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Theo Ubique, the intrepid company that can stage full musicals on floor space the size of a postage stamp, celebrates a full year in its new Evanston home. After 13 years squeezed into No Exit Café along the L tracks in Rogers Park, Theo Ubique – led by founder Fred Anzevino – expanded its breadth (and probably the breath of its actors and crew) in a theater of its own on Howard Street.
There’s more square footage but not too much. Theo Ubique’s production of WORKING retains the company’s signature immersive, cabaret quality. That environment functions well for the musical drawn from Studs Terkel’s 1974 book of the same title. Terkel, the legendary Chicago journalist, took his tape recorder around the country and interviewed people about their jobs. These interviews comprise the book as well as the revue-style musical that premiered at the Goodman Theatre in 1977.
WORKING revisions keep the show current
Revised several times since then, WORKING is a plotless exploration of how workers feel about what they do. Much of the original material remains intact after 42 years. In “It’s an Art,” a waitress revels proudly in the skill required to serve customers. “Delivery,” a new number by Lin-Manuel Miranda, takes a different view of food service: A young man, who chafes restlessly at a touch-screen register at Portillo’s, rejoices when his boss sends him to deliver meals on his bike.
Directed by Christopher Chase Carter, the six-person ensemble takes the audience along with firm technique and open hearts, whether it’s to a classroom, luggage factory or receptionist’s desk. WORKING now includes cellphones and references to the 2008 economic downturn but continues to make its universal observations about the struggles of working stiffs. Sometimes this involves careers that seem glamorous to outsiders. A press agent wistfully notes that “you spend your whole life telling people how great somebody else is.” A stone mason, on the other hand, expresses more satisfaction than the white-collar press agent because he builds things that last. He can drive past a house that he worked on years earlier and the fruits of his labor are still standing.
A sense of purpose onstage at Theo Ubique
It’s no surprise that people’s attitudes in WORKING depend largely on whether they do or don’t have a sense of purpose. An unskilled laborer remarks “I do what no one wants to do” – but views his current job as just “for now.” And there are those who tolerate harsh monotony because “if you can’t improve yourself, you improve your posterity.” A fireman explains that he used to be a cop but, after seeing “hate in the eyes” too often, he switched to fighting fires because his life-saving efforts evoke constant admiration: “Someone can grow old because of me.”
As it did in its former space, Theo Ubique offers a prix fixe menu before the show. Diners are apt to have actors clear their plates at intermission, then whip back into character when the lights go down for Act II. Now, however, more room between tables means they won’t have to watch out for patrons’ toes so much. A sleek bar serves a full array of liquor, plus hot beverages. All in all, the cast and audience generate a warm vibe as they spend a few hours together in Theo Ubique’s year-old home.
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Note: This is now added to the Picture this Post round up of BEST PLAYS IN CHICAGO, where it will remain until the end of the run. Click here to read – Top Picks for Theater in Chicago NOW – Chicago Plays PICTURE THIS POST Loves
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WORKING
based on the book by Studs Terkel
Book by Stephen Schwartz and Nina Faso
Music and lyrics by Schwartz and others, including James Taylor and Lin-Manuel Miranda
Directed and Choreographed by Christopher Chase Carter
Music Direction by Jeremy Ramey
Cast:
Cynthia F. Carter, Jared David Michael Grant, Keirsten Frumkin, Stephen Blue Allen, Loretta Rezos, Michael Kingston
Production:
Christopher Chase Carter (Director/Choreographer), Jeremy Ramey (Music Director), Fred Anzevino (Artistic Director), Shannon Rourke (Production Stage Manager), Nicholas James Schwartz (Scenic Designer/Technical Director), James Kolditz (Lighting Director), Bob Kuhn (Costume Designer), Giselle Castro (Sound Designer), Matthew Zalinski (Properties Designer), Reneisha Jenkins (Associate Director/Associate Choreographer), Donald J. Meadows (Sound Engineer), Daryl Ritchie (Production/Company Manager)
When:
Now January 26, 2020
Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 pm;
Sundays at 7:00 pm.
Where:
Howard Street Theatre
721 Howard Street
Evanston
Tickets:
$29+
For full price tickets and information, go to Theo Ubique Theater website or call 773-347-1109
Check for Half-Price Deals from Hot Tix:
Photos by Austin Oie Photography
Note: Picture This Post reviews are excerpted by Theatre in Chicago
About the Author
Susan Lieberman is a Jeff-winning playwright, journalist, teacher and script consultant who commits most of her waking hours to Chicago theatre. Her radio drama In the Shadows aired on BBC Radio 4 last season.
Editor's Note: Click here to find more Picture This Post reviews by Susan Lieberman
