Nursing student Jackie Opheim did her research for the roles she plays in Midland University’s new musical, “Working.”
The senior from Bennington portrays a prostitute named Roberta and a receptionist called Sharon for the musical, which will be held later this month.
To prepare for her roles, Opheim said she watched a documentary on human trafficking and read interviews in Studs Terkel’s book, “Working,” on which the musical is based.
The nonfiction book, which profiles different people and their jobs, came out in 1974 and the musical in 1977.
Now, local audiences can see — and hear — the show. Performances start at 7:30 p.m. on Jan. 30 and 31 and Feb. 1 and 2 p.m.on Feb. 2 in Kimmel Theatre in the Swanson Hall of Science at Midland.
Tickets are $15 for adults and $12 for students and seniors. Fremont Midland Entertainment Series members get in for free, but must call to make reservations as shows included in the FMES can sell out fast, said Dan Hays, Midland’s director of theater activities.
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Composer and lyricist Stephen Schwartz, who wrote the musicals “Godspell,” “Pippin” and “Wicked,” decided to turn the book, “Working,” into a musical in 1977.
What’s unique, Hays said, is that Schwartz asked other composers — like singer-songwriter James Taylor (“Fire and Rain,” “You’ve Got a Friend”) and the late Mary Rodgers (“Once Upon a Mattress”) — to contribute to the show.
Thus, the show has a variety of music including a rock song, a comedy song and some very moving songs like “Millwork,” which is about a factory worker who’s given up her dreams due to life situations.
“I think the music is outstanding,” Hays said.
The show includes a series of brief, but poignant vignettes and monologues of people talking about their jobs.
Hays believes the show can help people value others more and remind audiences that every job is important.
“The play is funny and very deeply emotional,” he said. “It’s also provocative and makes you really think about things and it’s really entertaining. I think a lot of people will see themselves in some character on the stage.”
In his book, Terkel interviewed people about their jobs and how they felt about them. Hays said the dialogue in the musical is pretty much what the original people said when talking about their work.
When researching her roles, Opheim said she read — and reread — her characters’ interviews in Terkel’s book.
“I really wanted to get a good sense of what their whole story was and what they wanted to say – more than what the monologue kind of implies,” she said.
Opheim found the character of Roberta to be well-spoken, very honest and someone who didn’t mind talking about things that make others uncomfortable.
Since Opheim knew little about prostitution, she said she watched a documentary along with other short interviews of people who’d been trafficked.
In reading about the character of Sharon, Opheim and Hays learned a few things, too. For one, Sharon said people would walk away from her at parties if she introduced herself as a receptionist, so she started making up new names for her job.
Sharon, who majored in English in college and found it tough to get a job in that field, would learn to find moments of joy during the day at work, Opheim said.
And whereas she once looked down on receptionists, Sharon’s outlook of the profession changed as she was confronted with some of the same opinions she once carried.
Fremonter Dylan Laufer plays a character simply called “Man with Headphones.”
“He is the ‘Everyman,’ Laufer said of his role. “He is a worker in an office and he represents the kind of person who works a very boring 9-to-5 job every day.”
Laufer said he can relate to the character — 100 percent.
“This is exactly what I do in my actual job,” he said. “I wear headphones. I sit in a cubicle and I do extremely boring, soulless, mindless office work.”
Laufer said his computer science major is at the opposite end of the spectrum from acting. He participates in theater because of its contrast to his degree.
“I’ve always been posed with the question: ‘Choose theater or work?’ And it’s something I’ve had to balance throughout my entire college career,” Laufer said.
In some regard, Laufer said playing the character provides him with a feeling of vindication. Laufer also finds it rewarding to act in a show that satirizes some aspects of real-life work, while taking a realistic approach to life, he said.
Olivia Engel, a freshman from Columbus majoring in music education at Midland, plays a cleaning woman and an office worker.
Engel said the cleaning woman wants a better life for her daughter. Yet if the girl does become a cleaning lady, her mom wants her to do the job her own way and be acknowledged on a last name basis — Miss Jones as opposed to Miss Sally — out of respect.
In her song, the cleaning woman points out that the people she works for never see her face and talk about her as if she’s not even there, Hays said.
Engel added that her character always wanted to play the piano.
“I think it’s kind of ironic, because I actually do play the piano,” she said.
As for the cleaning angle, Engel said her parents had her do chores as an early age, which she believes contributed to her independence in college.
“It was a good decision on their part,” she said.
Hays said the cast in this ensemble show is onstage for most of the production and there are no props in the show, which contains lots of symbolism and metaphors. Different actors portray office furniture, doors, grocery carts, filing cabinets and water coolers.
The musical progresses chronologically – in the early morning with a schoolteacher, for instance – and goes throughout the afternoon and into the evening.
Tickets are available at midlandu.edu/tickets or by calling the Midland box office between 2-5 p.m. Monday through Friday at 402-941-6399.