THEATER REVIEW : ‘WORKING’ IS A FEEL-GOOD PRODUCTION

Most people are workers, and most workers don’t get credit for what they do. Who made the shoes you’re wearing? Who put the steel in your building, the lettuce on your table, the paper on your doorstep?

Studs Terkel turned the story of those unsung heroes into a best-selling book, “Working.” Stephen Schwartz and Nina Faso turned the book into a Broadway musical. Now the International Company of United States International University is presenting its version of “Working” at The Theatre in Old Town, through Feb. 22.

The show portrays a working day and evening that starts at 7 a.m. on a Monday. The cast takes on different parts in a series of vignettes. The opening song, “All the Livelong Day,” based on Walt Whitman’s “I Hear America Singing,” sets the tone:

I hear . . .

The carpenter . . .

The mason . . .

The boatman . . .

The shoemaker . . .

The mother . . .

The young wife . . .

Each singing what belongs to him or her and to none else,

Singing with open mouths their strong melodious songs.

This and the other numbers allow the company to show off their own melodious voices, which don’t disappoint. Particularly fine are Glenn Carson as the parking lot attendant who is a wizard with cars, Bob Mack as the meter man who likes to walk quietly behind timid housewives and then frighten them half to death, Heather Govenides as the wistful but proud “Just a Housewife” and Ken Ross as the lonely, retired “Joe.”

If the others weren’t enough, Susan Mosher as the funny, sassy waitress for whom waitressing is an art (although she’s “not yet Michelangelo”) will make it hard to take that person who hands you the check for granted ever again.

The scenic design by John Berger--who also did a splendid job on the lighting--is inspired. The stage is kept big and spacious, and a series of boxes are rearranged from scene to scene into desks for a schoolroom, tables for a factory, stones mortared together for a wall and even trucks--with added headlights.

Perhaps the most moving transformation is the one from checkout stands in a supermarket to crates in a field where migrant workers are hunched over, sweating, picking vegetables for that same store and many others.

The costumes by Juan Lopez suggest more than a dozen different “types” with a minimum of fuss. Bonnie Johnston’s choreography is, by turns, dramatic and fun.

The vocal direction by Richard Allan, who also sings the touching “Fathers and Sons” song, is an aural pleasure. Allan and the musical director, Kerry Duse, have wonderful material to work with in the songs by Schwartz, Craig Carnelia, Micki Grant, Mary Rodgers, Susan Birkenhead and James Taylor. With the help of the cast and the talented musicians, they do justice to them.

David Larson’s direction is deft and sure. There are a lot of quick scene changes and a lot of people to move on and off stage in a hurry, but he manages to make the transitions look smooth and easy.

The only weak link in an otherwise fine production is an attempt to “Chorus Line” the show by showing the “work” the company does to put on “Working.” It’s a nice idea, but there’s not enough about the actors to be interesting, just enough to be dramatically distracting. Who wants to see the stage manager signal for the lights to go on when instead we could have magic?

“Working” is a feel-good kind of musical. You won’t go out pondering the meaning of life, but you will go out with a song and a little more appreciation for the people who, invisibly, are helping you every day--and maybe even for yourself.

“WORKING” From the book by Studs Terkel. Adapted by Stephen Schwartz and Nina Faso. Songs by Craig Carnelia, Micki Grant, Mary Rodgers, Susan Birkenhead, Stephen Schwartz and James Taylor. Dance music by Michele Brourman. Director, David Larson. Choreographer, Bonnie Johnston. Musical director, Kerry Duse. Vocal director, Richard Allan. Scenic and lighting design, John Berger. Costume design, Juan Lopez. Stage manager, Janet Brudnicki. Musicians, Robert Cartwright, guitar; Bill Andrews, bass; Jeff Dalrymple, percussion; Kerry Duse, piano. With Louis Seitchik, Glenn Carson, Susan Mosher, Tracy Hughes, Ken Ross, Michel Moore, Richard Allan, Lisa Henderson, Walter Jones, J. Patrick Reese, Bob Mack, Heather Govenides, Amy Gilliom, Roberta Turner, Jeff Hartvigsen, William Doyle, Michael Berry, Jamie Dawn Gangi, Andrea Griffith, Katherine S. Todd, David Lackey and Michael Berry. At 8 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday; Saturday-Sunday matinees at 2. Closes Feb. 22. At The Theatre in Old Town, 4040 Twiggs St., San Diego.