Showtunes Theatre to Present Final Concert Musical of 16th Season, WORKING

Showtunes Theatre Company is thrilled to announce the final concert musical of their 16th season, WORKING.

Thirteen of Seattle's most talented musical theatre performers will immerse themselves in Studs Terkel's oral histories of the working class compositions for two performances, May 7 at 8pm and May 8 at 2pm.

Benaroya Hall's acoustically rich Illsley Ball Nordstrom Recital Hall is the perfect venue for director Timothy Piggee and music director Mark Rabe to present this powerful contemporary score and dramatic book that was nominated for six Tony awards in 1978.

Showtunes Theatre Company will present the new, revised 2012 version of WORKING that includes a streamlined book, updated lyrics and two songs added by Tony Award- and recent Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Lin-Manuel Miranda. Miranda's "A Very Good Day" and "Delivery" complement the music Stephen Schwartz, Craig Carnelia, Mary Rodgers and James Taylor created for the original Broadway run. The Showtunes concert version, which includes 2012 updates and three songs from the 1978 version that were removed for the Chicago revival, has never been presented on stage before. WORKING presents a different look at the seemingly humdrum lives of everyday people and reveals a myriad variety of hopes, aspirations and dreams. From "Millworker" to "The Mason" to "Just A Housewife," the stories from everyday Americans working to get by resonate with today's audiences.

Live musicians join a talented cast (performing "on book") that includes: Corinna Lapid Munter, Cheryl Massey-Peters, Frances Leah King, Alexandria Henderson, Iris Elton, Anne Allgood, John X. Deveney, Nick Clawson, Allan Barlow, Matt Giles, Dominic Micheal Lewis, J Reese, and Nicholas Ponting.

The Sunday May 8 matinee performance will include a special round of applause for all the hard-working mothers in the audience.

Single tickets ($21-$46) are available now over the phone (206.215.4747) online (www.showtunestheatre.org), via mail (download a subscription form at www.showtunestheatre.org and mail it in) or in person at the Benaroya Hall Ticket Office on the corner of Third Avenue and Union Street. Ticket Office hours are Monday through Friday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.; and Saturday, 1 p.m.-6 p.m.

SHOWTUNES Theatre Company For the Love of Musicals! Based in Seattle and founded in 1999, SHOWTUNES creates concert versions of the many unsung American musical theater gems. Led by Matt Wolfe (Artistic Director) and company founder Maggie Stenson Pehrson (Executive Producer), the company currently presents a three-concert season at Seattle's stunning Benaroya Hall. Pulling from the vast array of musical theatre talent in the area, SHOWTUNES has staged 30 productions to date.