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9 to 5 The Musical's Stellar Opening Week!

This week, 44 students brought 9 TO 5 The Musical to life on the Lainer Auditorium stage! 28 cast members, 10 crew members, and 6 pit members filled the Auditorium with storytelling and magic.

Whether making their de Toledo debut or bringing four years of participation in the program to a bittersweet conclusion, each contributor helped create one memorable moment after another, bringing audiences to their feet in thunderous applause. In the words of one audience member, “I was so impressed with the performance last night. I cried and laughed so many times and really felt the power of the story.” Another audience member shared, “Your production made me notice things in the story I never noticed before. The cast did such a great job of telling the story. Very impressive for high school.”
 
Like every production process, there were behind-the-scenes hurdles and hilarities along the way:
a scene-stealing shattered coffee pot, an accidentally glossed stage that made for some excellent and unexpected ice-skating, a bloody finger and strategic sneak-on of a Bandaid, and the list goes on. However, the students’ extraordinary dedication and exquisite work ethic manifested itself on stage, backstage, in the booth, and in the pit. Every glorious note emulating from the musicians blended beautifully with the powerful voices on stage. The many set pieces moved by both crew and cast glided effortlessly back and forth across the stage. Lighting cues hit their mark every time. Each member of the Ensemble brought their character to life with complete commitment and unique individuality. From Zoe Wernik’s flawless portrayal of the brilliant and empowered, Violet Newstead, to her counterpart (and on-stage love interest), Brennen Klitzner’s, perfectly delivered charming and adorable, Joe, the stage was filled with energy and connection. We love that we hated Max Rose as the egotistical, misogynistic company boss, Franklin Hart - (to clarify - we didn’t hate Max, we hated his character, which means Max did exactly what he needed to do on stage!) Jordi Kligman who played the love-struck, Roz, brought the house down with his solo number, “Heart to Hart.” Hannah Landau made her de Toledo debut as Judy Bernly and made us giggle over and over again. Dani Balkin, as spitfire, Doralee Rhodes, brought smiles to our faces from curtain’s rise to curtain’s fall. The core of Secretaries, (Rebecca Kaplan, Sara Fagan, Tessa Fleetwood, Sarah Ritter, Talia Cohen, Abbey Gould, Miranda Franck,  Sydney Simenauer, Keren Waldman, and Zoe Pessin) were absolute powerhouses! They constantly filled the stage with charisma and confidence. The remaining 12 talented cast members who played multiple roles, (Eryn Kieffer, Jaxon Novack, Shanee Ziv, Daniel Gordon, Raphi Eidleman, Juliet Eidleman, Kaya Gretsch, Sam Davidson, Luca Cobos, Ben Cohen, Sophia Davis and Shiran Lieb), did so with finesse, grace and vitality. Every student, from the cast, to the crew, to the pit shared professionalism and prowess.
 
Congratulations to the entire Team of 9 TO 5 The Musical on a stellar opening week!
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Located in the San Fernando Valley portion of the City of Los Angeles in Northern Los Angeles County. de Toledo High School is accredited by the California Association of Independent Schools (CAIS), the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) and Builders of Jewish Education (BJE,) and financially supported by the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles and the Jim Joseph Foundation.