The Theatre Company and Attic Ensemble Present WORKING 4/23-5/9

The Theater Company (TTC) and the Attic Ensemble Theater for a New Jersey City (Attic) are teaming up for a co-production of Stephen Schwartz's WORKING, April 23-May 9, 2010.

Based on Studs Terkel's best-selling book of interviews with American workers, WORKING paints a vivid portrait of the men and women the world so often takes for granted: the schoolteacher, the parking lot attendant, the waitress, the millworker, the mason, the trucker, the fireman, the housewife, just to name a few.

Directed and Choreographed by Billy Mitchell and Musically Directed by David Zimmerman, the production is staged in the style of the WPA Theater Productions of the late 1930s with minimal scenery and maximum focus on the message the stories tell. "WORKING has been a standard in musical theater for decades, and our collaborative production, using the revised script/score, will showcase the strength of the script, lyrics and music," says Zimmerman. Adds Mitchell, "I really appreciate the honesty of the stories (and story songs) in the show. There is nothing embellished for the sake of distracting; instead the characters are candid, earnest and instantly identifiable. They are all people we know, or should know, who keep our country moving forward."

A lot of musical theater performers play so big and broad that it's a challenge to pull them back into an intimate, honest delivery of a song or speech, but this cast of ten engaging, talented performers is just the opposite. According to Mitchell, Emily Beatty, Mark Dunn, Jenny Fersch, Erin Flanagan Lind, Margaret Leone, Judith Moss, Joseph Mulholland, Marvin Riggins, Jr., Elizabeth Slack and James E. Splond "understand the material. They instinctively know what it takes to keep the connection with the audience while delivering a song or monologue that is, by nature of being performance, somewhat heightened or dramatic. Their intuitive identification with their characters (and they each play 2 or 3 characters) makes the process productive for everyone involved."

Working will have performances April 23, 24, 30, May 1, 7, & 8 2010 at 8pm. And April 29 & May 6, 2010 at 7pm. And April 25, May 2 & 9, 2010 at 3pm.

Tickets are $25 for general admission,/$20 for students and seniors and are currently available for purchase at www.brownpapertickets.com/event/78656. Reservations can be made by calling 201.413.9200 or using Attic's on-line reservation form at: www.atticensemble.org.

The production is playing at Attic Ensemble's theater in the historic Barrow Mansion, 83 Wayne Street, Jersey City, NJ. A link to directions as well show details and cast bios can all be found on TTC's website at www.thetheatercompany.org/Working.html. Jersey Arts Cards are accepted for discounted ticket pricing. The Barrow Mansion is handicapped accessible and barrier free. Large print program available upon request; please call one week in advance to arrange for a large print program. Assisted listening devices will be available for the Thursday May 6th 7 p.m. performance. Please call one week in advance to request a device.

For more information about WORKING, TTC or Attic, please visit
www.thetheatercompany.org or email info@thetheatercompany.org or
www.atticensemble.org or email info@atticensemble.org

 

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