Studs Terkel, the son of a tailor and a seamstress, is an interesting cat. Equipped with a law degree he decided to instead become a concierge, followed by a career in theater and radio. In 1974 he published a transcript of one of his recording series named, Working: People Talk About What They Do All Day and How They Feel About What They Do. The nine-volume book was as rambling and endearing a working-class anthology as you’re bound to assume from the long, unreduced title. (The guy won a Pulitzer prize for The Good War: An Oral History of World War II; he clearly liked people.) The books Working were adapted by Stephen Schwartz and Nina Faso into a musical that opened off Broadway in 1977, to ascend onto the big-street in 1978. The play is being performed by the Roger Williams Theater Department through April 23.
Judging from the play, the books are packed with quirky admissions and insights told with such trust and vulnerability you can’t help but wonder what Terkel himself was like. “I don’t think there’s an operator who hasn’t listened in on calls. The night goes faster,” says Frances Swenson, a hotel switchboard operator with what we can only interpret as perky enthusiasm. She adds that she only did it while working at Bell, “At the motel? No.” The play adaptation of the book retells the stories collected by Terkel; reenacted one after the other in monologues punctuated by songs and back up-dancers. The script makes the characters, some of whom do have the opportunity to appear more than once, easily recognizable: the construction worker, the hotel maid, the oblivious-over-working-wall street guy, the pushy uptown fundraiser. With so many different perspectives, told with a variety of tones of voice from dejection and disinterest, to pride and determination despite the mundanity of it all. A construction worker explains that he feels disrespected when a college educated colleague assumes he doesn’t know how to read. A hotel maid says she’ll never want her daughter on her knees “unless it is to pray.” This is real stuff; the thoughts people carry on their faces but sometime let sit there for years without verbalizing.
The performance of Working at Roger Williams University is comprised of a student cast of performers. Each actor takes on the persona of between two and seven workers; no small feat. Although there are a couple of highlights, namely the performance of Henry Young in a variety of roles including the truck driver escaping the his marriage and the hippy who just got fired, and Brian Rossacci who managed to get across a convincing blue-collar posture in most of his roles, the acting felt just a little deflated. It is hard to tell if the direction from Robin Stone requested this disposition, but most of the actors looked like they were at work themselves; uninterested in putting in 100%. Kate Barette and a few of the other actresses had voices to carry them through, but combined it wasn’t clear that the actors were interested in the work of acting. That said, the play was conducted by students, some of whom may not be counting on a career in acting; sometimes it can be nice to list majors and past experiences in a program.
The stage was used effectively, lending a minimalist back-drop interest through the use of excellent blocking and practical stage props, and the music, headed by Nancy Rosenberg, was flawless.
Just a little bit more passion from a few of the actors would have gone a long way in allowing us a closer experience with the warmth and quirky nature brought out through Studs Terkel’s dedication to human motivation. The script itself is interesting and profound enough to allow for recommendation and I’m sure the last weekend run of Working will allow you to catch the cast on a more energetic night.
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Academy Players of RI did this show a couple of years ago!! Loved t and loved doing it!!!