PHS Presents: Working

Story by Saafia Masoom

The long-awaited month of October is finally here for the individuals of PHS seeking involvement in this year’s musical Working. Each year students are given the chance to audition for roles in the cast, apply for the stage crew, or put their instrumental skills to the test in the pit orchestra.

Based on the novel by Pulitzer Prize winning author Studs Terkel, Working gives the audience a look at the lives of twenty-six people from an array of different backgrounds in the course of just one day. The everyday hopes and dreams of a school-teacher, a waitress, a steelworker, a migrant worker, and a housewife, among many other workers, are explored through many songs and dance numbers.

Working also features the music of various composers: Craig Camelia, Micki Grant, Mary Rodgers and Susan Birkenhead, Stephen Schwartz (also the director of the Broadway version), and James Taylor.

The audience may have to keep the characters and storylines straight, but that’s nothing compared to the rigorous schedule that the musical’s cast, crew, and pit will face. Over the weeks to come, the cast will have to spend hours learning the dance routines, blocking onstage, what to say, and when to say it. Musical director Mrs. Armstrong dedicates months of work into the perfecting the productions. Sounds pretty intense, right?

Well, the workload isn’t just forced on the cast, because the crew must work hand in hand with them to learn the show by heart and pull the strings backstage to make sure that everything goes smoothly. And then there’s the pit, directed by Mrs. Fairchild.

“The pit orchestra for any musical is the glue that holds the entire production together,” she describes. Working will feature a piano, electric and acoustic bass, drum set with some synthesized keyboard, and guitar part for three different types of guitars.

In fact, the pit is given only two rehearsals together before meeting up with the cast since much of the music must be learned on their own. The members can then “figure out how to jell as a unit and provide support for singers on the stage,” as Fairchild puts it.

In this sense the musical is a lot like any team sport in which participants must work together to make things happen. So, when production week rolls around, we should all just remember to be supportive of the brave individuals who are taking on quite a challenge this year with Working. It’s just the beginning of the long rehearsal process for the musical bunch, but we can rest assured that they’ll be ready to put on a great show when the time comes.