"9 to 5" cast profile: Paula Turpening

Paula Turpening makes her musical theatre debut in the ensemble of "9 to 5"!

GCP Girl: Tell me a bit about your character. 

PT: I am in the ensemble, and I  also am playing the doctor.

GCP Girl: Tell me about some of your previous shows. 

PT: This is my first show, except for a very small part in "Once in a Lifetime," my high school, play a LONG time ago.

GCP Girl: Why did you audition for "9 to 5"? 

PT: My daughter (Olivia) has been in many shows at the GCP and has enjoyed the experiences, and I have a friend (Bev) who auditioned two years ago (and has been in a few shows since), and that got me thinking that I might want to give it a try.

GCP Girl: What is your favorite musical number in the show? 

PT: I love all the music in the show so it is hard to pick a favorite! I really enjoy Judy's fantasy "Dance of Death."

GCP Girl: What are you looking forward to the most about performing in "9 to 5"? 

PT: This whole experience is amazing! I am looking forward to being more confident on stage/speaking in front of people as well as entertaining people who come to see the show.

GCP Girl: Why should people see this show? 

PT: This show is so fun and full of energy and as I said before, the music is great.

GCP Girl: Tell me something you'd like everyone to know! 

PT: The production team on this show is great and I really appreciate them giving me the opportunity to experience my first GCP Production! Even though it is a lot of work, it is a lot of fun as well!

Thanks, Paula! Break a leg tonight!

xo xo GCP Girl

"9 to 5" cast profile: Leannis Maxwell

Leannis Maxwell plays Judy Bernly, a housewife-turned-secretary with a lot to learn on the job in "9 to 5"!

GCP Girl: Tell me a bit about your character.
LM: I play Judy Bernly, who is recently separated from her husband of many years, who recently left her for a 19-year-old named Mindi! This is her first job - she's terrified, nervous, inexperienced, naive, out of her element and out of place (and her fashion sense is slightly out of date as well).

GCP Girl: Tell me about some of your previous shows, either at GCP or another theater.
LM: I played Dr. Martha Livingston in "Agnes of God" last year. Before that, I was in "Anything Goes" as Reno Sweeny. I've been involved in shows at GCP since I was 10 years old.

GCP Girl: Why did you audition for "9 to 5"?
LM: Judy has some really great songs, especially in the 2nd act. Her song "Get Out and Stay Out" is a great number! Plus, she's so awkward in the beginning and then gets some gumption...I love that about her. She makes two great friends (Violet and DoraLee) and she hasn't really had much in her life besides her husband. It's great to see how much she grows in the musical.

GCP Girl: What is your favorite musical number in the show?
LM: I really like the songs that the three ladies sing together. "I Just Might" and "Shine Like the Sun." I think we sound really good together, and the ensemble back-up is really pretty. There's some really great harmonies that Dolly Parton wrote for the show (she wrote all the songs).

GCP Girl: Tell me about your least favorite job.
LM: Ha ha! I was a server in NYC at this lunch/dinner joint called Simply Pasta. I really only liked one of the managers, my fellow servers were all pretty "seasoned," and the owners were a married couple that had that whole entitled complex. The best thing about the job were the bread knots!

GCP Girl: What are you looking forward to the most about performing in "9 to 5"?
LM: Tying up Matt (Mr. Hart) to his desk chair and wheeling him around the stage. Seriously though, I'm looking forward to being all together as a cast and performing with some super talented people and singing our little hearts out! 

GCP Girl: Why should people see this show?
LM: It has really great songs! If you liked the movie, I think you'll be guaranteed to liking the musical! There's so many talented people in this show! And come on, we're bringing back '80s fashion! What's not to love about that!

GCP Girl: Tell me something you'd like everyone to know!
LM: I'm ENGAGED to Moss Crutchfield and I'm over the moon about it! :)

Thanks, Leannis, and congrats on the news! Break a leg tonight!

xo xo GCP Girl

"9 to 5" cast profile: Dixie Lee

Dixie Lee moves from backstage to center stage in her GCP debut in "9 to 5"!

GCP Girl: Tell me a bit about your character.
DL: I am in the ensemble playing an "unknown office drone" who I have decided is named Melody. She's a silly, yet hardworking gal who has been at the company for a long time. like her coworker Violet, she longs for something better at the top of the corporate ladder.

GCP Girl: Tell me about some of your previous shows.
DL: This is my first time on stage since high school. I have been involved in the tech side of GCP for a little over a year, doing sound board operating and learning sound design.

GCP Girl: Why did you audition for "9 to 5"?
DL: I love the music in this show, and I knew it was going to be a lot of fun to be a part of!

GCP Girl: What is your favorite musical number in the show?
DL: My favorite musical number to perform is "Change It" because its very uplifting. However, I love watching Leannis (Judy) sing "Get Out and Stay Out." She hits the transition from timid to fierce flawlessly.

GCP Girl: Tell me about your least favorite job. 
DL: My least favorite job was working as a "bag girl" for a grocery store. People were so mean and often ignored me, which is funny because they always talked to me when I was a cashier. Never again!

GCP Girl: What are you looking forward to the most about performing in "9 to 5"? 
DL: Seeing the smiles on the audience's faces every night.

GCP Girl: Why should people see this show?
DL: It's a feel good show about overcoming seemingly impossible obstacles to achieve your goals. Who doesn't relate to that in some way?

GCP Girl: Tell me something you'd like everyone to know! 
DL: The cast, crew, and musicians have truly all been working tirelessly to see that we put on a fantastic show. Don't miss out on seeing it!

Thanks, Dixie! Break a leg tonight!

xo xo GCP Girl

"9 to 5" cast profile: Katie Crozier-Theis

GCP veteran Katie Crozier-Theis plays Roz, the office snitch, in "9 to 5" -- so be careful what you say about the show in the restroom at intermission!

