Revised Version of WORKING by Stephen Schwartz, Lin-Manuel Miranda and More, Begins at 59E59 Theaters Today

59E59 Theaters presents the Prospect Theater Company production of WORKING, from the book by Studs Terkel, adapted by Stephen Schwartz and Nina Faso, with additional contributions by Gordon Greenberg. Songs are by Craig Carnelia, Micki Grant, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Mary Rodgers & Susan Birkenhead, Stephen Schwartz, and James Taylor. Directed by Gordon Greenberg, WORKING begins performances today, December 1 for a limited engagement through Sunday, December 30.

Opening Night is Wednesday, December 12 at 7:15 PM. The performance schedule is Tuesday – Thursday at 7:15 PM; Friday & Saturday at 8:15 PM; Sunday at 3:15PM. There are additional performances on Sunday, December 2 at 7:15 PM and Thursday, December 27 at 3:15 PM. There is no performance on Tuesday, December 25. Performances take place at 59E59 Theaters (59 East 59th Street, between Park and Madison Avenues). Tickets are $45 ($30 for 59E59 Members; $60 for premium seating). For tickets, call Ticket Central at 212-279-4200 or online at www.59e59.org.

The cast of six extraordinary actors portrays 36 ordinary Americans as they strive to transcend the everyday and to find significance in their jobs. WORKING is based on the 1974 bestseller Working: People Talk About What They Do All Day and How They Feel About What They Do by the noted oral historian and radio broadcaster Studs Terkel. 2012 is Terkel's centenary year.

The cast features Marie-France Arcilla (Off Broadway’s Shout: The Mod Musical and Lizzie Borden); Joe Cassidy (Broadway’s Catch Me If You Can, Next to Normal, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels); Donna Lynne Champlin (Broadway’s Billy Elliot, Sweeney Todd, James Joyce's The Dead, Working at The Old Globe); Jay Armstrong Johnson (Broadway’s upcoming Hands on a Hard Body); Nehal Joshi (Broadway’s Les Miserables, The Threepenny Opera; Working at The Old Globe); and Kenita Miller (Broadway’s The Color Purple; Drama Desk nominee and AUDELCO Award-winner for Langston in Harlem at Urban Stages).

The design team includes Beowulf Borritt (scenic design); Mattie Ullrich (costume design); Jeff Croiter (lighting design); Aaron Rhyne (projection design); and Jeremy Lee (sound design). Casting by Jason Najjoum.

The choreographer is Josh Rhodes. The Music Supervisor, who also created new arrangements and orchestrations, is Alex Lacamoire. Daniel Feyer is the Music Director.

Gordon Greenberg (Director): Working (Broadway In Chicago, Old Globe), Yentl (score by Jill Sobule, Asolo Rep), Guys & Dolls (National Tour), Jacques Brel … (Zipper Theatre; Drama Desk, Drama League, Outer Critics Award noms), Band Geeks! (also co-writer; recipient of NEA and NAMT grants for production at Goodspeed), Disney’s Believe (Disney Creative Entertainment), Pirates! Or Gilbert and Sullivan Plunder’d (Huntington, Goodspeed, Paper Mill, MUNY), We The People (Lortel Award nom), 33 Variations (Capital Rep), Floyd Collins (Signature), Citizens Band (Spiegeltent), Happy Days (First National Tour, Paper Mill, Goodspeed), 1776 (Paper Mill), The Baker's Wife (Goodspeed, Paper Mill). Currently writing Scramble Band!, an original movie musical for the DisneyChannel and the new musical The Single Girls Guide (Goodspeed, Capital Rep). Education: Stanford University, NYU Film School, RADA, and the Lincoln Center Directors Lab.

More Articles by This Author...