Reviewed by Judy Richter
Author Studs Terkel's "Working" is a compilation of
interviews of people in all walks of life. Stephen Schwartz and Nina Faso adapted it and shaped it into a
musical that opened on Broadway in 1978. With songs by Schwatrz, Craig
Carnelia, Micki Grant, Mary Rodgers & Susan Birkhead and James Taylor, it selects more than 20 of
those people to talk and sing about what they do and how they feel about it.
Foothill
Music Theatre and
the Foothill Theatre Arts Department use it as a showcase for their students, graduates and
other community members as well as a way to entertain their audiences. Despite
limited financial resources and some technical glitches on opening night, the
production achieves its goals.
Perhaps
the primary unifying character is Mike Dillard (Peter K. Owen), a steelworker who takes great
pride in his job, especially since it's something he can show his son and say,
"I helped build that." One of the more memorable characters is Rose
Hoffman (Linda Piccone), a longtime elementary school teacher who is finding that the
methods that worked for her in the past no longer work with a new generation of
students, many of whom don't have English as their primary language. Piccone
also is the most polished performer in the cast.
Although
director Milissa Carey paces the action well, the show is missing its potential impact
because so many of the actors are relatively young and inexperienced. Musical
director Mark Hanson leads the small orchestra from a screened off area on the side of the
stage. The simple choreography is by Michael Ryken. The lighting (one of the problem
areas) and set are by Bruce McLeod with sound (another problem area) by Mikael Lassi and costumes by Julie
Engelbrecht.
Although
this isn't one of FMT's more memorable productions, it's still worth seeing for
the intrinsic quality of "Working" itself.