"You already know the plot — a Friday evening after work, a barstool at a crowded neighborhood bar and grille, that guy two seats down from you who uninvitingly rambles about his marital strife, the way things were back in the day, and the daily grind of his job while you quietly stare forward.
You, however, probably weren't expecting him to burst into a song and dance while other happy-hour drinkers became the choir and backup dancers, choreographed and in unison, but that's how the action unfolds in the Bluegrass Community and Technical College (BCTC) Theatre Arts Department and Studio Players' collaborative effort of Working, the Musical.
Working, the Musical was written for the stage by Stephen Schwartz, with musical contributions from songwriters like James Taylor, and was based on the book by Studs Terkel (Working: People Talk About What They Do All Day and How They Feel About It). Terkel, a notable oral historian most known for his radio program The Studs Terkel Program, interviewed hundreds of American workers, from high-level business professionals to prostitutes and everyone in between, who discussed their professions, hopes and tribulations. Many of the monologues in Working, the Musical, which originally chronicled 26 workers telling their stories without the guidance of a cohesive plot, come straight from Terkel's book. As the performers discuss their everyday lives, the production stands as an anthem to those who keep the country going.
The original production had a very short-lived Broadway career in the late '70s, but after being updated in the late '90s, given that many of the occupations had become antiquated, the production has seen a renaissance in collegiate and community theatre programs.
Tim Davis, the co-director of the BCTC theatre arts department and the director of this upcoming production, starred in Working while he was a graduate student at the University of Southern Mississippi. Though he wasn't particularly taken with the production, he liked the music and the individual monologues and thought he'd like to have another chance with the musical.
"There was just something about the style of the musical; it was just kind of bland the way it segued from piece to piece," he said. "Some of the segues are just absolutely ridiculous, they really are. But I always like the music, and I liked the language. And I've wanted to do a production of it for a long time, but for a couple of years I've thought, 'What can we do with this? How can we re-imagine this and try something different with it.'"
Davis felt the piece was missing an environment, a place where these characters actually came and interacted with each other, somewhere where his cast of 17 performers could talk to one another and the audience. A neighborhood bar seemed like a fitting atmosphere.
"Lots of times when you go to these types of places, you see a lot of different types of people," Davis said. "You see blue collar folks, you see white collar folks, you see housewives and stay-at-home dads, folks that fall into that same environment sort of sharing their stories, and that was our touchstone for the way we wanted to build this."
The stage was built to resemble your regular corner dive; there's a bar, some tables, the sporadic Corona memorabilia hanging from the ceiling, some dartboards where characters play in the background. The setting had to be accommodating for the large cast, which at some moments all appear on the stage, not to mention the live band, which includes the musical director, Terry Ensor, on keyboard, tucked into the corner.
Over half of the cast are students, staff or faculty members from BCTC, which introduced its revamped theatre arts department earlier this year with its inaugural production in April. Though it was a collaborative effort with the Actors Guild of Lexington and LexArts, Working, BCTC's second production, is the first that puts the company's actors and actresses on stage with other members of Lexington's theatre community, a goal Davis was working toward from the program's inception.
"It fits our mission. We're getting out into the community and hopefully we don't just integrate our folks into their situation, but perhaps we can pull some of their folks into ours," he said.
The experience his students have gained working with the seasoned performers in Lexington has been insurmountable, Davis said, especially given that Working is a musical that requires intricate choreography throughout its entirety as well as disciplined breathing techniques. Davis said he feels that everybody in the production has risen to the occasion.
"We've got a lot of folks with a lot of experience helping us anchor the piece, and the new folks are sort of latching on to that, and I think they're rising up to that level. It's really nice to see that happen," Davis said.
Working, the Musical will be showing through August 5 at the Carriage House Theatre behind the Bell Court House. Friday and Saturday night performances begin at 8 p.m., Sunday performances are at 2:30 p.m. For more information, visit www.studioplayers.org.
Robbie Clark is the editor of Business Lexington's sister publication, W Weekly.
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