9 to 5: Why Didn't Dolly Parton win?

[zamedy2]

Posted: 4/20/20 at 8:02pm

Just listened to "One of the Boys" on Sirius XM. What a great song. In fact, I love the score to 9 TO 5. Backwards Barbie, Get Out and Stay Out, just to name a few. I'm really surprised this show didn't have a better run. And I've certainly heard what, IMO, are lesser scores that have won Best Score. Dolly is truly one of the greatest song writers of our time, penning over 3,000 songs (including one of the best selling singles of all time). It's not fair to say she was 'robbed' of a Tony, but it's a shame she couldn't have been rewarded with one for this empowering creation.

She most certainly WAS robbed the year she lost the Oscar for Best Song (Travelin' Thru) to "It's Hard Out There For a Pimp". While she's still in elite company for being one of the only performers to have been nominated for every award in the EGOT circle (and won two of the four), our dear Dolly deserves to be wearing the EGOT crown.

 

Updated On: 4/20/20 at 08:02 PM

[HeyMrMusic]

Posted: 4/20/20 at 8:19pm

In my book, Dolly should have two Oscars by now: one for “Travelin’ Thru” and one for “9 to 5.” She was robbed both times.

When it came to the Tonys, this award was always between Next to Normal and Billy Elliot, with Next to Normal winning out. 9 to 5 wasn’t even nominated for Best Musical.

[zamedy2]

Posted: 4/20/20 at 8:36pm

Amen to that!

Ironically, if she had written 'I Will Always Love You' about 20 years later for Hollywood and not for herself, she'd have one.

[Tag]

Posted: 4/20/20 at 8:39pm

Weren't there rumours at the time that she didn't write most of it?  Certainly not any of the incidental or underscored moments. 

[TotallyEffed]

Posted: 4/20/20 at 9:16pm

Why didn't she win over the masterpiece that is Next to Normal? C'mon.

9 to 5 was by far the weakest of the nominees for score, even Shrek had a few fantastic numbers.

[AEA AGMA SM]

Posted: 4/20/20 at 9:28pm

Tag said: "Weren't there rumours at the time that she didn't write most of it? Certainly not any of the incidental or underscored moments."

I don't really remember any rumors (not to say that there weren't), but it's not unusual at all for the composers to have not written the incidental music or underscoring. Those are often created in the rehearsal room by the music team who's handling day to day duties, be it the musical supervisor, musical director, arranger, etc (and that team can vary wildly in terms of job titles and duties, it's far from standardized across the board). Now some composers will be there every day and be actively involved in creating those, but it's not always the case.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 4/21/20 at 6:09am

I've never been able to listen to the recording all the way thru. Totally turned me off as to wanting to see it or produce it.

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 4/21/20 at 9:21am

Has anyone listened to the London cast recording? Dolly wrote a new song to replace the Cowgirl’s Revenge/Potion Notion/Joy to the Girls sequence.

[fashionguru_23]

Posted: 4/21/20 at 11:05am

The score to 9 to 5 is something that is constantly listened to in my world. It is light, frothy, and fun. It's not South Pacific or Gypsy, but it's a great listen. 

I do remember hearing something that Stephen Oremus "wrote" a lot of the score, in the same way that Glen Kelly "wrote" the score to The Producers. Oremus is listed on IBDB as doing the following for 9 to 5:

• Incidental Music Arrangements by Stephen Oremus
• Additional Orchestrations by Stephen Oremus
• Musical Director: Stephen Oremus
• Conducted by Stephen Oremus
• Vocal arrangements by Stephen Oremus
• Keyboard 1: Stephen Oremus

Now, he also did the same jobs (minus incidental music) on Frozen, The Book of Mormon, and (all less conducting, incidental, and keyboard 1) for Kinky Boots, Wicked, Avenue Q, etc. So, to go by just that, I can see that he probably did a bit more, but when you boil it down, the score is classic Dolly. On her album, Better Day, she recorded 4 numbers from the show and they are done as if she was the original performer and they fit seamlessly with the rest of her album. I'm thinking that she wrote the songs, and Oremus added "Broadway seasoning" to them. 

