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In addition to having been recorded by James Taylor, its composer, a haunting slice of blue-collar melancholia, has been covered by artists from to to. AdvertisementThe writers and Mr. Greenberg have updated the material to acknowledge changes in working conditions and high unemployment: more tasks have become automated, more jobs have been outsourced and many artisanal skills have faded into obsolescence. Occupations like hedge-fund manager, tech-support assistant and philanthropic fund-raiser are now incorporated, though these elements frequently are given patronizing handling that seems out of character with Terkel’s nonjudgmental project. Donna Lynne Champlin in Prospect Theater Company's production of 'Working: A Musical.' CreditKarli Cadel for The New York TimesThe show is best in intimate, contemplative mode: Donna Lynne Champlin as a veteran schoolteacher wondering how her methods became so ill-suited to today’s unruly, overpopulated classrooms in the Mary Rodgers-Susan Birkenhead song “Nobody Tells Me How”; or Kenita R. Miller vowing in Micki Grant’s “Cleanin’ Woman” that her daughter will break the family tradition of domestic work.
Three songs by Craig Carnelia are quietly affecting. In “Just a Housewife” Ms. Miller apologizes for the modesty of her role while reaffirming its importance; Jay Armstrong Johnson gives a soulful account of the pride that goes into stonework in “The Mason”; and Joe Cassidy conveys the disconcerting loss of self-definition that retirement brings in “Joe.”In the more dynamically presentational numbers the material tends to flounder. Champlin is an but her jazz-handsy, jokester waitress in Mr. Schwartz’s “It’s an Art” belongs in another show. The same goes for one of two new songs by “Delivery,” a stridently peppy comic confessional by a McDonald’s employee, sung by Nehal Joshi. Miranda’s other contribution, “A Very Good Day,” parallels the experiences of an worker (Mr.
Joshi) and a nanny (Ms. Arcilla), both of them immigrants serving families other than their own. It’s a touching mini-narrative, but it veers toward schmaltz, and again, is not quite in sync with the show’s overall tone.Beowulf Boritt’s minimal set features a rear dressing room visible behind a scrim through which the actors can be seen preparing for their roles — theirs is a profession like any other. Greenberg underlines that connection by frequently having the cast transition between characters in full view of the audience, with Ms. Miller’s housewife becoming a prostitute, or Mr. Cassidy’s ironworker a money manager.“Working” has been called the nonshowbiz counterpart to “A Chorus Line.” Its journalistic roots are what make the show an intriguing piece of late-20th-century musical history, even if efforts to drag it into the 21st deliver mixed results. Category Off Broadway, MusicalCredits Adapted from the book by Studs Terkel by Stephen Schwartz and Nina Faso, with additional contributions by Gordon Greenberg, songs by Craig Carnelia, Micki Grant, Mary Rodgers, Susan Birkenhead, Stephen Schwartz, James Taylor and Lin-Manuel Miranda, directed by Gordon GreenbergCast Marie-France Arcilla, Joe Cassidy, Donna Lynne Champlin, Jay Armstrong Johnson, Nehal Joshi and Kenita MillerPreview December 1, 2012Opened December 12, 2012Closing Date December 30, 2012This information was last updated: Nov.
Nominated for six Tony Awards, including Best Score, Working features songs by Lin-Manuel Miranda (Hamilton), Stephen Schwartz (Pippin, Wicked), and James Taylor. Based on Studs Terkel’s best-selling book, Working celebrates our search for meaning and satisfaction in the daily grind.
This down-to-earth yet elevating musical is woven from funny and poignant interviews of twenty-six real American workers.