Where: City Center
131 W. 55th St.
New York, NY
When: This event occured from June 26 - June 29, 2019
Me - Working: A Musical was unusual. It was about people who were working in different jobs. There wasn't really a story to it. Most of the characters didn't have names. The cast all played a lot of parts. It was interesting. The acting was good. The singing was nice. I liked a lot of the songs, but I don't really remember them now. As part of the show, they told the stories of some of the people who actually work at City Center. That was cool! That was my favorite part of the show. Every time I go there now, I will think about that! It made the show much more enjoyable!
Mom - Working: A Musical is a very different kind of show partly because it is based on a nonfiction book by Studs Terkel regarding people in different jobs and how they feel about the work they do . It is also unique because instead of the songs being composed by a single composer or a pair of composers, it was composed by a number of well known composers each of whom contributed several songs to the score including Stephen Schwartz, Lin Manuel Miranda, Mary Rodgers, and James Taylor. There have been several variations of the musical that have run in various locations over the years since the 1970s but none for very long. Now, it has been revived and revised yet again for City Center Encores! Off Center 2019 season with an all star cast. The cast includes Helen Hunt of Mad About You and As Good As It Gets, Christopher Jackson and Javier Munoz of the original cast of Hamilton, and David Garrison of Married with Children among others. As would be expected the performances in general are terrific although Helen Hunt does not have the best singing voice. The show itself seems a little disjointed since none of the characters are given names and its moves around quickly from one thing to another. However, what makes this version of the show particularly unique and special is that actual employees of City Center have been added as characters and it is very touching to be able to learn the stories of real people who you may have actually encountered on a visit to the venue or whom you may encounter on a future visit to the venue without even knowing it.
City Center Encores! Off Center's 2019 season will continue with Promenade on July 10 and 11 and Road Show from July 24 through 27. For more information about these or other upcoming City Center events or to order tickets, visit www.nycitycenter.org.
And that's our view. Tune in tomorrow for Tips for Tuesday.
Photo credits: All Working: A Musical production photos by Joan Marcus
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