.png)
WORKING- Page 2
WORKING
TankNYC1969
Swing Joined: 12/27/17
TankNYC1969
Swing Joined: 12/27/17
Owen22
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/24/11
#27WORKING
Posted: 6/29/19 at 8:53pmDoes anybody remember the PBS talking head production of the musical in the late 70s early 80s? That was my first introduction to the show. Barbara Hershey did Patti LuPone's prostitute monologue. As a teenager that was something I had never heard before. It was shocking and enlightening all at once. There were some other names in the cast but I can't remember who they were...
#28WORKING
Posted: 6/30/19 at 5:44am
GavestonPS said: "SmoothLover said: "
I think most of us know that the musical was adapted from the Studs Turkel book based on interviews and so forth. My impression wasn't that it lacked a story it was more about the lack of glue that was holding it all together. And I have always thought it had to do with the theme that the unified power of what we all do with our work enriches and makes all of our lives better. Every job we do is in service to one another in some way or another.
The director for this production chose an intimate route and it wasn't necessarily a bad choice it just took away some of the power of the piece as a whole. When it is done with a full orchestra and the ensemble numbers are representative of all kinds of workers coming together it is more powerful. For instance when they sang If I Could've Been they came out as the actors in the troupe and whenever there was a solo one would walk up to a mike and sing their part. Despite the fact that the movement was unmotivated and not thought through, it was lacking collective power. The final number failed as well in the same respect.
"
"Most of us" maybe, but if you look at the posts on page 1, a number of people express surprise and disappointment that the show is "really a revue" without a plot to hold it together.
Of course, what holds it together is THEME. And that theme isn't as rosy as you paint it. Yes, work can be a source of dignity, as the Waitress's lovely "It's an Art" demonstrates.
On the other hand, "...If I work the mill as long as I am able, I'll never meet the man whose name is on the label." Work can be just as easily a source of boredom and humiliation. Ask "Joe", who can't enjoy retirement because he defined himself so completely in terms of his work.
Neither Turkel nor the show pretends to solve any of the problems presented. It's an exploration, not a polemic.
I haven't seen this production and can't comment on it. I see no reason why the orchestra need be reduced. But I have seen productions with small casts (i.e., more doubling) and smaller orchestras, that were just as powerful in the group numbers. I don't know what went wrong on the night you saw it.
I promise you that the WORST production I ever saw was on Broadway, where the attempt to achieve "Broadway size" just led to choices (as I said: a full fire truck and an onstage fire) that overwhelmed the material."
I think you needed to see this revival to fully comment on other people's perceptions of the production.
AntV
Broadway Star Joined: 12/23/12
#30WORKING
Posted: 6/30/19 at 1:18pm
AntV said: "Can someone post a pic of the song list for this production?
I got a ticket to Octet Saturday night when I was supposed to see this. Didn't care for it, wish I saw this instead."
OCTET was WAY too dense for my little ears and sensibility.
Loved WORKING. Sad I couldn't go back to see it one more time.
AntV
Broadway Star Joined: 12/23/12
#33WORKING
Posted: 6/30/19 at 1:46pm
AntV said: "Upload the image here: https://imgur.com/upload Then copy and paste the link here. Thanks!"
WORKING Song List:
https://imgur.com/a/RHlORE1
Videos