Nearing completion of its first run at the State Theatre in Arts Centre Melbourne, 9 to 5: The Musical has had no trouble enticing audiences with the lure of Dolly Parton and a stage cast of beloved Australian performers. Unfortunately, this success isn't enough to overlook the glaring problems of a half-baked story lacking real depth.

Based on the 1980 film of the same name and featuring a book by the film's original screenwriter Patricia Resnick alongside the original score by Dolly Parton herself, 9 to 5 pivots around three secretaries and their loathsome, misogynist boss. In a video recording that booms out to the audience, Dolly Parton joyfully situates the story in the 80s, introducing us to the offices of Consolidated Industries and our three leads: Violet Newstead (Marina Prior), a single mother who has spent years working at the company but is routinely denied career advancement, Judy Bernly (Casey Donovan), a young woman freshly separated from her husband and entering the workforce for the first time, and Doralee Rhodes (Erin Clare), a fierce country girl who is ostracised and underestimated at work because of her good looks. Rounding out the main cast is Eddie Perfect as CEO Franklin Hart Jr. and Caroline O'Connor as Roz Keith, the office doormat hopelessly in love with the boss.

The production kicks off strongly with the titular '9 to 5' musical number, though subsequent musical numbers are mostly forgettable, failing to live up to such an iconic, dazzling title performance. Sets and costumes are a fun nod to 80s office furniture and attire; the production's initial colour palette is chiefly made up of greys, whites, and reds, except in the cases of Judy and Doralee, who wear brighter hues to highlight a point of difference against the monotony of Consolidated Industries.

The musical honours the farcical nature of the original film and shoots for broad laughs (the "I miss Dick" joke and the pointlessly drunk secretary trope come to mind), which would be fine if the humour wasn't so outdated. This sentiment particularly rings true for Perfect and O'Connor's characters, whose defining traits are that they're both overtly sexist. Hart is given an entire musical number to objectify Doralee after sufficiently expressing his sexism through dialogue. In a later number, the gender gets flipped when Roz goes into graphic detail about her lust and unrequited love for Hart. O'Connor throws herself into this one-note role, but the scenery-chewing is difficult to ignore. Perfect's performance is a little uneven, his American accent and inflection slipping in places, but the actual crime is the size and scope of the role—too much stage time is granted to an irredeemable prick. If 9 to 5 was actually interested in examining the various layers of sexual harassment experienced by women and men in the workplace, these scenes might have been easier to stomach. Instead, the production suffers from a shallow exploration of women's liberation and conflicting messaging.

It's disappointing that the musical spends so much energy on Hart and Roz when it could have fleshed out its far more compelling leads. 9 to 5 is at its best when Prior, Donovan and Clare share the stage; their vocals are impeccable and complement each other beautifully. Clare is a particular standout as the gutsy and kind-hearted Doralee, infusing her performance with all the warmth it requires. Aside from the opening number, the production's winning scene happens midway through the first act. It depicts the three women getting stoned on the roof of the office and airing their respective grievances about their working conditions. Around this time, the women dismantle their preconceived notions of one another and join forces. While their newfound empowerment would have been enough to propel the story into its second act, 9 to 5 bulldozes into cartoonish territory instead.

The musical was initially developed in 2007 when the landscape for female empowerment, gender pay gap and culture around sexual harassment were decidedly different than it is today. Despite its universal themes, 9 to 5 feels woefully outdated for modern audiences. It's not as if the musical is living ignorantly in the past since there are several sly references to the current social climate. On discussing the wage disparity among men and women in the office, Violet claims, "I bet we won't even be talking about this in ten years". Instead of enjoying the tongue-in-cheek moments, they simply feel like a missed opportunity to contribute something worthwhile to the conversation. The production might be faithful to its source material, but at what cost?

In its three female leads, 9 to 5 had the makings of an excellent musical. Instead, it favours crass, offensive humour over humanity, wasting its potential on contemptible caricatures and unnecessary musical numbers that fail to serve the plot. If it shirked some of the more problematic elements of the original film, it might just satisfy a contemporary audience.