"Working" the musical?

[Pinkgurl3166]

Posted: 7/20/05 at 10:52pm

Hi! I Heard that we might be doing this musical at our high school and I was curious if any of you had any information about it?? I Tried a search on here and now a lot came up :P Thanks so much!

Posted: 7/20/05 at 10:54pm

Its a show full of solos about different jobs. My friends did it 2 years ago at summer theater camp. I dont know much more than that.

[JohnPopa]

Posted: 7/20/05 at 10:57pm

It's a mix-and-match show, various composers (including Stephen Schwartz) writing songs about various aspects of the working life in America. There aren't through-line characters, just specific scenes and moments for a lot of different characters, linked by theme, rather than linear plot.

[Pinkgurl3166]

Posted: 7/20/05 at 11:14pm

Okay so there is no one big part? Awesome! Thanks so much for the information :)

Posted: 7/20/05 at 11:15pm

Here's more info
WORKING on MTIShows

[Pinkgurl3166]

Posted: 7/20/05 at 11:21pm

Awesome Clumsy that was very helpful thanks so much! Im so excited about this show! Wee!! :P

[dancersmom2]

Posted: 7/20/05 at 11:28pm

I know James Taylor wrote 'Millworker" for this show. He recorded on his Flag album as well. Okay that exhausts my knowledge!

[ChiChi]

Posted: 7/20/05 at 11:31pm

If a school's doing it then I don't guess the hooker scene will be in there...

[lamentingenvelope]

Posted: 7/20/05 at 11:51pm

After a few hearings, 'Neat to be a Newsboy' (or whatever the heck it's called) will make you want to shoot yourself.

That's all I remember from the miserable two days I spent doing A/V work for a junior high production of that show.

[ess2484]

Posted: 7/21/05 at 12:11am

THe newsboy number isn't in the show anymore. There is a main character sort of. I think his name is Mike.

Posted: 7/21/05 at 12:18am

No problem. My friend was Babe, the check out girl. She's in my fan photos-
Me n Monica aka Babe in Working

[Jon]

Posted: 7/21/05 at 3:12am

Yes, thankfully, the newsboy song is gone from the revised version. There are two new songs - a solo for the supermarket checker and an ensemble number - "Traffic Jam" - actually an old James Taylor song which has been added to the show. Some of the monologues have been updatd as well.

The character of Mike the steelworker is kind of a narrator - he has a solo in the opening number, followed by the first monologue. He has his big solo, "Fathers and Sons", near the end of the show, followed by the monologue that leads into the finale.

[Hoof]

Posted: 7/21/05 at 9:40am

Ugh, we did that in my 3rd year of highschool. It was terrible. However, you might like it. . .it just doesn't have a plot.

'Look at me, I'm breaking my back doing hard labour' is pretty much what I got out of it.

[best12bars]

Posted: 7/21/05 at 9:57am

"Working" can be a very satisfying show, both from an actor's and audiences' perspective. This depends a lot on the direction, and the director's concept of the show. I was in a very successful production of it a while back, and the reason it did so well (in my opinion) was the staging. The actors in the show played the same character (only one) throughout the entire show. Each one served as "atmosphere" in another character's scene or song. The audience got familiar with us, intertwining in each other's lives on stage. There were little silent bits of business throughout the show with each character, fleshing out the story of a community. It worked really well, added depth and a through-line to each character, and made the audience care more about the stories we were telling.

Imagination is the key.

And personally, I like the music a lot. If you've got some good voices in your cast, they can really rip on these songs.

[dano]

Posted: 7/21/05 at 9:58am

I did this show several years ago and absolutely loved it. Craig Carnelia contributed some wonderful tunes. LA TheatreWorks recorded the new version a couple years ago. I'd recommend it!

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 7/21/05 at 10:08am

There is a mediocre television presentation of the show on DVD from the 80s presented by the Broadway Theatre Archive. It has a terrific cast, but the production values are a bit shoddy and the direction is very weak. It will give you an idea of the show, though.
Working DVD

[doodlenyc]

Posted: 7/21/05 at 1:27pm

I've always loved this musical! I think the video is pretty good, and the performances are great...especially Eileen Brennan as the factory worker.

The score is varied and wonderful...I think it is a pretty powerful work, if done right.

[roquat]

Posted: 7/22/05 at 12:51am

This is an awesome show, if you have a good concept to pull it together. It's basically "Chorus Line" but with a variety of everyday jobs--everyone has his or her solo (monologue and/or song) and then the show moves on. I actually liked the TV production as well, just because the documentary-film concept made sense. Some of the songs can be emotionally overwhelming if you really rip into them.

[Garland Grrrl]

Posted: 7/22/05 at 11:33am

i don't know if it's a good show, but there are rich bits of things in there. i was trying to work on the housewife song for a while and i could never get through it without sobbing. it was a combination of where it fell in my voice and the fact that i think i realized something about my mother (who is deceased)that i never had before. maybe i'll be able to go back to it at some point because there is something there for me, and perhaps i can touch it now.