The 1980 feminist musical film Nine to Five, which starred Lily Tomlin, Jane Fonda and Dolly Parton, has been newly adapted for the stage, and will be hitting the Great White Way in April 2009 as 9 to 5: The Musical.

The Broadway-bound show stars Allison Janney (Hairspray, Juno, The Hours, The West Wing) as office manager, Violet Newstead, and theater veterans, Stephanie J. Block (Wicked, The Boy From Oz) as new hire, Judy Bernly; and Megan Hilty (Wicked, Ugly Betty, Shrek the Third) as the well-endowed "backwoods Barbie" Doralee Rhodes.

Currently running as a tryout to sold-out audiences in Los Angeles, the play captures the film's farcial, grown-up girl power attitude perfectly and no wonder: The two woman responsible for the film's original success: Grammy winner, Dolly Parton and out lesbian writer, Patricia Resnick created the theatrical version.

In an interview with Center Theater Group, Resnick said, "Women are the only majority/minority," and added, "In some ways, things are worse [now]." … continue reading

What can I say? I love stoner humor — and I got plenty of it without actually having to inhale at the new Seth Rogen/James Franco flick, Pineapple Express, which opened to glowing critical acclaim and a healthy toke of dough at the box office. While I laughed myself into near seizures, I had to pause and think about how there hasn’t really been a female driven stoner comedy.

Why wasn’t there a female stoner comedy scorched into our collective memory; a film that could stand the test of stoner time? I could not for the life of me recollect ever seeing any female comedy duos like Rogen and Franco or Cheech and Chong. I would love to have a protagonist I can identify with and I have a feeling a lot of movie watching females feel the same way, too.

When we do see women in pot smoking flicks they are most likely looking down at the loser stoner boyfriend, like Katherine Heigl’s character in Knocked Up. You never see female stoners concocting hilarious plans to take over the world, save the object of their affection or feed their munchies like the dudes get to do when they are feeling White Castle. Sure, there’s Mary Louise Parker playing the MILF-weed queenpin on Showtime’s Weeds, but that’s television. (You have to give it up to Mary-Kate Olsen though for playing a great pot-smoking Christian bohemian on the show.)

Film is different, and I can’t help but wonder if there is a new kind of celluloid glass ceiling for women to conquer. We’re seeing more mainstream acceptance of a highly contentious sub-cultural pastime and I for one know plenty of communities of women that partake in a little puff the magic dragon. Do women want a little stoner humor to call their own? … continue reading

Once a year the U.S. pauses and takes stock of the important role that the administrative assistant holds in our businesses. Their tireless and often thankless efforts are what really gets things done in this capitalist world. So in honor of them, I thought I'd take a moment to recognize this day by looking at a few of our favorite paper-pushing women in television and film:

Pam Beesly, The Office

Photo credit: Mitchell Haaseth/NBC

Who wouldn't want to have someone like Pam Beesley (Jenna Fischer) working in his or her office? Pam is an adorable, cute-as-a-button receptionist with a high tolerance for her boss's awkward comments. I can only imagine all the work that I wouldn't get done trying to impress her with my office prank suggestions. … continue reading

You know when you hate your sexist, egotistical, lying, hypocritical bigot boss and fantasize about poisoning his coffee, and then accidentally poison his coffee, and then keep him in bondage for a while until you can get documents with which to blackmail him, and then while he's indisposed, you make your company women-friendly while you dramatically increase productivity? I know ... it's an old story and we've all been there. But, still, Hollywood managed to make that tired plot fresh back in 1980 with Dolly Parton, Lilly Tomlin and Jane Fonda in the comedy classic 9 to 5. And now (drum roll, please), 9 to 5 is on the cusp of becoming a stage musical.

Take a moment to guess how much I love the movie. Did you guess “a lot”? If you did, you're right. As a general rule, I'm not a big fan of slapstick — and there are moments when the movie gets too slapsticky for me — but I love that movie. Love it. I don't love every Dolly Parton movie (although, embarrassingly, I do have a certain fondness for Rhinestone), but I love most of them, and I still think Doralee Rhodes is her best role. … continue reading

The holidays are supposed to be about love, joy and forgiveness. The holidays are supposed to bring us together. They remind us to give to those who are less fortunate. We are supposed to set aside our family feuds, our petty disagreements, our bitterness at perceived wrongs. (Heck, we should do that all year long.)

Revenge is not a part of the holiday season. No matter: Every season is the right time to watch a good tale of revenge on the screen. Revenge tales allow us to live vicariously through the fictional heroes who exact their righteous revenge in ways we never could.

So what are the best revenge movies of all time? EW.com has compiled a list. As you might expect, this list is primarily populated with testosterone-fueled action epics like The Godfather, Gladiator, Death Wish and Payback. But the girls do get in on the action, sometimes in surprising ways.

Let's start with the most obvious films. First, and most recent, we have Jodie Foster. Yes, The Brave One made the list. Such a shame for me to be forced into posting yet another shot of the lovely Ms. Foster. … continue reading

Love her or loathe her (though how a person could do the latter, I don't know), it's tough to deny that Dolly Parton is one of a kind — the sort of celebrity whose unique public persona is as well known in a country kitchen as it is in an industry board room.

Since I fall squarely into the love her camp (pun adoringly intended), I've got a lot to look forward to. Last week, Parton announced that in February of 2008, she plans to release a new studio album, followed by a tour with stops in the US, Canada, Europe and Australia. Add this to earlier summer news that the long-planned 9 to 5 musical is getting closer to opening curtains, and it's a darn good time to be a Parton fan. Just look at how happy she and her 1980 9 to 5 costars Lily Tomlin and Jane Fonda were at last year's Sexist, Egotistical, Lying Hypocritical Bigot Edition release party. … continue reading

Dreamgirls will be released on DVD on Tuesday. This news is enough to make me drop my pants like Jimmy Early does in the movie (and I suspect I'd get an equally horrified response). I also find myself pondering the whole musical-to-movie phenomenon. For Dreamgirls and Chicago, the transition was smooth indeed: Both films are critically acclaimed and popular with audiences. Whether Mamma Mia! will fare quite so well remains to be seen (cross your fingers, Meryl Streep).

Lately there's a growing trend in the other direction: Movies are being turned into musicals. Legally Blonde opened Sunday to mixed reviews, and in late May, Xanadu will begin previews. And the musical version of 9 to 5 is proceeding apace, with a staged reading planned for June. (Hairspray is a horse of a different, confusing color, having gone from film to Broadway and back again.)

Here's one screen-to-stage transition that makes perfect sense: Showgirls. As she reveals in the new issue of The Advocate (in which she is highlighted as someone wtih a "Big Gay Following"), Gina Gershon has thought about turning Showgirls into a musical.

… continue reading