BRUNSWICK, Maine — After talking with Kenny Ingram for even a few minutes, you get the sense that he’s not the kind of guy who hits snooze a few times after his alarm goes off in the morning. Energy and enthusiasm radiate off him, and it requires no leap of imagination to conclude that he can’t wait to get to work each day.
Ingram has been busy putting the finishing touches on “9 to 5” at Maine State Music Theatre in Brunswick. He has choreographed shows there several times before, but this is the first production he’s both choreographed and directed.
“I love this cast,” Ingram said. “I’m all about joy. And in that [rehearsal] room we laugh, and we sing, and we shine.”
“9 to 5,” adapted from the movie of the same name starring Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin and Dolly Parton, tells the story of three women working in an office who get revenge on their sexist male boss. The exceptionally catchy theme song was written by Parton, who used to make a clicking noise with her acrylic nails. It struck her one day that the nails sounded like a typewriter—and just like that she had the inspiration for the song.
It’s a production that Ingram is thrilled to be bringing to Maine audiences.
“The heart of this show,” he says, “is about if you don’t like what you’re doing, you have to change it. That’s how we survive as humans. If you don’t like your situation, change it.”