ROLES
Bob Enright
Detective
Doctor
Candy Striper
New Employee
Intern
Orderly
Office Workers
If you are interested in auditioning or want to find out more, please email Steve Boden or Jonathan Howes for an audition pack