Putting in Overtime with “9 to 5”
Join Village Theatre for a day at the office and see how they brought the set for “9 to 5” to life. Plus, a holiday extravaganza for all ages takes the stage and Union Arts Center announces the lineup for the New Works Northwest Festival.
How do you design a set that feels both soul-crushing enough to sell corporate drudgery and spirited enough to keep pace with Dolly Parton’s buoyant score? That was the puzzle facing Village Theatre’s creative team as they prepared to bring 9 to 5 to the stage.
“It’s an interesting challenge,” says director Katy Tabb. “We need to start with an office that’s sterile by design, but not so bleak that the audience is like, wait, is this a Dolly Parton musical or some sort of dystopian nightmare?”
That contradiction runs through the whole production. On the page, the script calls for more than 20 different locations, most of them inside a gray, lifeless workplace. But in the pit, Parton’s music is alive with humor, heart, and unapologetic joy. For Tabb, set designer Paige Hathaway, and lighting designer Yael Lubetzky, the job was to bridge that divide: to honor the grind of office life without losing the sparkle that makes the show sing.
That work began months before rehearsals with the first full design meeting. Tabb arrived with images of late-1970s office spaces. Rooting the design in the concept of forced conformity not only aligned with the story arc of 9 to 5—it also gave the team a starting place from which the set could evolve.
On the Stage
The Pigeon Gets a Big Time Holiday Extravaganza!
Theatre | Seattle Children’s Theatre
Now – January 4 | Tickets
Catchy tunes, silly stories, goofy gifts, audience antics: it’s all in this brand-new musical party that sleighs!
More Events
- Mackey Anemology and Adams Harmonielehre | Seattle Symphony | Now – November 22 | View Print Program
- A Very Die Hard Christmas | Seattle Public Theater | Now – December 21
- 9 to 5 | Village Theatre Issaquah | Now – January 4 | View Program
- A Sherlock Carol | Taproot Theatre Company | November 26 – December 30
Next Line
- Union Arts Center announces the lineup for the third annual New Works Northwest Festival returning in January. The festival will highlight six new plays by great voices of Northwest theatre.
- Allen Family Philanthropies has announced nearly $7 million in new funding to support arts and culture organizations at Seattle Center. These grants are designed to foster the next generation of Seattle-area artists and audiences.
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