Studs Terkel's Working (Broadway Theatre Archive)

Editorial Review:
Amazon.com
Steelworkers, waitresses, and parking garage attendants hardly make the stuff of the traditional Broadway musical. But their voices form the songs and monologues of this plotless paean to the American working stiff, inspired by the bestselling oral history by Studs Terkel. Adapted from the stage production by composer Stephen Schwartz, this 1982 American Playhouse production has a pleasingly fluid structure that includes Terkel himself as an onscreen narrator/host. It veers from sentimentalizing working folk to (at its best) questioning the conclusion drawn by a high-priced call girl played by Barbara Hershey: "What you do is what you are." James Taylor sings a truck-drivin' tune, Scatman Crothers and Charles Durning lend a rascally vigor, and Rita Moreno insists "It's an art to be a fine waitress." Strongest of all is Eileen Brennan, with her face out of a Walker Evans photograph, as a weary factory worker resigned to her punishing job. --Robert Horton
Description
This musical adaptation of the Studs Terkel book examines the average worker's viewpoint--showing that he or she is anything but average. Based on a series of interviews with real working people--construction workers, waitresses, firemen, secretaries and cleaning women--"Working" is both an exploration of the individuals' occupations and a lament for lost hopes and dreams. This musical adaptation was conceived by Stephen Schwartz (Godspell, Pippin). A must for all musical theatre buffs.
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Studs Terkel's Working (Broadway Theatre Archive)
Starring: Studs Terkel , Barry Bostwick , Scatman Crothers , Barbara Browning , and Vernee Watson-Johnson Director: Stephen Schwartz , and Kirk Browning Manufacturer: Image Entertainment ProductGroup: DVD Binding: DVD Similar Items:
ASIN: B00005TNFF Release Date: 2002-01-05 |
Amazon.com
Steelworkers, waitresses, and parking garage attendants hardly make the stuff of the traditional Broadway musical. But their voices form the songs and monologues of this plotless paean to the American working stiff, inspired by the bestselling oral history by Studs Terkel. Adapted from the stage production by composer Stephen Schwartz, this 1982 American Playhouse production has a pleasingly fluid structure that includes Terkel himself as an onscreen narrator/host. It veers from sentimentalizing working folk to (at its best) questioning the conclusion drawn by a high-priced call girl played by Barbara Hershey: "What you do is what you are." James Taylor sings a truck-drivin' tune, Scatman Crothers and Charles Durning lend a rascally vigor, and Rita Moreno insists "It's an art to be a fine waitress." Strongest of all is Eileen Brennan, with her face out of a Walker Evans photograph, as a weary factory worker resigned to her punishing job. --Robert HortonDescription
This musical adaptation of the Studs Terkel book examines the average worker's viewpoint--showing that he or she is anything but average. Based on a series of interviews with real working people--construction workers, waitresses, firemen, secretaries and cleaning women--"Working" is both an exploration of the individuals' occupations and a lament for lost hopes and dreams. This musical adaptation was conceived by Stephen Schwartz (Godspell, Pippin). A must for all musical theatre buffs.Customer Reviews:
a great dvd .......2006-01-21
What an awful imitation of the original!.......2005-12-18
Some great stuff.......2004-11-30
Hey Somebody, Don't You Want To Hear..........2002-10-16
For those unfamiliar with the book or the musical, Working is based on a series of interviews Terkel performed with people from all walks of life. The book was subtitled "People Talking About What They Do All Day And How They Feel About What They Do." Composer and Lyricist Stephen Schwartz (with help from the likes of James Taylor and Craig Carnelia) adapted the interviews (which were verbatim from these peoples' mouths) into a musical.
Now let me adress a common concern right here. "I don't like musicals." Something like that is simply impossible to say. It's like saying "I don't like soup." You can't. There are too many different kinds of musicals (indeed soups) to say that you hate them all. Do you hate bright and sunny musicals like "Meet Me in St. Louis" or lavish dance numbers like "42nd Street" or quasi-historic grandeur like "Camelot?" In Working the musical performances are limited to singing at the camera, or singing off camera.
And the singing is performed by some wonderful people. "Rocky Horror's" Barry Bostwick as the Steelworker, Scatman Crothers as a Parking Lot Attendant called "Lovin' Al: The Wizard," "West Side Story's" Rita Moreno as a Waitress who feels like an artist, Charles Durning as a retiree, Patti LaBelle as a Cleaning Woman and James Taylor (mentioned above) as a Trucker. Highlights include Bostwick's stirring ballad "Fathers and Sons" Moreno's "It's an Art" and the highly affecting "Me and My Machine" performed by an unseen vocalist during the Millworker scene.
People who do these jobs, might be inspired by these completely true stories. And people who interact with these people might be inspired as well. Inspired to spend a few brain cells thinking about the guy who put his car together, talking to the telephone operator who's been having a hard day, showing respect for the cleaning woman, you even see hookers in a new light.
"Hey somebody, don't you want to hear the story of my life?"
Could have been better.......2002-08-24
There are standout performances - Barbara Hershey as a vulnerable hooker, Eileen Brennan as an exhausted millworker, Edie McClurg as a perky operator, Charles "Hill St Blues" Haid as the mischievous "gas man," Charles Durning as a retiree, and James Taylor adds a nice touch as he sings something he actually wrote for the show ("Brother Trucker").
But there are also annoying, jarring or boring performances, like Beth Howland as the housewife & Didi "Grease" Conn as a receptionist - both of them breathy & nasal.
Some actors push it too hard - seems like most were cast because they were the "hot A list" for the moment (i.e. the late 70s) which makes the show a little dated. It would have been better casting some unknowns (but great singers from Broadway). So "Where Are They Now?" - Eileen Brennan? Barbara Barrie? Beth Howland? Didi Conn? Matt Landers? Vernee Watson-Johnson?
Good thing they didn't make an album of this soundtrack - its thin singing & orchestrations pale in comparison to the original cast album of 1978, which has much better singers (like Bob Gunton & David Patrick Kelley) and there's more excitement, feeling & fullness in the songs.
Interesting note: Lynne Thigpen (cast as receptionist) & David Patrick Kelley (playing an activist Copyboy complaining about his capitalist newspaper) are the only ones from the original Broadway cast to make it into this broadcast, originally shown on PBS ~1982. On Broadway, Kelly sang the soaring ballad "The Mason," which very unfortunately was cut from this version. Pigpen sang "Cleaning Women."
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ABC News Nightline Studs Terkel
Manufacturer: ABC News ProductGroup: DVD Binding: DVD ASIN: B000RKV3GI Release Date: 2007-06-04 |
amazon.com
How many 93-year-olds do you know who are going strong after breaking their necks and undergoing open heart surgery? Then again, there are very few 93-year-olds quite like Studs Terkel, an American original. To be a good interviewer, you have to be a good listener. And for most of his long life, Studs Terkel has opened his ears to people across America who aren't the most sought-after interviewees. Terkel has chronicled the trials and tribulations of the country's working men and women. But before he launched his career as an oral historian, he was one of America's most eclectic radio hosts, spinning records as diverse as Enrico Caruso and Louis Armstrong, on a program called "The Wax Museum." His book, "And They All Sang: Adventures of an Eclectic Disc Jockey" (New Press), recalls a period when music didn't come out of the radio in synthetic niche formats. Anchor: Ted Koppel.DVD:
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