Women win in ‘9 to 5 The Musical’

It takes place in 1979 at company led by Franklin Hart (Aaron Hurley). He treats women, especially the young, attractive ones, like sex objects, calls them girls and makes them fetch his coffee. A woman who discovers that she’s being paid less than a man doing the same job is fired.

Fed up with his behavior, three women conspire to hide him for a few weeks, fake memos from him and institute much-needed changes. Soon everyone is better off.

The three are led by Violet (Glenna Murillo in the Tomlin role), a widow with a teenage son.

Her cohorts are the young newbie Judy (Rachelle Abbey in the Fonda role), who’s recently divorced, and the sexy but happily married Doralee (Allie Townsend in the Parton role). Doralee has to fend off the boss the most.

All three do well. Also noteworthy is Angela Cesena as Roz, the administrative assistant who is Hart’s spy and who has a crush on him. She has a standout number, “Heart to Hart,” in which she sings how much she loves him.

The supporting characters and ensemble are strong, with kudos going to Kayvon Kordestani as Margaret, the office drunk who benefits from the new rehab benefit.

Parton’s songs have a country twang, and they’re performed well under the musical direction of Dolores Duran-Cefalu, who leads four instrumentalists from the keyboard.

The show is crisply directed by Milissa Carey with lively choreography by Claire Alexander. The flexible set is by Christopher Fitzer, the attractive costumes by Chiara Cola and sound by Andrew Heller. Keenan Molner’s lighting is sometimes too dim.

Although the show glosses over some plot lines like Hart’s cooking the books and makes light of his unwanted sexual advances — especially in this #MeToo era — overall it’s timely and, most of all, lots of fun.

Running about two and a half hours with one intermission, it will continue through March 18 in the Lohman Theatre, Foothill College, 12345 El Monte Road, Los Altos Hills.

For tickets and information call (650) 949-7360 or visit foothill.edu/theatre/productions/9to5.html.