SLC Musical Theatre Ensemble’s 9 to 5
Willa Dana ‘26
Photo courtesy of SLC Musical Theatre Ensemble
Recently, I was lucky enough to sit in on a rehearsal of the Musical Theater Ensemble’s upcoming production of 9-5, a student-led musical comedy with music and lyrics by Dolly Parton. As I walked into the rehearsal space, I was greeted enthusiastically by director Gil Dominguez-Letelier ‘24 as the cast began trickling in from their break, talking and laughing as they found their seats. The energy in the room was palpable— I felt instantly welcomed even in a room filled largely with strangers. It was impossible not to feel growing excitement for the rehearsal ahead. The actors found their seats, and Dominguez-Letelier talked to me a bit about the show. “The whole story is really grounded. It’s a really important message— especially now— seeing as Roe V. Wade was repealed. It’s a story about gender oppression in the workplace for women and the message from this show is still ever so present.”
Rehearsal photos courtesy of SLC Musical Theatre Ensemble.
As soon as the cast arrived, they ran an intimacy call— a time when performers can run through scenes that contain physical intimacy and/or conflict with an intimacy coordinator present to help ensure that everyone is feeling comfortable and safe with the action that is being performed on stage. Assistant director Gretchen Witte ‘26 explained to me how although the majority of the production was student-led, it was important to enlist the help of a qualified non-student intimacy coordinator (in this case, Lauren Reinhard, director of the Sarah Lawrence Theater program) to stage intimate scenes during pre-production. In addition, Jasen Cummings ‘24 acts as the student intimacy coordinator throughout rehearsals.
After the intimacy call, the cast sat down while Dominguez-Letelier asked them if there were any scenes or moments in the show they felt at all unsure about, and then took the time to run them until everyone felt comfortable. I was struck by how trusting the cast and crew were of each other, and I sat down with Dominguez-Letelier to discuss how he went about cultivating that environment. He told me, “It was a really collaborative thing. I honestly can’t take credit for how that trust has been formed, because so much of that has come from the cast and crew. Sometimes I’ll miss a mark and we’ll all work together to figure out the best way to move forward. Trust doesn’t come naturally, and trust goes both ways.”
Clearly, collaborative trust has paid off. The cast and crew treat each other with mutual respect and kindness, which allows them to maintain high levels of professionalism. As music director Simon Disenhaus ‘24 began to play the first few notes of the opening song, a switch flipped. The cast immediately snapped into focus, and suddenly, I found myself in the crowded streets of 1970s Manhattan. The cast’s dynamic stage presence in combination with incredible vocal power cultivated a fantastic opening number which was especially impressive at such an early stage in the production process. It was impossible to take my eyes off the stage as the cast ran through Act 1— the talent, hard work, and humor of everyone involved shone through in every scene. Dominguez-Letelier made sure to emphasize the complexities of the production as well. “Everything about the show is fun, but each scene has an honesty behind it— there’s a truth there that can be really hard to watch. All the actors have done a great job finding the honesty behind every line, and that’s really important. It not only reads as funny, it reads as telling the audience what needs to be told.”
Rehearsal photos courtesy of SLC Musical Theatre Ensemble.
And it’s true— each cast member perfectly developed their characters in a way that created harmony between harsh reality and comedy. Each and every actor had created a character entirely their own, regardless of the size of their role, and even by looking in the background, I unlocked new pieces of the story.
9-5 runs from Dec. 1–3 in Resinger. Tickets will be available for free for students, and I highly recommend taking the time to go see a production that I have no doubt will be nothing short of phenomenal.