Working
Adapted from the book by Studs Terkel
by Stephen Schwartz & Nina Faso
Gordon Greenberg, Director
Asolo Repertory Theatre, Sarasota, Florida
The Old Globe, San Diego
The Broadway Theater, Chicago
Set by Beowulf Boritt
Projections by Beowulf Boritt & Aaron Rhyne
2008-2011
Preshow
All The Live Long Day
Darrin Baker & cast
I Could've Been
Danielle Lee Greaves & Liz McCartney
Opening
All the Live Long Day
Something to Point To
Delivery
See That Building
Marie-France Arcilla, Nehal Joshi , Danielle Lee Greaves, Donna Lynne Champlin, Adam Monley and Wayne Duvall
Barbara Robertson, Gene Weygrandt, Emjoy Gavino, Juan Gabriel Ruiz, Michael Mahler & E. Faye Butler
"On Beowulf Boritt's set, dominated by a three-story structure with four dressing rooms and a third-floor area for Mark Hartman's band, the actors frequently go through their transformations in full view of the audience, with the help of stage hands and dressers."
~Jay Handelman, Daily Variety
“Scenic designer Beowulf Boritt’s conceit is to have dressing rooms that double as cubicles, with musicians in partial view occupying the upper-tier corners.”
~Charles McNulty, LA Times
“This is largely accomplished by Beowulf Boritt's worker bee-like set. There are nine large cubicles in stacked platform on stage ---- think of the opening of "The Brady Bunch." Each cubicle is its own stage. One cubicle houses the live band and another the stage manager calling the show's cues. Boritt's set sounds rigid, but it's quite flexible. A scrim in front and in back of the set become projection screens. Hundreds of workers' photos are displayed on it, but it's also breathtaking when the entire back becomes flames while a fireman talks about his profession.”
~Patricia Morris Buckley, The North County Times
“Beowulf Boritt’s two-level industrial set gives us the dressing rooms of the show’s six performers, and we are reminded that actors are tremendous physical laborers as well as artists who can magically transform themselves. In addition, an opening setup puts Studs’ reel-to-reel tape recorders (the essential tool of his trade) in full view.”
~Hedy Weiss, Chicago Sun Times
“Beowulf Boritt's set is designed to frame the people —to preserve everyone's dignity, emphasize truth, and stay out of the way of Studs and his workers.”
~Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune
Photos courtesy Asolo Repertory Theatre - photos by Frank Atura & J. Rodriguez ©2008