NILES — Over the years, I’ve seen Trumbull New Theatre make a lot of big musicals work in its performance space.

On opening night of the Dolly Parton-Patricia Resnick musical “9 to 5,” it felt like the community theater didn’t have the resources to pull off the production it picked.

Part of the problem is the TNT stage itself. “9 to 5” is based on the 1980 movie of the same name about three women office workers — Violet, the efficient office worker frequently passed over for promotion by men that she’s trained; Judy, a newly divorced woman entering the workplace for the first time; and Doralee, a Southern blonde who the coworkers suspect of sleeping her way to her position — dealing with a lecherous, misogynistic boss, Franklin Hart Jr.

Like many musicals adapted from a different medium instead of being written for the stage, it has a lot of scene changes as the story bounces around among different locations — the steno pool of Consolidated Industries, the boss’s office, the homes of the three women and the boss.

The set design by Brett Bunker and Lisa Bennett takes a minimalist approach (with a nicely done reveal for the boss’s bedroom) and primarily relies on a few furniture pieces to convey the different locales. But with no fly system and no wing space, those transitions aren’t easy, especially when they involve wheeling multiple desks on and off stage multiple times.

That left the band with lots of time to fill — luckily, the eight-piece band led by music director Alan Purdum is one of the production’s greatest assets — but it still hurt the pacing of the show.

There was at least one back-of-the-stage traffic jam as cast members tried to push steno pool desks out of the lone passage as others tried to push the boss’s desk onto the stage.

It also was apparent Bennett didn’t get the turnout at auditions that she needed. The ensemble was smaller than usual, and several of the ones who were on stage either weren’t singing at all or were singing so softly that they were inaudible, leaving a few voices to carry what should be large vocal numbers, such as the title song.

Amy Giovannone played multiple men characters in addition to Hart’s wife and was one of the lone voices that could be heard in the ensemble songs. Bennett makes some smart choices to try to minimize some of the limitations — Doralee’s husband is just an offstage voice here and Violet’s son (Giovannone) makes only a brief on-stage appearance. She even gives some dialogue to the band. Bennett and Purdum also have tailored some of the songs to work better with the actors’ voices.

But there also was some sloppiness on opening night. At least three times, performers either missed their music cues or forgot their lyric, leaving them to mumble or stammer until they found the on ramp back into the song.

The cast has several talented members. Connie Cassidy as Violet always brings polish and professionalism to her work. She felt like a leader on the stage in the same way Violet is at the office.

Michelle Jones has a beautiful voice and nails her big second act number, “Get Out and Stay Out.”

Robert Spain makes for a good comedic villain as Hart, and Jackie Shannon has fun with her musical showcase, “Heart to Hart,” as Roz, the one Consolidated employee who wishes she was the target of the boss’s advances.

Sherri Mayoras plays the role that comes with the biggest expectations as Doralee. For fans of the movie, they probably don’t have an opinion on what an actor playing the Jane Fonda or Lily Tomlin roles should sound like, but they do for Parton’s character.

Mayoras does fine with the southern accent, but to sing with it, she does so with a soft, delicate voice. Doralee’s songs need a voice as big and brassy as the woman who wrote them.