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Thursday, November 7, 2019

Strollers’ 2019–2020 Season Opens With “Working: A Musical”

Working: A Musical
book by Studs Terkel
adapted by Stephen Schwartz and Nina Faso with additional contributions by Gordon Greenberg
songs by Craig Carnelia, Micki Grant, James Taylor, Mary Rodgers and Susan Birkenhead, Lin-Manuel Miranda, and Stephen Schwartz

WHEN: Friday, November 8, 15, and 22 and Saturday, November 9, 16, and 23 at 8:00 pm; and Sunday, November 10 and 17 at 2:00 pm.
WHERE:
The Burgdorff Center for the Performing Arts, 10 Durand Road in Maplewood
TICKETS: $25 for adults and $20 for students and senior citizens.
Visit www.thestrollers.org for information and to purchase tickets, or call 973-761-8453 to reserve tickets.

The Strollers community theater will open its 88th season with a presentation of Working: A Musical. This contemporary crowd-pleaser will be performed for three weekends in November.

Based on Studs Terkel’s best-selling book of interviews with the American workforce, Working is a delightfully funny and thoroughly touching musical. It is a both an exploration of the individuals’ occupations and a lament for lost hope and dreams. It takes the viewpoint of an average worker – such as a waitress, a trucker, a housewife, or a fast-food delivery boy – whose life and aspirations reflect the diversity that is America. First staged in Chicago in 1977, Working debuted on Broadway (directed by Stephen Schwartz) the next year; decades later, an update of the show led to the addition of music from artists such as famed Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda.

Working features a cast that includes TJ Balady, Ginny S. Crooks, Alicia Dennis, Alan H. Foster, Christine Hjorth, Jessica Katz, Rose M. Ladutke, George Ngo, Donald Pauselius, Vicki Ridley, Melyssa Searcy, Meghan Sudol, and Simcha Willick. The production is directed by Rachel Rubin Ladutke and produced by Alan Foster, with musical direction by Michael Nuzzo and stage management by Molly Holzbauer. Other production members include costumer Wanda Maragni, set and lighting designers John Mendlovitz and Ken Lordy, and properties mistress Yvonne Perry.

The Strollers of Maplewood was established in 1932 "to provide an opportunity for artistic and dramatic education and enjoyment for its members and the community." The troupe’s 88th season will continue with a children’s theater production, How the World Got Wisdom, in late January/early February. Following that will be Lucille Fletcher’s suspenseful mystery Night Watch in March; the season concludes in May with Horton Foote’s heartwarming drama The Trip to Bountiful. Visit www.thestrollers.org or email TheMaplewoodStrollers@gmail.com for more information.