By Marissa Massare, Living and Arts Editor
The Susquehanna community can forget about the schoolwork, at least for a few days, and focus on “Working,” Susquehanna’s fall musical, which opens at 7:30 p.m. on Friday Oct. 3 and runs until Sunday Oct. 6 in the Degenstein Campus Theatre.
“Working” is a musical based on Studs Terkel’s book, “Working: People Talk About What They Do All Day and How They Feel About What They Do.”
In his book, Terkel interviewed average Americans about their jobs.
Musical director Jeanne Tiehen said, “The musical is a collection of songs and monologues about a variety of people working different jobs, often expressing the hope for their work to matter and to have their thoughts be heard.”
The musical features 12 cast members and includes first-years, sophomores, juniors and seniors. The musical is made up of 14 songs, including some by Lin-Manuel Miranda, Stephen Schwartz and James Taylor that range from poignant to upbeat and fun.
The theatre department, along with director Jeanne Tiehen, have been in constant preparation since the first week of the semester.
“The most challenging aspect for this production has been the time line and the fact that I’m new,” Tiehen said. “There are still some things I am familiarizing myself with here like the stage space, rehearsal practices and just getting to know students.”
She also talked about the difficulty of the short rehearsal period, saying, “The other aspect is that opening any show in a month is tight, particularly a musical.”
She has been working closely with Lecturer in music Jamie Namminga, who is coordinating the music for the show. In addition to conducting the pit orchestra, Namminga has also been running music rehearsals for the cast.
Among the cast are juniors Carter Anstine and Allison Steinert. Anstine is playing roles of Mike Dillard, an ironworker, and Joe Zutty, a retired fireman.
Steinert plays receptionist Sharon Atkins and Grace Clements, who is a hardworking but defeated worker in a mill. The characters in “Working” tell their own story through a series of monologues and songs.
While many of the songs include the whole cast, each song tells the story of one individual character.
“Each character is only there for a few minutes, but they each have a strong purpose for telling their story and that is what drives the show,” she said.
Anstine was excited for the opportunity to create two contrasting characters. It is something he’s been looking forward to doing in a Susquehanna production.
“I haven’t been able to do this in other shows before,” Anstine said.
Both Anstine and Tiehen both emphasized that they hope audiences can gain a better appreciation for all jobs and occupations, even those that sometimes get overlooked and don’t get enough recognition.
“We all matter, no matter the job title or pay grade,” Tiehen said.
“It is important to look at the person behind the job and realize they are not a machine,” Steinert agreed.
“Working” was first staged at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago from late 1977 through early 1978. The show ran 24 performances on Broadway. It was then revised in 2012.
Each revival featured different characters to give each person in Terkel’s books a chance to shine on stage.
The musical opens during family weekend at Susquehanna. Performances will begin at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Friday and Saturday and at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday.
The show is an hour and a half long with no admission. Backstage tours will be offered after the show on Oct. 4. Admission is free to Susquehanna students. Tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for non- Susquehanna students.