Ghent Playhouse in Ghent, N.Y.
Book by Studs Terkel
Adapted by Stephen Schwartz and Nina Faso with additional contributions from Gordon Greenberg
Directed by Michael McDermott and Michael Mensching
Musical direction by Joanne Mensching
Six performers play 32 characters in this musical revue about people who work for a living, and don’t we all do just that. Studs Terkel’s book of essays and interviews opened the eyes of many readers to the realities of those existences when it was published back in 1974 and its musical version came to Broadway in 1978. It was not a hit show, but it has maintained a mystique ever since; it was telecast on PBS in 1982 and revived with new material in 2012. The book’s subtitle gave the show its basic shape: “People talk about what they do all day and how they feel about what they do.” The original company of 17 players playing 50 people has been reduced to the current licensed edition. Nominated for seven Tony Awards, it won a best director prize from the Drama Desk Awards for Stephen Schwartz.
The show is serious and heavy. Its finale, Craig Carnelia’s “Something to Point To,” is reasonably optimistic, but it follows a long series of monologues to music that are pointedly depressing. The show covers the feelings and thoughts of cleaning women, firemen, truckers, luggers, mill workers, housewives, and so on. Rarely does any joy overcome the difficulties these people experience. A prostitute has one of the best moments in the show. This is an evening of downright depression, just to prepare you for when you see it. The show’s title, “Working,” is not a working title; it means exactly what it says.
The cast on stage at The Ghent Playhouse is excellent. Helen Annely sings the prostitute’s refrain with both gusto and heart, making it a near-showstopper. It is contrasted with another song and another character, who appears simultaneously, a wealthy woman bored with her lifeless existence. Helen Annely knocks it out of the box with her portrayal as a bored, disgruntled housewife, singing Carnelia’s very fine song “Just a Housewife,” which makes it clear that “just” is not the right word to describe her life. Amy LeBlanc is their equal in all of her roles.
The men in the show are just as good as the women. Brian Sheldon as the fireman singing about the rewards within the difficulties he faces makes a strong, valid point of what this show celebrates. He is among the best singers in the company. Steve Michalek and Chris Gilbert are also fine performers for this show. The best songs are Lin-Manuel Miranda’s “Delivery,” Mary Rodgers and Susan Birkenhead’s “Nobody Tells Me How,” James Taylor’s “Millwork,” Stephen Schwartz’s “It’s an Art,” and Micki Grant’s “Cleanin’ Women.”
The two Michaels, directors of this show, have kept it moving and kept it moving emotionally. I wish I could say I like the show, but, sadly, I don’t.
“Working” plays at The Ghent Playhouse through April 27. For information and tickets, visit The Ghent Playhouse’s website.
