Nina Faso News

Meadow Brook Theatre's 2019-2020 season has something for everyone with comedies, musicals, a drama and even a whodunit. "We're excited not only to have Michigan premieres during our 54th season, but also to have the world premiere of a brand new musical," said Cheryl Marshall, MBT managing director.  "We've got a wonderfully entertaining lineup and, once again, we're kicking things off with a great event this summer!'

Encores! Off-Center today announced programming for the 2019 season of New York City Center's popular summer musical theater series which concludes the landmark 75th Anniversary Season.

Ghostlight Records will release the Original London Cast Recording of Stephen Schwartz's WORKING on Friday, March 2. Watch below for a preview of the new show!

Ghostlight Records has announced the release of the Original London Cast Recording of Stephen Schwartz's WORKING on Friday, March 2. The album is being released following a hugely successful run at Southwark Playhouse, directed by Luke Sheppard in Summer 2017. This will be the first recording of WORKING since the Original Broadway Cast Recording in 1978 and will feature never before released tracks by Lin-Manuel Miranda. Customers that pre-order the album on iTunes and Amazon will immediately receive the track "It's An Art." To pre-order the album, please click HERE.

'Working: A Musical' is driven by the honest words of real people sharing why they work at what they do. The show is packed with with monologues and songs of people working various jobs put to music. The result of the varying talent of multiple composers sadly gives the show periodically draggy lyrics and music.

We spend a large percentage of our lives working in some way or another. Whether someone works in a trade (Ironworker, Stonemason), an office (Project Manager, Receptionist), in the home, or anywhere in-between, working is something that is an integral part of who we are. For some, a person's profession drives their identity, and for others, a job is just something to pay the bills. In all cases, what we do all day and how we feel about what we do serves as a fascinating study, and one that author, Studs Terkel took on over 40 years ago in his 1974 book Working. In the book, Mr. Terkel interviewed over one hundred American workers of all professions (from Fireman to Hooker) and asked them to talk about their jobs. Soon after, Stephen Schwartz (WICKED, GODSPELL) and Nina Faso adapted the book and collected a stellar group of musicians, including James Taylor, Craig Carnelia and Mary Rodgers to help set some of those stories to music. Thus was born WORKING: A MUSICAL, which the Opera House Players in Broad Brook are performing as the opening show to their 2017-2018 season.

Opera House Players, Inc. proudly presents WORKING as its season opener September 8 through September 24th at the Broad Brook Opera House. WORKING is a musical based on the best-selling 1974 book of the same name by oral historian and radio commentator, Studs Terkel.  Told in a series of vignettes, WORKING gives a voice to the often-overlooked men and women of the American workforce. The personal stories and songs they share about what they do for a living and how they do it whether funny, wise, or challenging…are never less than inspirational. Nominated for six Tony Awards, this classic has been updated featuring new songs by HAMILTON creator Lin-Manuel Miranda, along with favorites by Stephen Schwartz (WICKED, PIPPIN), James Taylor, and more!

WORKING is the extraordinary genre-defining musical from Grammy and Academy Award-winner Stephen Schwartz (Wicked, Godspell) based on Studs Terkel's best-selling book of interviews with the American workforce: Working: People Talk About What They Do All Day and How They Feel About What They Do. The show has been adapted by Stephen Schwartz and Nina Faso, the creators of Godspell and Rags, with additional contributions by Gordon Greenberg.

With Wicked going strong across the world, and Hamilton a few months away from its much anticipated West End transfer, it seems like the perfect time for the European première of a reworked musical that features compositions from the pens of both Stephen Schwartz and Lin-Manuel Miranda, as well as many others. It continues Southwark Playhouse's varied season, hot on the heels of The Cardinal.

Completing the cast of the European Premiere of WORKING at Southwark Playhouse are six young performers all making their professional debuts.

???????Gillian Bevan, Dean Chisnall, Krysten Cummings, Siubhan Harrison, Peter Polycarpou and Liam Tamne will lead the cast of the European Premiere of WORKING.

Bristol Riverside Theatre presents WORKING based on Studs Terkel's best-selling book and featuring songs by Lin-Manuel Miranda (Hamilton), Stephen Schwartz (Pippin, Wicked), and James Taylor running November 1-20.  Directed by Keith Baker, the ensemble cast features Demetria Joyce Bailey, Philip Chaffin, Laura Giknis, Tamar Greene, Jenny Lee Stern, and Kevin Toniazzo-Naughton.

Theatre Under The Stars (TUTS) and the Humphreys School of Musical Theatre (HSMT) presents Working: A Musical from the book by Studs Terkel, adapted by Stephen Schwartz and Nina Faso, running September 15-17 in Zilkha Hall at the Hobby Center for The Performing Arts.

Theatre Under The Stars (TUTS) and the Humphreys School of Musical Theatre (HSMT) presents Working: A Musical from the book by Studs Terkel, adapted by Stephen Schwartz and Nina Faso, running September 15-17 in Zilkha Hall at the Hobby Center for The Performing Arts.

WORKING is based on Studs Terkel's well-known book of interviews with U.S workers, which retells the accounts of men and women and presents the meaning that these jobs bring to their lives. This classic musical was first adapted by Stephen Schwartz and Nina Faso and premiered at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago, Illinois. The show later ran on Broadway briefly before entering the national regional theatre circuit. The show was updated in 2012 with two new songs from Lin-Manuel Miranda, and features the classic numbers from artists such as Stephen Schwartz, Craig Carnelia, and James Taylor. WORKING runs at Main Street Theatre from May 21 - June 19, 2016. The show, directed by the talented Andrew Ruthven, reflects not only the struggles that we go through as a nation, but hits home on multiple levels with the diverse and hard working citizens of Houston.

It's something most of us have to do at least 5 days a week, go to work. So you'd think a musical about folks and their working lives would resonate more. But the musical "Working", despite being loved by musical theater nerds, never really caught on. In fact it only ran for 24 performances on Broadway back in 1978. But thankfully the folks at Showtunes have done what they do and dusted this one off for a weekend so more people can discover how wonderful it is.

Bristol Riverside Theatre celebrates its 30th Anniversary with a classic, a murder mystery, two musicals, and a heartfelt comedic family tale.

This past weekend at South Bend's Clay High School, the musical Working by Stephen Schwartz and Nina Faso, based on the best-selling book of interviews with America's work force by Studs Terkel, took to the stage for three performances and absolutely earned their standing ovations! Comprised of dozens of students (and some teachers!) this high school's performance set an impressive tone for not only their student's abilities, but anybody who was involved with such an incredible show.