Also, I didn't love the new song...then again after listening to the London cast recording only twice, I am scraping to remember anything about it. 

[Wayman_Wong]

Posted: 4/21/20 at 1:53pm

In 2009, among the most enthusiastic champions of ''9 to 5'' were the Drama Desk nominators. They gave it a record-breaking 15 nominations, which is even more than they gave ''Hamilton'' (13 ) and ''The Producers'' (14 ) in their respective seasons.

The general Drama Desk membership didn't share that enthusiasm, however. It lost every nomination, except for Allison Janney, who won Best Actress in a Musical. At Tony time, ''9 to 5'' got only 4 nominations and was snubbed for Best Musical.

Updated On: 4/21/20 at 01:53 PM

[TotallyEffed]

Posted: 4/21/20 at 1:58pm

Janney only won because Alice Ripley was ineligible.

[Dollypop]

Posted: 4/22/20 at 9:36pm

I missed 9 to 5 on Broadway but saw a summer production of it that was God awful. Sally Struthers played a secondary role--a secretary in love with her boss--and was over'the-top' and downright vulgar. The score was lackluster and so was the rest of the cast. I would have left at intermission but I was with friends who were having a good time.

[ACL2006]

Posted: 4/22/20 at 9:38pm

The stage version of "9 to 5" just isn't good.

[nsguy45]

Posted: 4/23/20 at 12:10am

The production of 9 to 5 that premiered in Los Angeles was infinitely better than what opened on Broadway.

Same can be said for Catch Me If You Can. The Seattle previews production was so much better than the revised Broadway production.

[blaxx]

Posted: 4/23/20 at 1:24am

ACL2006 said: "The stage version of "9 to 5" just isn't good."

And that's putting it nicely.

As others have said, even Tesori's score was better. If Parton was nominated it is because she was good for ratings, is all.

[David10086]

Posted: 4/23/20 at 11:33am

Has the London production been more successful at the Box Office than the Broadway production in 2009 ? I haven't heard much about it being a hit or not. 

[QueenAlice]

Posted: 4/23/20 at 11:44am

HeyMrMusic said: "In my book, Dolly should have two Oscars by now: one for “Travelin’ Thru” and one for “9 to 5.” She was robbed both times.

As much as I love the song "9 to 5," I can't say I agree it was robbed of an Oscar win. It lost to "Fame" which is not only an equally strong pop song but is an essential and indelible part of the film it was written for.  Indeed, the scene in which the song "Fame" takes place is one of the most iconic moments of 1980s cinema.

 

[KJisgroovy]

Posted: 4/23/20 at 12:03pm

Unlike most, apparently, I think 9 to 5 is a successful breezy musical comedy. I think the score (except for the endless montage) is a delight and effective. 

However. The other scores were much more deserving that year. Without question. 

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 4/23/20 at 6:52pm

Anyone else notice the clock in the 9 to 5 London logo is displaying 9:25? 9-2-5? That's how bored I am.

[Luminaire2]

Posted: 4/23/20 at 10:24pm

I also agree that the show was better in the pre-broadway try out.

But it was honestly still such a fun show, with an amazing cast, and I feel it had a criminally short run.

But that’s show business.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 4/23/20 at 10:31pm

It seems to have been doing pretty well in London. 

[OKBroadwayFan]

Posted: 4/23/20 at 10:37pm

QueenAlice said: "HeyMrMusic said: "In my book, Dolly should have two Oscars by now: one for “Travelin’ Thru” and one for “9 to 5.” She was robbed both times.

As much as I love the song "9 to 5," I can't say I agree it wasrobbed of an Oscar win. It lost to "Fame" which is not only an equally strong pop song but is an essential and indelible part of the film it was written for. Indeed, the scene in whichthe song "Fame" takes place is one of the most iconic moments of 1980s cinema.

"

Both Fame and 9 to 5 have stood the test of time.   Both are solid pop songs that when played at weddings, dances, or parties always get a great response.   Not bad for songs written 40 years ago.