The
late Studs Terkel,
Chicago author and radio personality, was a champion of the common man, as
evidenced by his book "Working." In it, he interviewed dozens of working people,
asking them about their lives, their jobs, their dreams. Stephen Schwartz and Nina Faso adapted it into a musical, also
called "Working," in 1978, setting the interviews to music by a variety of
composers. Now the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego is presenting a revised version that it
apparently hopes to send to Broadway.
This
production, directed by Gordon Greenberg, is billed as re-imagined by Schwartz and
Greenberg with new songs by Lin-Manuel Miranda. Other songs are by Craig
Carnelia, Micki Grant, Mary Rodgers and Susan Birkenhead, Schwartz, and James Taylor. As the audience arrives, the
six-person cast can be seen in dressing rooms behind a scrim on the first two
levels of a three-level set connected by diagonal stairs. (The scenic design is
by Beowulf Boritt with
lighting by Jeff Croiter.) On one side of the top level is the four-person band, led by music
director Mark Hartman on keyboards. On the other is presumably stage manager Daniel S.
Rosokoff, who
gives the initial sound and light cues as the house lights go down and the
one-act show begins.
The
three men and three women of the cast are known by number, Man #1 and so on,
because they create 26 different people, who are named. Some people's stories
are told as monologues, some as songs or both. The first person is ironworker
Mike Dillard, portrayed by Wayne Duvall, who tells of his pride in knowing that he helped
build some mighty skyscrapers. In some ways, he sets the tone for the show
since the closing song, "Something to Point To" by Carnelia, talks about
the importance of being able to show one's children what his or her work has
accomplished.
Other
professions heard from during the show range from prostitute Roberta Victor (Danielle
Lee Greaves) to
school teacher Rose Hoffman (Donna Lynne Champlin) and flight attendant Terry
Mason (Marie-France Arcilla). Adam Monley portrays hedge fund manager Rex Winship, whose comments
about making money on Wall Street seem particularly timely and ironic. The
cast's other man, Nehal Joshi, is seen as such people as Raj, a tech support guy,
presumably in India.
With
choreography by Josh Rhodes, costumes by Mattie Ullrich, projections by Aaron Rhyne and sound by Tony Smolenski IV, this new version of
"Working" pays respectful homage to blue, white and pink collar
workers while being thoroughly entertaining, thanks to the terrific cast and
the show itself.
This
was my first visit to San Diego and the Old Globe, which is in the center of
the city's beautiful, historic Balboa Park. The experience was a positive one
all the way around.
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