‘Working’: Triumphs and frustrations on the job

Whether meaning to or not, most people can’t help but define themselves by the work they do. They spend at least 40 hours a week at the work place, and it is there that their greatest triumphs — along with their most bitter disappointments — are often played out.

Studs Terkel was well aware of the central role work plays in people’s lives when he researched and wrote the book “Working: People Talk About What They Do All Day and How They Feel About What They Do.” Terkel’s book was adapted into a musical in 1977, and has been revised through the years to reflect the changing times.

Artistic Civic Theatre is closing out its 2018-19 season with “Working: The Musical,” which opens Friday, Aug. 2, and continues over two weekends.

Directed by Lori Etheridge, the musical features a cast of six men and six women, all of whom play multiple roles during the show.

“This cast of young and middle-aged men and women is stellar. You don’t want to miss it,” Etheridge says.

Some of the musical’s characters include a steelworker, who talks about the dangers of the job; a housewife, who complains that people doubt her intelligence because she chooses to stay at home with her family; and a retired widower, who finds various ways to occupy his time.

A truck driver, a waitress, a cleaning lady, a bricklayer and a schoolteacher, among others, also share their thoughts about work in general and their jobs in particular, through a series of monologues and musical numbers.

“Ultimately, the musical is about the dignity and importance of work, and the contributions that we make to the society around us through our chosen professions,” says Rob Thompson, managing director at ACT, who saw the show on London’s West End.

“Everyone needs ‘Something to Point To,’ as the characters sing at the end of the show. We need something to be proud of, and our jobs often provide us with this psychological boost.”

“Working: The Musical” features a book by Stephen Schwartz and Nina Fasco, with music and lyrics by Schwartz, Craig Carnelia, Micki Grant, James Taylor, Mary Rodgers, Susan Birkenhead and Lin Manuel Miranda.

For tickets, visit the website at actdalton.org or call 706-278-4796.

Russ Southerland, left, and Bo Southerland mime the monotonous work that is performed by millworkers. Cassie Richardson and Heather Burton, center front, sing about their status as “anonymous cleaning women without faces.”

PHOTOS BY ROB THOMPSON Ben Southerland sings about his first job as a delivery boy for a local restaurant.