Work It!

Happy Labor Day!  

There have been many movies, shows, and songs about finding a job, losing a job, loving or hating your job, and even taking your job and shoving it!

And... a broadway musical that is perfect to talk about this Labor Day...

Based on Studs Terkel's collection of interviews of real working people... the 1978 musical "Working" celebrates everyday working men and women.  With songs by James Taylor, Stephen Schwartz, Craig Carnelia and others, the show is a series of monologues and songs about all the work force.

In 1982, American Playhouse broadcast an all star cast performing the musical.  Here are a couple of selections.

Here is Patti LaBelle singing about "Cleanin' Women"

Here Rita Moreno sings about being a waitress... telling us "It's an Art."

This past year we saw a WONDERFUL "re-working" (pun intented) of the show by the Asolo Rep Theatre in Sarasota, FL.  

It may have a possible transfer to broadway.  They reduced the cast to just 6 performers... and updated the songs including some new ones by Lin-Manuel Mirana who wrote and stars in the current Broadway hit "In The Heights."  The coolest thing about the show is that the set had 2 levels of dressing rooms and the orchestra on a third level.  The actors were "working" throughout the show.  Coming into the theater you saw them stretching, warming up, getting into costume, putting on their mic pack and throughout the show you saw costume changes assisted by the stage manager.  After the show they bowed and went back to their onstage dressing rooms and the audience went on their way.  Here is a promo from that production.  It has a brief clip of one of my favorite songs from the show "Just a Housewife"

The original 1978 soundtrack and the 1982 televised production are available on cd and dvd.  Hopefully the new production will get a possible broadway transfer.  I know that it is going to be in San Diego next year.