Workin' It Out!
2009 · Buena Vista Farms
Workin' It Out! is a musical comedy by Ken Bradbury and Roger Wainwright that turned one of the area's hottest high school rivalries on its head. For this 2009 production, the theatre departments of Routt Catholic and Triopia — joined by a student from Westfair Academy — came together on the same side of the field. As Bradbury noted at the time, the show's home, Buena Vista Farms, sat exactly the same distance, seven miles, from each school. Actors auditioned in February and spent the next six or seven weeks rotating rehearsals between the two schools until, as several cast members put it, they kept forgetting who came from where: "It's like we're all one."
The story follows two children, Julia Kennedy and Robby Bailey, from their squalling, simultaneous births through kindergarten milk breaks, junior-high writing assignments, and all the awkward stations of growing up — narrated throughout by London and Taylor. Julia is forever excited and Robby forever terrified as they wrestle with the same enormous question: what is the purpose of life? In Act II, with the help of the irrepressible Herbie Feingold and his ever-available plane tickets, the search goes global, carrying the trio through a dragon-fighting fantasy, a disco, and a whirlwind of world dances — Spanish, Indian, and Irish — in a journey that is as much about feet and rhythm as it is about answers. Bookended by a "Stomp"-style opening of dancing feet in pools of light, the show stomps, struts, and dances its way toward the conclusion that the meaning of life is found in the working-it-out together.
In his director's note, Bradbury reflected that real rivalries exist only between programs that are both "pretty darned good at what they do," and hoped the audience might leave thinking not "Yea, Routt!" or "Go, Big Blue!" but simply "Way to go, kids."
Musical Numbers
Act I
- Opening Stomp — The Stomp Dancers
- Hello World! — Julia and Robby
- Suckin' It Up — The Kindergarten Crew
- Textin' — Julia and the Texters
- Get Down and Dribble — London, Taylor, and the Dribblers
- Stress! — Julia and the Stressed Mess
- Nothin' Worthwhile is Ever Easy — London and Taylor
Act II
- Opening Stomp — The Stomp Dancers
- Draggin' Your Kimono — The Dragon Dancers
- How Cool Are You? — Biff & the Ensemble
- Saturday Night Feingold — London, Herbie & the Dancers
- I Remember — Mrs. Kennedy & Mrs. Bailey
- Viva Espana! — The Spanish Dancers
- Kama Sutra, Baby — The Dancers of India
- Sure and B'Gorra! — The Dancers of Dublin
- Life's No Mystery! — Julia and Robby
- Workin' It Out — The Ensemble
Cast
- Julia Kennedy, the girl — Courtney Phillips
- Robby Bailey, the boy — Phillip Whited
- Herbie Feingold — Brennan Vahle
- London, narrator — Carrie Greening
- Taylor, narrator — Jaymee Toler
- Mrs. Florence Kennedy — Catherine Smith
- Mr. Arthur Kennedy — Joe Strattman
- Mr. Harold Bailey — Brock Gwaltney
- Mrs. Jean Bailey — Katherine Waymire
- Miss Shannon / Ensemble — Autumn Brown
- Reese / Mayor Daley / Excalibur — Billie Smith
- Morgan / Dragon Fighter — Hans Kleinschmidt
- Kennedy / Rolf / Lancelot — Kyle Cummings
- Parker / Coach Knight — Wes Burton
- Kasey / Shea / Dragon — Michael Roegge
- Landon / Prime Minister / Game Show Father — Patrick Doyle
- Eric / Game Show Contestant — Alex Potter
- Prabah / Dragon Dancer — Jessica Gomer
- Buffy / The Poobah / Featured Dancer — Brianna Klein
- Margie / Drew / Paige Turner — Annie Schone
- Emerson / Kasey / Dancer — Brynna Welsh
- Game Show Mom / Texter — Kim Troxell
- Little Red Riding Hood / Irish Dancer — Katie Taylor
- Game Show Girl / Kindergartener — Brittany Carls
Production Notes
- Written by: Ken Bradbury and Roger Wainwright
- Directed by: Ken Bradbury
- Performances: April 15–18, 2009, with dinner served at 5:30 p.m. and a 7:30 p.m. curtain
- Venue: Buena Vista Farms — seating limited to 250 per night, with an optional pre-show roast beef buffet catered by Classee Catering
- A joint production of Routt Catholic, Triopia, and Westfair Academy, believed to be the first such tri-school collaboration
- Choreography was led by "Jess," with Roger Wainwright supplying the music; the cast warmed up nightly with improv and a prayer group that several seniors named among their fondest memories of the run.
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