This afternoon Philip and I attended a matinee of "9 to 5," the new Broadway-bound musical created by Dolly Parton and the film's original screenwriter, Patricia Resnick. It's a fun show and I did laugh a lot, but, as Dolly might say in her Tennessee twang, "Well, it ain't the greatest thing I've ever seen." The cast is strong, with great performances from Megan Hilty and Stephanie J. Block (doing a spot-on homage to Dolly's Doralee character), but I was initially put off by Allison Janney's inability to hold a musical note. After a while though, I gave in to her acting charms - hell, if Lauren Bacall could sing in a musical, why not Allison Janney? The sets and direction are technically gorgeous and the staging of the fantasy sequence where the gals dream of killing Mr. Hart in various ways is adapted from the film in very clever ways. Choreography is a bit clunky, though, and some of the country cornpone could be toned down a notch. Additionally, the show seems out of balance - the first act is REALLY LONG, and the second act is REALLY SHORT, so the wrap-up feels very rushed and a bit unsatisfying. With a bit of retooling, this could be a huge hit on Broadway - the masses will adore it.