Working

Musical (1977)

With Tiffany Chen (Woman 1), Merle Perkins (Woman 2), Shannon Lee Jones (Woman 3), Phil Tayler (Man 1), Cheeyang Ng (Man 2), Christopher Chew (Man 3)

I was not sure what to expect from this show based on the great 1970s Studs Terkel survey of work in the United States, and was very pleasantly surprised to find a beautifully constructed and acted production.

There is no plot to this show, other than to run through the work lives of a bunch of different people, but that did not seem to matter. One story and song flowed into the next and though there were no particular characters who endured for more than a short scene, that also did not seem to matter.

The music is overseen by Stephen Schwartz and Nina Faso but drawn from a whole series of composers and it is, by and large, in the easier-listening Broadway mode. Schwartz and his co-composers are not Bernstein or Sondheim and the collection of songs here is pleasing enough, and certainly well enough sung in the production to provide a solid entertainment.

The motif of the show is the varied landscape of work and the motivating gesture is that each one is deserving of recognition. Whether teacher, firefighter, executive, factory worker, prostitute, babysitter, home health care worker, bricklayer or stay at home parent, each job is depicted as significant. But there is, as well, an underlying sympathy for those in dehumanizing roles and an evident critique of those in obliviously complacent situations.

The singing and the dancing are very good. All of the actors in this show are extremely capable and, though tightly put together, there is a relaxed and expressive tone to the production.

– BADMan