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FROM '9 TO 5' -- AND ALL DAY LONG -- ALLISON JANNEY IS DIVINE!
Smith, Liz

May 4, 2009





"IF YOU'RE an actor, you're trying as hard as you can to be out of control all
the while you also have to be in control of being out of control," said Warren
Beatty.

WENT TO the Marriott Marquis, where the stage door is almost right in Times
Square, to see Allison Janney who is so miraculous onstage these nights in the
Dolly Parton musical "9 to 5." (For someone skilled in the acting business, but
not really a singer or dancer, her prowess is astonishing!)

Everybody in America is in love with Allison Janney anyway -- and they have been
ever since her seven years as the president's press secretary on "The West
Wing." People all feel they "know" Allison and a lot of her fans expect, or
hope, she'll become their new best friend.

I suffer from such mythic fan seizures myself. And sure enough, Allison, who is
playing what they call the Lily Tomlin part, (if you are harking back to the
iconic movie of the same name), turns out to be just what you'd expect and hope
for. (It's always so great when a famous actor does not break your heart by
being a jerk in person.)

I tried to tell Allison how the public feels about her. She resisted as if I
were kidding. So then I segued onto Dolly Parton and how her lovability factor
is way up there. I said I believed Dolly could double park, or commit a crime
right there in Times Square and she'd be let off scot-free. Allison laughed.
"It's true. I agree. Dolly's lovability factor is very high. And people seem to
adore this show. I had never done a musical before and the fans for this are
just unbelievable. They are all infused with love for Dolly, for the idea, for
the memory of the film and they are so supportive. It's really thrilling to be
doing something that is so different for me. I'm not really a singer, although I
am studying like crazy with vocal coach Liz Kaplan.

"The only time I ever sang before was for a breast cancer benefit where I
performed the Larry Hart song "Zip" with special lyrics sending up people in
L.A."

"How did you trip into "9 to 5?" I asked. Allison said, "Well, I had worked
before with Joe Mantello.

He thought I could do this and I guess I just trusted his judgment. You know I
once did a little play for him in New York called "Fat Men in Skirts." I
remember going onstage and I felt nobody in the audience was looking at me or
paying any attention to me.

"So I looked hard at the audience and there were Jackie Onassis, John Kennedy
Jr., Al Pacino, Ellen Burstyn and Mike Nichols sitting down front. No wonder no
one was looking at me! Well, anyway, I had a great letter from Mike Nichols
after and he has become a real supporter. But I let Mantello talk me into this
musical."

We talked about the first thing that happens in "9 to 5" -- a man crosses the
stage with a big erection. She seemed to muse. "Y - e - sss! But it's funny,
kind of sweet, it's not vulgar."

Is there a love interest in this dynamite woman's life? Would she have time? Her
list of movies, plays and TV shows is so long, it's absolutely daunting; she
must work all the time. Allison said, "No, and I'm not married. I have been
engaged three times but every time I step back from the brink. I find I am
always on the verge of backing out. But I'm not lonely. And I have my dog
'Addie.' She is an Australian cattle dog mix. I searched and found her online."
('Addie' is on Allison's cell phone and I duly admire her photo. She is a
handsome dog, a mixed gray with spots. Never saw quite anything like her.)

I told Allison how much I had enjoyed her in many movies, for instance in "The
Hours." She said, "All the time I worked on that I was thinking, 'Omigod, I am
Meryl Streep's lover. I'm here in bed with Meryl Streep. She's just about to
kiss me. It was quite an experience."

Allison and I had our visit just before "9 to 5" -- the musical -- opened to
raves. At that time, they were still making changes. I asked Allison if the
musical is essentially different from when it ran for six weeks in L.A.?

"Well, it has changed a lot and for the better.

But we had such support in L.A. Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin and Dabney Coleman of
the original movie all came to see us and to cheer us on. But we've gotten
better and better. It was too much like the movie then and when they started
changing it, we, the actors, had an unusual reaction -- we said to each other
'Wow! These are good changes."

So now in New York, Allison Janney will add to a fan club she didn't know she
had. I asked if she missed "The West Wing." She thought and said, "The last two
years were just brutal and infuriating; that was after we stepped up the filming
schedule. We'd tape several shows at once and we didn't know what we were doing
at times."

Then Allison asked me if I knew Martin Sheen, who had played the president? We
both did a 15-minute rave on this wonderful man. Allison mused, her chin on her
hands, her big fabulous stage-perfect eyes glittering. She sighed: "But I would
still be doing 'The West Wing" ... I'd be doing it for the rest of my life if it
had been possible."

NOW, I know all of this has been about Allison and she does indeed perform a
miracle on the "9 to 5" stage. But she is not the only star. Megan Hilty is
adorable and so sexy. Her character is loosely based on Dolly Parton herself.
And Stephanie J. Block, who comes straight from her "Wicked" role as Elphaba, is
touching sweet and "wicked."

But without a reason for revenge, there is no "9 to 5," so kudos to Marc
Kudisch, who gets what's coming to him as the chauvinist executive who puts
women down. The women then send him up -- flying in chains above the set for
most of the time. The audience goes nuts for this. Ironically, one comes to love
this male, hormonal heretic. (A Tony nom for sure.) I doubt we'll ever sing the
Parton score. (That only happens to musical revivals of another era.) But "9 to
5" is 24/7, one of the most enjoyable time trips on Broadway!

(E-mail Liz Smith at MES3838@..., or write to her c/o Tribune Media
Services, 2225 Kenmore Ave., Suite 114, Buffalo, NY 14207.)



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