Musical: "Working"

Working, the hit musical performed this past weekend, depicts a collection of a range of people who discuss their professions. These jobs ranged from a millworker portrayed by senior Savannah Gardner to a hedge fund manager played by Scott Hermenau and many jobs in between.The portrayal of occupations was accurate and showed a range of general attitudes of people towards their jobs, or lack thereof in some cases. Some sang in their testimonials, and others displayed a spectrum of both simple and complex emotions. The delivery man, played by prep Alejandro Arango, gave a light-hearted performance in comparison to the more serious performance of the prostitute, played by senior Barbi Sárközi.The play explores a few themes shared by almost all of its cast members, like wanting to be important, part of something bigger, and the need to have done something of meaning in life.The nature of the plot was not completely clear, however. Many short stories and people were introduced, had a moment in the limelight, but none of these developed much further. Amanda McKenny, a stage manager played by senior Hannah Marudzinski, had one number towards the very beginning of the play which was never included in the ever-changing plot again. The unconnected and undeveloped may have been intentional, but at times could leave viewers slightly confused or wanting more.Everyone was in his or her own world, except for a little exchange with another character for the purpose of transitioning the focus of the play here or there. Individual scenes never really all came together until the finale.Even in the finale, everyone sang and participated in one song together, but they didn’t come into contact with each other. Besides that, the entire performance was great. Actors did a great job of portraying their characters with ease and enthusiasm and viewers were impressed.Upper LaNice Baker commented, “Overall, I thought it was well put-together. The cast did a wonderful job. There were a couple of technical issues. Every once in a while, a microphone would be on during an ensemble performance or off during a solo.” When asked if she would recommend that her friend see it, she responded, “Yes, I would.”Working portrayed many very talented people who gave lifelike performances and though the plot may have been unclear at times, the musical is appropriate for all audiences.  Prep Audrey Hahn enters the stage, dressed as a waitress, ready to dazzle the audience with a role she was never expected to play. Delores the waitress, originally intended to be portrayed by senior Davis Leonard, was now in the hands of Hahn.“Regarding the unexpected substitution, I got a call yesterday morning from our director at about 10. He said that one of the seniors, Davis Leonard, was sick and couldn't perform her part. He told me that he wanted me to do it!” Hahn said.Upper Braxton Harris, who has participated in DRAMAT since the start of his lower year and participated in Frankenstein last term, successfully explained to us that he was an ironworker, full of worries about his son’s future.“Preparing for the role happened in a few steps: first was getting the lines memorized. After that, I just sat down and thought about life from a working class father's perspective. Since I'm not a father, I just thought about the life I'd like my brother to have and went from there. I found it very easy to connect with him,” Harris said.Upper Sabrina Movitz played the role of a fund-raiser. “I prepared for this role by rehearsing every day with the cast, along with some one on one monologue work with Mr. Richards,” she said. “I've been doing theater since I was in elementary school, all through middle school, and now at PEA.”They might not grace the spotlight, but the behind-the-scenes cast of the recent production of Working certainly deserves to share the limelight. Upper Hannah Sessler joined this production in order to explore her interests in arts and construction. “This term, my job backstage during the performances was dressing the performers. I made the poster, I've worked on the set, and helped Mrs. Summermatter with costumes,” Sessler said.Sessler also expressed her desire to continue working backstage. “While I'm here, working with the amazing Mr. Wendell and Mrs. Summermatter, I want to do as much work backstage as possible,” she said. “Considering how I want to continue working backstage after Exeter, too, it makes more sense.”Senior Misty Goh worked with Sessler to make sure Working was a success. “I'm the production stage manager and I've been working backstage for a couple of years now. I take it instead of a sport,” Goh said. “The tech crew, overseen by faculty, make the set, sew the costumes, set up lighting and sound, make props, et cetera. On show days, the faculty sits back and watch while we run the show.”After being a crew member since her lower year, Goh is hesitant to leave her position backstage. “Working was my final production at Exeter, but I hope to continue behind the scenes in the future.”Overall, this musical contained students with talents from all ends of the spectrum and shows a combination of onstage and backstage talent with undeniable chemistry. From the cast members, to the stage crew, to the musicians, everything and everyone meshed well to produce the show.