Supermarket. In “Checkers,” Babe and two other checkers check-out and bag groceries for shoppers. Roberto, a bag boy, bags lettuce for Kate Rushton, a housewife, as he remembers his migrant worker family. He sings “Un Mejor Dia Vendra” with Spanish Workers. Kate goes home with her groceries where Conrad, the UPS deliveryman, startles her. Conrad talks about the low points of his day (being bitten by dogs) and the high points (meeting pretty housewives). Alone in her kitchen, Kate sings about her mundane tasks in “Just a Housewife.” As the lights fade on Kate, Roberta Victor, a hooker, comes on and announces she never wanted to be a housewife. She talks about turning her first trick and how women are taught to hustle. Candy Cottingham, a political fundraiser, says her work is hard because she has to separate people from their money. Candy sees herself as an entertainer while Roberta does not see her occupation as being different from someone who works on an assembly line. The lights fade on Roberta and Candy and come up on Grace working in a suitcase factory. In the song “Millwork,” Grace and her fellow Millworkers lament their boring, monotonous jobs and begin to daydream about their lost youths. At the last hour of the workday, all the workers reflect on their regrets and the lives they might have had in the song “If I Could’ve Been.” As the sun sets, Anthony Palazzo, a stone mason, wants to lay one more stone before he quits for the day. The song “The Mason” describes how a mason's work (building stone houses) lasts beyond his lifetime. As evening sets in, two truck drivers, Frank Decker and Dave, drive across the country in the song “Brother Trucker.” Frank, on a run from Milwaukee, tries to call his dispatcher but only gets an operator (Heather) instead. Heather, Sharon Atkins (a receptionist), and Enid Dubois (a telephone solicitor) talk about their lives over the phone. As dinnertime sets in at a restaurant, Delores, a waitress, turns her job of serving food into a one-woman show in the song “It’s an Art.” Then, Joe Zutty, who is retired, comes on and describes his life in the song “Joe.” He keeps busy by travelling and going to fires, like the one where the audience meets Tom, the fireman, running out of a burning building. Tom has always wanted to be a fireman. However, Maggie, who's cleaning offices at 2 a.m., has always wanted to sing and play piano. In the song “Cleaning Women,” Maggie dreams of a better life for her daughter, the next generation. Maggie leaves and the next generation comes on in the persona of Ralph Werner, a nineteen-year-old salesman who dreams of starting his own business and having his own family. In contrast, Charlie Blossom, a twenty-year-old copy boy, dreams of killing everyone at his job. Then, Mike Dillard comes back out and laments the mistakes he’s made and the lessons he hopes to pass on in the song "Fathers and Sons." The ensemble comes out, points to a building, and describes the different jobs they each have had there in "Something to Point To." The musical ends with a collective acknowledgment of the accomplishments of each of them. Revised Version (2012) This revamped version of WORKING begins with a raw stage being prepared by actors and technicians for the performance about to begin. It starts on Monday morning as the actors introduce their characters and prepare for their day ("All The Livelong Day"). Mike Dillard, an ironworker, is the first we meet as he shares the pride of his manual labor, and his frustrations in the lack of recognition he receives for his simple yet important work. Meanwhile in the land of office cubicles, Amanda McKenny, a project manager at a major business, and several other employees whose personalities are confined to their cubicles, comment on what they do to pass the time of their boring jobs. Amanda, however has aspirations bigger than her current job, and shows her determination to work her way up through the ropes. Next, Freddy Rodriguez, a fast food worker who is thrilled when he gets to deliver food and receive tips ("Delivery") talks of his hopes of saving enough money to one day live out his dreams. Rex Winship, a hedge fund manager and Amanda's boss, tells us of his enjoyment in leadership and the attraction of women to
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