Review: 9 to 5 the Musical
By: Kat Daughdrill
Howard High School’s drama department put on the movie-turned-musical 9 to 5 the Musical! for the spring performance this year. The engaging musical excellently displayed the acting, singing, and dancing abilities of the teen dramatists and captured the spirit of change well. The musical was held in the Howard auditorium April 5–8, with alternating casts. The program is open to all grades, and many of this year’s performers have been a part of the group all four years of high school.
The show’s lead roles were split between the Thursday/Saturday and Friday/Sunday shows with the cast members rotating through the ensemble on their off nights. Cassidy Hall and Laura Zuidema played the hardworking Violet; Hannah Strudwick played Doralee in all four productions; Mary Henneberry and Cicely Jackson played Judy; and Ethan Norfleet and Luke Caldwell shared the role of Mr. Hart. The 28 cast members and their student crew of 24 were directed by Mitchell Moore and Rachel Roper with set and prop assistance from Tia Litke and choreography assistance from Lee Norfleet (of Flag City School of Dance) and student Nina Strudwick.
The show, set in the 1980s, depicts the life of three dynamically different working women who are all mistreated by their tyrannical, sexist boss Mr. Hart. Once the three become friends they jokingly discuss what they would like to do about him, but an accidental coffee mix-up makes their fantasies come true. In their attempts to stay out of trouble and fix their office, they change their world for the better. This story was truly brought to life by Howard’s young dramatists.
Students’ lives quickly became wrapped around the production with hours of rehearsal nearly every day-including Saturdays. Tech week kept both performers and crew at school until 10 p.m., but the results were extraordinary.
The dedication and hard work of the cast and crew paid off as they gave a series of stunning performances that demonstrated the potential and talents of all participants. The time and effort that the Howard drama students put in made them a tightly-knit group. Senior star Hannah Strudwick, who won the community’s Golden Eagle Award in Drama, says that being a part of the drama program has been “one of the most transformative experiences of (my) high school career. The amount of effort the cast and crew of every show put into making a performance memorable is incredible.”
The achievements of Husky Drama and their passionate displays of effort and ability are worth applauding.
