By Randi Bjornstad
It might seem odd that the mundane subject of going to work every day ever could be exciting enough to merit not only an entire book but also a popular musical, but that’s exactly what happened to a non-fiction book titled Working, written by author and radio broadcaster Studs Terkel in 1974.
It was a big book, divided into nine smaller books — sections, really — each of which examined the lives of workers ranging from waitresses to executives to athletes to shopkeepers to truck drivers to hair stylists to grave diggers to, well, you get the idea.
Altogether, Terkel interviewed and wrote about well over 100 workers, how they felt about their jobs, and what effect their work had on their overall satisfaction and quality of life.
The book — the full title was Working: People Talk About What They Do All Day and How They Feel About What They Do —quickly became a best seller, with over a million copies sold. It also didn’t take very long for producers to recognize its potential in musical form. Three years later, it had its debut in Chicago and had a short run on Broadway early in 1978. Although it didn’t win any of the six Tonys for which it was nominated, it did win Drama Desk Awards for Outstanding Director and Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical.
Turning Working into a musical became the task of Stephen Schwartz, also the force behind Pippin and Wicked. He wrote the book with Nina Faso, and wrote the music with Craig Carnelia, Micki Grant, Mary Rodgers, and James Taylor.
Actors Cabaret of Eugene’s production features performers Maida Belove, Eric Blanchard, Kevin Boling, Colin Gray, Janis Hayes, Hillary Humphreys, Eric Jean, Bruce McCarthy, Cody Mendonca, Mindy Nirenstein, Rob Roberts, Celeste Rosetto Dickey, Jonah Scott, Donovan Seitzinger, and Lois Stark.
The theater is happy to announce also that meals — dinners and brunches — are back on the menu along with the shows. Dinners are served at 6:15 p.m. with the show starting at 7:30 p.m. Brunches are served at 12:45 p.m. with the show starting at 2 p.m.
However, purchasing tickets has not gone back to online or stopping by the the box office. Tickets are still being sold by telephone only, at 541-683-4368, from 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays.
Working (the Musical) at Actors Cabaret of Eugene
Show times: 7:30 p.m. on Sept. 16-17, 23-24, 30, Oct. 1, 7-8 and 2 p.m. on Sept. 25 and Oct. 2 (with meal service beginning 75 minutes before showtimes)
Tickets with meal: Dinner (lasagna or choice of sausage or vegetarian manicotti, served with soup or salad and non-alcoholic beverage, $54); brunch (Quiche Lorraine with soup or salad and non-alcoholic beverage, $52)
Show-only tickets: $30 prime reserved seats; $27 reserved seats; $19 restricted-view seats
Ticket purchase: By telephone only; call 541-683-4368 between 10:30 a.m. and 3 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday
Information: actorscabaret.org
Special Message from Actors Cabaret: Covid is still around and just as contagious as ever. You can be vaxxed, get Covid, show no symptoms and pass it on to someone who could really suffer. It’s sneaky and killing people every day. We require that everyone attending Actors Cabaret provide proof of vaccination before entering the theater and wear masks unless eating or drinking. We ask that you remain mindful that our actors are volunteers and taking a risk to their own health by performing in WORKING and that there may be last minute casting changes or substitutions so we can protect the health of our volunteer performers.
