Customer Reviews

Studs Terkel's Working (Broadway Theatre Archive)

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The story of my life? So begins one of the most underratd musicals ever. With a simple message, "Everyone has a story." This is a TV adaptation of a musical based on a book by Sociologist and pundit Studs Terkel available by the grace of God for the first time on DVD. I knew the play from high school and was anxious to see it on film. It's a fairly reliable adaptation of the play, except that it omits two very fine songs and is kind of simply set up (it was PBS after all).

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?"

First off, the reason that they are all "staring at the camera" is because this is filmed in a documentary style. As if all of the people are being interviewed about their lives and jobs.

Great performances by an all-star cast. Eileen Brennan ("Clue," "Murder by Death") gives a WONDERFUL performance, but unfortunately does not sing her character's "Millwork" song herself. Patti LaBelle sings the [...] out of her "Cleaning Women" song, but does not seem all that emotionally involved in the proceedings. Barry Bostwick gives a touching and brilliant performance, delivering a heart-wrending rendition of "Fathers and Sons." Rita Moreno stops the show, and other wonderful performances given by all.

The sets are rather like "Sesame Street for adults," but I personally find it to be very affective and theatrical. Semi-realism with some flat, 2-dimensional pieces thrown in there for you to remember that this is--after all--a theatrical piece (despite all of the realism in the documentary-style acting and film-making).

All in all, this is a BEAUTIFUL piece. A show about REAL human beings, telling their lives and stories in a non-linear way. Few musicals about real people are out there (only Sondheim's and Kander & Ebb's pieces, as well as I DO! I DO!, FIDDLER ON THE ROOF, and RAGTIME come to mind), but those that are are very affective and are truely quite moving.

However, my one MAJOR let down: Craig Carneila's beautiful song "The Mason" is not in this film.

This video is an American Playhouse production first presented on PBS in the early eighties. It was adapted from the 1978 Broadway musical, which in turn was adapted from Studs Turkel's book of interviews with the American worker. I actually saw the original stage production while it was in previews on Broadway -- a Saturday afternoon matinee. My seat was in the balcony almost at the end of the row on the right side. A couple of empty seats away there was a gentleman wearing a wrinkled trench coat; halfway through the show I finally realized he was actually Studs Turkel. I worked up the nerve to ask him to sign my program, and was waiting for a break in the action to ask him to do so. Unfortunately, he used that break to get up and go backstage. Never did get his autograph

Stephen Schwartz adapted his original Broadway script for this video production and added Studs Turkel as a narrator. The premise of the show is simple -- it's about real people telling Mr. Turkel and us what they do for a living and what they like or dislike about their work. Their stories are told here both in words and songs. And since the songs were created by six very talented people the music and lyrics cover a wide variety of styles while developing and explaining each the character singing them. That's a lesson most of today's new Broadway composers could learn.

While the original Broadway production used a very creative unit set with the characters and their career props moving on and off stage; the video opts for more realistic job sites and locations for each character. This is an acceptible alternative, but not nearly as creative or exciting.

But then this is a show about people, and that is where it stands out! The entire cast is outstanding and it would be unfair to single out just one performance. Just look at the cast list and remember they were at the peak of their careers when this show was recorded. Expect the best, because that is what you'll get -- Broadway at its best!

One final note, I was a young man in the prime of my working career when I first saw this show. Today I am an early retiree. This time around I can emotionally relate and identify with the story of JOE.

Order this video now, it will be worth the wait to get it!

Wow, this movie has it all! Patti Labelle, James Taylor, Rita Moreno, Barbara Barrie, Barry Bostwick and many more familiar faces appear in this wonderful 1982 musical which aired on PBS. With Book by Studs Terkel and Music by a list of artists including James Taylor (Millwork) you can't go wrong with a story about the working persons struggle through everyday hardships. In this filmed musical, Studs Terkel acts as a narrator who interviews people with different jobs, a construction worker, paper boy, housewife, hooker, secretary, boss, etc. This movie is for anyone who has ever punched a time clock, a co-worker, or a cow...or anyone who would like to. The section with Patti Labelle singing about cleaning ladies is worth the $ alone. Just to mention a great add on to this is the "Working" soundtrack available on CD here, it's not the same production but its worth it. The company who released this video, Broadway Theatre Archives has a list of other PBS plays and musicals, also try the video of "For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide when the rainbow was enuf."

This production moved me when it first aired, and I was not disappointed when I bought the DVD. I remember thinking back in 1982 that some performances/songs were fantastic, others less so. This holds true today: Eileen Brennan is heart-wrenching as the millworker, as is her song; Rita Moreno is perfection as the waitress, with another great song; Beth Howland may not have been the perfect choice for the housewife, but the song is so good it doesn't matter; and who can resist Edie McClurg as the hotel switchboard operator?

Overall, this production has much to commend it - the closing number chokes me up every time I see it. It may not be perfect, but let's be glad it was done!

...- the production is flat & lacking in energy (especially in the chorus numbers "See That Building" & "I Hear America Singing/All the Livelong Day") and sets look cheap. And some of the actors are miscast or can't sing very well. It would have been much better filmed in performance with an audience instead of an empty studio.
I happen to have done this musical & like it, but this is just an OK production. Fans of the show will want to buy it as it's the only "movie" version available.

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."

Though it feels like a stage play, WORKING (1982) was an original production on "American Playhouse".

Adapted as a musical by Stephen Schwartz from Studs Terkel's WORKING, a book in which the author examined the hopes, dreams and viewpoints of the average American worker, this fabulous production is made up of short monologues, both spoken and sung, by Americans from all walks of life.

The songs by James Taylor, Schwartz and others are first-rate, and they are performed by the likes of Rita Moreno, Barry Bostwick, Charles Durning, Patti LaBelle, Scatman Crothers, Barbara Hershey and Eileen Brennan.

One number, "If I Could've Been," was so moving that we're surprised that it hasn't become a standard.

© Michael B. Druxman

This is a terrible, dated 70's version of the musical. I was so disappointed when I watched it. h Only half the music is in there and the same goes for the monologues. Really bad, REALLY, REALLY BAD.

There isn't another modern musical like it, with songs that linger and characters about whom one feels strongly. Getting Terkel's work on TV was a public service, and the cast is excellent.

First let me say that I am a big fan of much of the show WORKING. Still, making Studs Terkel's book into a big, Broadway show was a mistake, as these stories are small and intimate. I remember watching this production on PBS in my youth, and I looked forward to the release of the DVD. I found most of this production unwatchable, or watchable only as a curiosity. Many of the monologues are played straight to the camera in a very self-concious way. Several of the "locations" are visibly low-budget and take away from the text. The big exception is Eileen Brennan and the "Millworker" segment, which is brilliantly realized. Somehow she found a different way of communicating with the camera that is unselfconcious and natural. It is great that this DVD exists as a document of the show, but it easy to see why the Broadway show failed. The group numbers have an artificial "upbeat" quality (especially the "See That Building" finale) that seems to contradict the flavor of most of the interviews that Mr. Terkel collected. It is fun to see many favorite performers back in their younger days, especially Barry Bostwick. Overall, this DVD is of interest to collectors and people who work in the theater, but many sections were difficult for me to sit through.