Xavier’s spring musical, Working, is one of most unique performances Xavier has ever done. Unlike The Little Mermaid, Mary Poppins, and In the Heights, this musical did not have a main character and instead highlighted individual American workers. The hour and a half long show did not include an intermission, which is traditional in most musical theater shows. Also, all 30 students in the cast stayed on stage throughout the entire show and participated in every moment of the production. All cast members had their opportunity to show off their skills in monologues and solo songs.

The characters included workers such as: a waitress, carpenter, housewife, maid, a businessman and many more. This specific musical portrayed the importance of workers in America, hence the title Working, and the necessity to remember all those that provide so much for every community. It focused on the common American workers and their hopes, dreams, disappointments and desires.

Johnny Robaina, a senior at Brophy, who played the ironworker, said that, “This show was different in that the subject matter was more true to life than a lot of previous shows. We were dealing with working Americans and their lives, as opposed to talking animals or fairy tales or whatever else.” Robaina went on to say that, “It was important to me to try to be as realistic as possible with my character because he represented actual human beings and their struggles. This was an interesting change of pace because there was this sense of increased responsibility to be truthful and not over-exaggerate anything.”

The music was written by a variety of well known writers such as James Taylor, Lin Manuel Miranda, and Stephen Schwartz. Working was actually based on a book written by Studs Terkel. The show used most of the exact words and interviews from the working Americans in the book. The musical opened on Broadway on Mar 14, 1978 and had a short run, but the show became well known for many regional theaters.

Senior Lily Castle portrayed the housewife in the show and explained that she “loved portraying the housewife because my mom is a stay at home mom. When I got cast as this part it generated a lot of valuable conversations that I never would have had with her had I not received this part. The show has allowed me to be much more appreciative of my own mother and the amount of work she does and sacrifices she makes that frequently goes unnoticed.”

This particular show was a very special experience for seniors because it was their last high school show and the Xavier theater community made every moment special for every student during this beautiful production.