GCP Girl: Tell me a bit about your character.
KCT: I will be playing the role of Roz. Roz is Mr. Hart's number one fan (well his only fan, really!). She is also the office snitch and therefore despised by all of the other employees at Consolidated.

GCP Girl: Tell me about some of your previous shows.
KCT: I have been in several shows at GCP over the years. Some of my favorite roles include Bertha in "Pippin," Gloria and a tap-dancing Stenographer in "Thoroughly Modern Millie," and a Dancing Granny (and other fun ensemble roles) in "The Producers."

GCP Girl: Why did you audition for "9 to 5"?
KCT: I really wanted to be a part of a show with so many strong female roles. It's rare, especially for a musical.

GCP Girl: What is your favorite musical number in the show?
KCT: I have to admit that my favorite musical number in "9 to 5" is "Heart to Hart," which is Roz's song. It's a fun (and naughty!) number about Roz's secret desires for Mr. Hart.

GCP Girl: Tell me about your least favorite job.
KCT: My least favorite job ever is definitely the first one I had. When I was 16 I spent the summer working as a telemarketer selling subscriptions for my home town's newspaper. It was invasive and demoralizing work where I got to bother people at home and in exchange had phones slammed in my ear!

GCP Girl: What are you looking forward to the most about performing in "9 to 5"?
KCT: Roz is the biggest role I've had to date at the GCP so I am really excited to give her all I've got.

GCP Girl: Why should people see this show?
KCT: People should see this show because the music is fun, the cast is talented and the story is empowering for women everywhere.

GCP Girl: Tell me something you'd like everyone to know!
KCT: We are all volunteers and are here because we love the theatre. I sincerely hope that you will come and see our show!

Thanks, Katie! "9 to 5" starts its second week tonight at the Vam York!

xo xo GCP Girl

Matt Sherman plays Franklin Hart, Jr., the original Horrible Boss, in "9 to 5," opening tonight at the Vam York Theater!

GCP Girl: Tell me your name, your character, and a bit about your character.
MS: I am playing Franklin Hart, Jr. Mr. Hart is a chauvinist pig and the worst kind of social climber. He has no redeeming qualities whatsoever, which is a good thing, so the audience can accept the "beat down" the leading ladies dish to him throughout the show. It will be a bit of a physically demanding role, too, and the audience will appreciate the battering I will be taking on (and above!) the stage.

GCP Girl: Tell me about some of your previous shows.
MS: I last appeared on stage as tycoon and Yalie Eli Whitney in GCP's production of "Anything Goes." That came about after some Gainesville High School shows with my family, prompted by my daughter Alex Sherman's drama work at GHS. It was more fun than I remembered to be on stage again after the many years since I attended high school, so I stuck with it. It's great to be part of the extended GCP family now and to have fellow UF employees on stage with me, too.

GCP Girl: Why did you audition for "9 to 5"?
MS: I auditioned for "9 to 5" since my family wanted me out of the house more!

GCP Girl: What is your favorite musical number in the show?
MS: A favorite musical number from the show is "Change It," it's uplifting and I know the audience will appreciate the talented cast who sings it. Many people know that Dolly Parton has recorded or
written over 3,000 songs; she has created some strong harmothemes and leitmotifs for "9 to 5: The Musical." The music is very catchy and fun for the audience if challenging to sing with complicated harmonies and high ranges.

GCP Girl: What are you looking forward to the most about performing in "9 to 5"?
MS: The rehearsal schedule got tough and that's fine -- we want to put on a great show for the audience nightly -- but I was starting to feel the effects of cleaning the stage with my back each day. For showtime, I'm looking forward to a couple of special effects including gunplay!

GCP Girl: Why should people see this show?
MS: GCP guests will appreciate how times have changed in the workplace since "9 to 5" 's 1979 setting. Come expecting to laugh and feel good but also to be genuinely moved by coworkers who care for each other, even if they always hate their boss.

GCP Girl: Tell me something you'd like everyone to know!
MS: I have been collecting memorabilia from the world of James Bond for more than 30 years. Our Gainesville home has appeared on TV internationally several times, and I'm taking a group of fans on a Bond-themed cruise this April!

Thanks, Matt! Break a leg tonight!

xo xo GCP Girl

"Moonlight & Magnolias" auditions are this weekend!

"Moonlight & Magnolias" director Carlos Asse dropped by to offer some practical advice for auditions, which are coming up this Sunday and Monday, March 24-25, at 7 p.m. at the GCP.

GCP Girl: Why did you want to direct "Moonlight & Magnolias"?
CA: "Moonlight & Magnolias" offers a rare treat in that it mixes some of the craziest farcical slapstick comedy while addressing some philosophical social issues. For example: How do we feel about art? What about racism? How might the impending Second World War affect us? You must, when directing the show, walk a fine line between these heavy topics and the lighthearted comedic approach to some of the other situations that arise. Doing that successfully is always tricky and very challenging!

GCP Girl: What is your vision for this show?
CA: The play takes place at the office of one of the top producers of Hollywood at the time, so the scenery must have some kind of high style. The year being 1939 also conjures images of art deco, etc. . . and the location, California, also conjures images of a specific type of architecture. Then a concrete image begins to form in which one must recreate and tell the story well.

GCP Girl: What are you looking for in those who audition?
CA: The talent auditioning must be agile and fit, because of the rigorous demands that the play requires. It also calls for those who can do comedy as well as handle more serious topics and make all these believable at once.

GCP Girl: Why should people audition for "Moonlight & Magnolias"?
CA: If you think you have those qualities I listed above, there are seldom plays that offer the opportunity to mix all these expressions at the same time. "Moonlight & Magnolias" provides actors with meaty roles that are challenging and creative to portray.