9 to 5 The Musical - Tour

Southampton June 22nd -27th

At the first preview of the tour, which has managed about 10 minutes before a show stop. The director has been on stage and told a few jokes.

Looks sold out.

Restarted, but now on an early interval and second show stop,

The show started again, with the director announcing there had been an oil spill and the cast would be performing in trainers. That explains the earlier slips.

They got to the end of Backwoods Barbie, then the producer (a change from the director) came on to announce the oil was still a problem, apparently left over from when they loaded.

He has said they will perform the rest of the show as a concert production at the front of the stage.

The audience had been quite quiet since they restarted. Not sure if the jokes are hitting. From what I can tell from the leads so far, they’re good. I know a lot of the cast have been in the London production, either in lead or cover roles.

Oh,dear...really sorry to hear this..we are going next week...safety comes first but it sounds like a complete shambles in terms of the ‘get in’...hope everyone gets a full refund and that the cast are all OK...

Im stunned this was even allowed to happen, major disregard for health and safety. If one of those dancers had fallen and sustained an injury after they knew there had been an oil spill then you'd be talking a major lawsuit. 

I was at the Alex last night too. I'd got a nice £10 discount with my ATG card so had a good side stalls seat for a very reasonable £35. I've been a fan of Louise's since back in the 1990's and was interested to see Amber perform too. Audience was in good spirits and it was a packed house. Dr Tom describes fully what happened above.

A few thoughts from my point of view was that if the oil spillage had happened just before the show then surely the company would have reasonably refused to have started until it was declared safe. The Director and Choreographer were watching from the audience, surely they would have been contacted about the incident and have gone backstage to make a decision about what to do with the show.

The director clearly didn't know what the issue was when he got up on stage during the first stoppage and it was about 15 minutes later that he finally went back stage. If they were considering doing a work around then surely he'd have needed to be there ASAP.

The show restarted and they did a few scenes and all looked okay, the cast were in trainers, I'm not sure if they would have given much more grip for the guys but for the ladies in heels it was a no brainer. Sean Needham did his number propelling himself about in his executive chair okay before they called a halt again and said there would be an interval and they would do a concert version.

A few people were moaning at the ushers demanding to see the duty manager. There were no announcements when the show would restart and so when the curtains went up a lot of people weren't seated. They were about to restart and all the chanting started. There was apparently a guy in the front circle shouting aggressively at the cast, somebody said this was directed at Amber but she did walk back on after walking off so I don't think it was a personal attack. A guy in the front stalls stood up and shouted back to defend the cast. This poor chap has been apologizing across social media and a lot of the cast have backed him as well as a lot of other patrons.

If a clear announcement about refunds had been made before the show resumed things may have smoother. When they announced refunds would be available, would they have taken names of those who had left and just given them one and those who stayed didn't. I'm guessing that when it was announced that refunds would be given it was decided there was no point doing a concert version as well.

Who made this call I don't know, the cast likely have Equity rep or there would be an unofficial cast leader maybe Sean or Roz Lawrence who thought it was unfair to put a youngish cast through a potentially hostile atmosphere.

The mics given to the Director and Producers didn't work a few times either which didn't help.

I felt very sorry for the ushers and the performers who had worked hard to get the show up and running. I'd have been happy to see a concert version as I just wanted to see the show. A refund will be nice but ideally I'd like to get it rebooked and still see the show.

On a positive note a lot of fans cheered the cast as they left via the stage door and the cast thanked them for their support and explained a bit more what happened. There was no animosity there and everyone seemed in a far better mood. Louise in particular spent a large amount of time meeting the fans, doing selfies, hugs and signing stuff which was a nice touch.

I honestly cannot blame anyone for what happened, the communication could have been better but hindsight is a great word. My real anger was towards those who shouted out and were aggressive in their tone towards the cast.

Hopefully today's performance goes smoother.

Oil had spilled from part of the mechanical scenery onto the floor hence it was slippery but when they had put something down to cover this it apparently also became sticky. So dancers doing turns on this would be a H and S issue.

I think Amber's name was called out as she is well known, nothing against her performing ability.

A bit of good news, have had an email/text to say we can rebook for another show in Birmingham, elsewhere on the tour, or in London. Well done to ATG and the producers for doing the right thing here.

Here for the first preview (again) tonight.

The box office staff were really helpful, especially as it’s almost sold out (not many seats available other than a few single seats).

Arguably better seat tonight. Certainly, it was a higher price bracket. Yesterday, I was at the extreme end of the front row stalls, tonight I’m central block stalls in the fourth row. The legroom isn’t as good though and there’s not much of a rake until further back, so it’s not a row I’d normally book, but the view should be fine.

The ushers are checking bags tonight, which is a good thing. And I think I saw a security guard checking in when I sorted my ticket earlier.

Fingers crossed all the gremlins are sorted and everyone involved has a smooth show.

A good show tonight. Enjoyed it more than in London.

It’s simple crowd pleasing entertainment, cheesy jokes, plenty of smut and innuendo, making fun of the things you can’t do now in the “me too” generation. And, of course, aimed at women who think those things are still hilarious.

Think this is the third time the tour has been in Birmingham. First time I’ve seen the tour, so I don’t know what’s changed. But very like London. The crowd today were on their best behaviour, laughed where appropriate (more in the first half than the second) and gave a standing ovation at the end.

The leads are all decent. Some more convincing than others, but there are no weak links. And this show doesn’t rely on star power.

There were a few moments that gave if away being a preview. Set pieces being wheeled in slightly out of position and getting in the way, or not secured fully to the floor, microphones being turned on slightly late, paper ending up scattered over the floor when wheeling off a prop, those sort of things. A very long (35 minute) interval, as well. But I’m sure everything will be sorted.

A really positive experience compared to last night. It’s not a show I love enough to rush back to but this should do well on tour.