Working Localised

The third-year Bachelor of Musical Theatre students at Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University have found a new home at QPAC, and the intimate Cremorne Theatre was the perfect space to meet this year’s up-and-coming stage stars in their own version of Working. The musical is based on Studs Terkel’s best-selling book of interviews with American workers in Chicago in the mid-1970s. The format is an engaging mix of mainly monologues that segue into solo songs, with some duologues and duets, spiced up with solid choreography by John Clarke.

Director Elise Greig and Musical Director Heidi Loveland have put together a highly entertaining show with a talented group. And while these students are more than adept at the US accents so essential to today’s musical world, thankfully, they have localised the script and songs, basing their stories and accents firmly in Queensland in the here and now. Some students – Ben Peters, Aimee Jones, Izzi Kratz, Charlotte Page, Mackinley Brown, Meg Hargraves, Isabella Gaskin, Oliver Clisdell, Benjamin Richards, Sophie Gulloch, Gemma Dandie, Natasha Dyson, and Juliette Milne – conducted their own interviews and wrote monologues based on today’s working lives, including a telecoms rigger, kindergarten teacher, tattoo artist, mother, stonemason, bartender, waitress, and an architect. A video/photo backdrop element worked well to highlight characters or elements of work, but sometimes took attention away from the main performer.

The themes of modern working life are explored in song, with contributions by Stephen Schwartz, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Susan Birkenhead and Mary Rodgers, James Taylor, and Craig Carnelia, who penned the final number, ‘Something to Point To’, which ties everything up neatly about leaving your mark on the world through the legacy of your work: a satisfying showstopper for the full company.

The pieces provide a great showcase for this talented ensemble of more than 20 performers. And there were some very strong solos, all accompanied by a live band: Abigail Chardirchi on drums, Madeleine Crosby on violin, Regan Hickey on bass, Heidi Loveland on keys, Ben Peters on Alto Sax, and Jeremy Stafford on guitar.

My only criticism of the format is that sometimes there was no space for the audience to show their appreciation for an individual song – the transition to the next monologue came too soon. That was a shame as every performer deserved their round of applause from an enthusiastic crowd. Actually, it is impossible to single out any one performer, as the group is so strong. I can picture each and every one of the cast in numerous musical theatre roles as they move forward into the professional world of work later this year. You can catch the musical theatre graduates in Cry Baby in August and Urinetown in November 2023.

Find out more: queenslandconservatorium.com.au

Beth Keehn

Photographer: Nick Morrissey