Evening. You know the song,
you probably know the movie.
And now along comes the stage
version of Nine to Five.
The show opens tonight at Maine State
Music Theater in Brunswick. Keny
Ingram is the director and
choreographer of nine to five.
He's worked many times at Maine
State Music Theater, but never n
one of the capacities he has no.
This is the first time you
have directed at Maine State.
Yes. Music Theatre.
What's it been like? It's
been outstanding.
I've had such an amazing time.
I'm so grateful to Kirk Dale Clk
for allowing me to to be in this
seat and to helm a amazing cast.
You're going to see your favorites as leads,
but in a cast of just.
A lot of talent.
So you're going to see you're
supporting actors who are now who are
leads and leads who are support.
They're just a mishmash of
just love on that stage.
You know,
for a director, it's such a thr,
such a delight to have a cast tt
you really like because it mean,
I guess, sort of when you come in here,
you don't really.
Well, you do have to work,
but it's really, it's fun and is
play as much as it is work, rig?
Absolutely. This cast I love,
like I really love this cast.
There's something in that reheal
process because it's a very quik
rehearsal process, you know?
And there's something in that we
we connected and we all wanted
to tell this story because this
story still needs to be told.
It's an education of how it used to be,
you know what I mean?
How women struggled in this workforce,
right, to become equal to men.
Right. So it needs to still be
told these stories from the 70s.
You know,
what has been the biggest challenge in
choreographing and directing this production?
Wow, that's a good question.
You know, there, there, there,
there really hasn't been a challenged
because we're we're all like in
the same boat on this journey.
I want your job because it sounds like
you're just having a great timet
that's my life. I have to have .
I'm all about joy, you know.
And and in that room we laugh
and we sing and we shine.
Because what this show is about,
the heart of this show is aboutf
you don't like what you're doin,
you have to change it.
That's the heart of the show.
You did Lion King on Broadway for 15 years,
which in the world of theater is
a long run, honey, Who's tellin?
When you finished up with
that, made me, had to change my my position.
And you finished up with it and walked
out of there, Walked out of the.
Tell it yes. What did you say to yourself
you wanted to do with that
chapter having closed?
What did you really want to do?
Well, you know, I was directing
and choreographing before
I did Lion King. So I was
directing and choreographing be.
And then I just took a little hiatus,
was like, I want to do some
theater right now, you know?
Then I got out of that
and said I want to go back into directing
and choreographing and, you kno,
so grateful to God that it turned out this
way that I could get back into the seat.
There's something special,
though, isn't there,
about doing summer theater?
Because it doesn't last for lon.
That's part of its charm is it s
away pretty quickly and it's ju,
I don't know, it should be a
little more carefree time of ye.
And it's just people have a
little different attitude.
There is something special abou,
isn't there?
Yeah, there is.
But at Maine State Music Theate,
they do great productions and Im
telling everybody get up and get
and come see the show cut out of that
house and come see a show becau.
It's so beautiful.
The other night when I saw Buddy Holly,
people, you know,
laughing and dancing in the
aisles and clapping and this.
We've lost this, right?
But now it's back.
It's back. So we got to get
up and get out. Come boogie.
I think Sam's ready to come boo.
I would leave my house just to e
Kenny because his energy is infectious.
It's awesome. He's great.
And when he was in Lion King, I mean,
obviously he's directing and choreographing
9 to 5 in Brunswick,
but when he was in Lion King,
he was a performer.
He was what's called a swing.
So he he could do a lot of different roles.
Wow, 15 year run in Lion King.
You can see nine to five at Maie
State Music Theater through August 5th.
Information on tickets, showtim,
all that in the 207 section of r
new Center main app and website.