Inishowen actors working ‘9 to 5’ and overtime on fabulous new show

“Working 9 to 5 for service and devotion.”

Dolly hit the nail on the head.

She could actually have been talking about LMS and the sheer amount of on-stage, behind the scenes and front of house work that has gone into its forthcoming production of the eponymous musical.

LMS is presenting ‘9 to 5 the Musical’ in Derry’s Millennium Forum at 8.00pm nightly from Wednesday, March 29 to Saturday, April 1.

The feel-good musical is based on the film starring Dolly Parton, Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin, which was based on a book by Patricia Resinick.

“Dolly wrote all of the music for ‘9 to 5’,” said Judith O’Hare, LMS’s indefatigable chairperson, “and it is terrific.”

Judith said: “We have a great cast and we are delighted to be doing this show. The audiences are in for a real treat.

“We have a great production team of Michael Poole (director), Peter Doherty (musical director) and Venessa Chapman (choreographer), who have been working hard with the cast since just after Christmas.

“We have been rehearsing twice a week, as well as learning and practising our dancing at the weekends. There is a lot of choreography in the show. It is very lively.

“Our three main female characters are Lorraine Roddy, Sophie Doran, and Cora Early.

“Lorraine, who is playing Violet, has starred in some of our previous shows. She has also been in Grove Theatre Group productions. Sophie, who is from Inch in Inishowen, is fabulous as the Dolly character, Doralee. Cora is new to LMS. From Strabane, she is a very talented singer and member of Class Act Theatre Group. She is playing Judi, the Jane Fonda movie character.

“We also have a new arrival who is a great baddie, Colin Ashe. Colin teaches drama at the North West Regional College and plays Franklin Hart, is a terrible character altogether.”

Roz, the only woman who likes Franklin, is played by Una Culkin from Portrush.

Judith described ‘9 TO 5’ as “very, very funny”.

“It is set in the 1970s,” she added, “so audiences will notice it is of its time.”

“It is a stereotypical office setup. With the workers coming in, it is a hive of activity and Franklin’s behaviour is really terrible. I wouldn’t be surprised if the audiences weren’t booing him.

“The music is great, the dancing is great, it is a very funny story, and the ladies come out on top at the end. It all promises to be a great night’s fun. We have definitely had great fun rehearsing it and we are hoping to keep up LMS’s high standard and put on a good show.

“We were looking for a show that was fun and had lots of parts for younger cast members. It is good to see a lot of the guys back in the cast as well.

“Simon Quigg, a beautiful singer, who starred in the Millennium Forum pantomime plays Doralee’s husband, Dwayne. Leon Cullen from Newtowncunningham plays Violet’s son, Josh, and Matthew Irwin from Castlederg is Judi’s ex-husband, Dick, who is also a bit of a ‘badden’.

“Aoife Lennon from Buncrana plays Cathy, one of the girls in the office. We also have young women dancing who are still at school. Then we progress to the ‘in between’ ladies and on to the ‘old dolls’ like me who still enjoy the craic.”

Judith said the whole cast could not wait to get on stage next week after the vicissitudes of covid.

LMS staged a postponed ‘Calamity Jane’ in October, followed by ‘The Sound of Music’ to mark its 60th Birthday in 2022, to great acclaim.

Judith revealed: “LMS takes part in the Association of Irish Musical Societies (AIMS) and we travelled to Kilarney last June, where we won a host of awards for both shows. We were thrilled to bits.

“We were runner up in the Best Show category for ‘Calamity Jane’, which was amazing because all the amateur societies in Ireland. We were up against Dublin, Belfast and Galway societies.

“We also won the Stage Management award, which went to Christine Deane and her team, as well as the Front of House, Best Programme, and Best Visual, which includes hair make-up and costumes, awards. In addition, we scooped the Best Chorus award; Caitlin McCrea got Best Female singer, and Rachel Harley, who is now with Playhouse Productions, was Best Female Actress for ‘The Sound of Music’ and ‘Calamity Jane’. We were absolutely delighted.

“Donald Hill, who is our President, also got a very well-deserved Spirit of AIMS award. Donald has been performing for 60 years. He is actually one of the founder members.”

Several of the LMS cast of ‘The Sound of Music’ have also been nominated for National Operatic and Dramatic Association (NODA) awards, which will be announced later this year.

Judith also acknowledged, LMS could not stage shows of the exceptional calibre of ‘9 to 5’ without Michael Kielty, sound engineer, and Jean Palmer and her costume team.

“None of what LMS does could be achieved without our hard working committee of nine,” said Judith. “We meet regularly throughout the year to organise the show ,Autumn Concert and fundraising functions throughout the year .

“Our Showstoppers concerts with Britannia Concert Band have raised more than £300, 000 for local charities over the past 31 years.”

LMS was formed 60 years ago by Belinda Storey who taught in Foyle College on Duncreggan Road.

Smiling, Judith said: “Donald Hill, who was well known as a singer, lived in a house at the top of Northland Road. He was out in the garden one day, when Belinda passed and asked him if he’d be interested in forming a music society. Donald said, ‘Yes’ and over the years his whole family, including his wife who has sadly passed away, has been involved in LMS in some capacity.

“LMS started off in the Guildhall with Gilbert and Sullivan musicals. They also used to take part in the Waterford International Festival of Light Opera, where they did very well. LMS also did concerts with Jim Goodwin and the Britannia Band for 31 years.

“Our choir had a concert last year with our new musical director, Louis Fields. It featured Fr Eugene O’Hagan, who played Caliph in our production of Kismet in 1996.

“We have also been fortunate to have fabulous singers including Margaret Keys and Wendy Ferguson.

“LMS is like one big family. It’s a good job too because Daniel O’Donnell is on in the Forum the night after we finish, so it will be all hands on deck the next day to get everything spick and span.”