Working

VLT CLOSES 73rd SEASON with a Musical:
"WORKING" August 9-31
"If you punch a time clock, this show's for YOU!"

The Very Little Theatre concludes its 73rd season with a four-week run of the musical, "Working," a tribute to blue-collar working men and women, based on the best-selling book by Studs Terkel. This delightful show celebrates the diversity and commitment of Americans in everyday occupations: a newsboy, schoolteacher, steelworker, housewife, parking lot attendant, millworker, sailor, fireman, grocery clerk, waitress, and many others who sing and talk about their jobs, their hopes and aspirations.

Much as the musical "A Chorus Line" tells the story of dancers through the individual eyes of each performer, so does "Working" reveal the personal stories of its characters through songs and monologues-rather than a true story line or plot- thereby painting a memorable portrait of the common, yet extraordinary, men and women who punch a time clock. The characters' emotions range from resignation to inspiration, from poignancy to pride.

Terkel's book was a sensation when it came out in the 1970s, and became a touchstone for the millions of American laborers whose stories are rarely told in the mainstream media. Terkel explains it best by saying, "It was a celebration of the 'ordinary' people, whose daily lives are unsung ... the anonymous many, whose lives touch ours every day without our realizing it."

The music is drawn from several composers, including Stephen Schwartz, Mary Rodgers, James Taylor, Craig Carnelia, Micki Grant, and Susan Birkenhead.
Director Melina Neal has a cast of 16 who tell the stories of these various workers through song and dance: Stan Boyd, Marcia Callis, Jim Curtiss, Hilary Gorsegner Heinz, Mike Hawkins, Keith Hazen-Diehm, Carol Lichtenstein, Mindy Linder, Peg Major, Larry Maltz, Claude Offenbacher, Johnny Ormsbee, Marnie Rodebush, Michael Scott, Tim Tendick, and Anne Tracey. Music Director for the production is Michael McCornack.

Photographs