DANVILLE - Dinner-theater audiences anticipate a good meal along with an evening of entertainment when they buy their tickets to a show. But Danville Light Opera's dinner-theater production of" Working" promises to also deliver food for thought.

Based on Studs Terkel's oral history of people talking about what they do for a living, "Working" does more than give job descriptions. Both the book and the show emphasize what these workers in a variety of fields think about their occupations. Audiences see and hear the similarities between people's attitudes toward their jobs, whatever they do.

And the actors have gained insight, too.

Anna Sams, a newcomer to DLO, portrays a housewife in "Working."

"That's much different than what I do in real life," the social worker said. "But I can relate to her feelings of inadequacy. I know people who feel that way."

"My generation's term for that is stay-at-home mom," Sonnia Schroeder said. "I should know - I am one."

Schroeder, another newcomer to DLO, plays a cubicle cutie, otherwise known as an office worker, in the show

Sams reminded her, "By the end of the show she realizes how important what she does is to her family."

This type of exchange and interaction take place onstage as well as off, according to director Greg Williams.

"This whole thing is a collaborative effort," he said. "Terkel interviewed many, many people for his book. That book was translated into a musical by a team of composers, including Stephen Schwartz and James Taylor.

"The music in the show runs the gamut from gospel to blues to folk to rock.

"The actors in the show support one another in the different vignettes. They may be cast primarily in one role, but they appear in other scenes."

Sara and Henry Hunt collaborate in their marriage, but they also actively participate in several local community theater groups. For years, much of that work took place behind the scenes, but both Hunts appear onstage in "Working."

Cast as a cubicle cutie himself, Henry will appear onstage for the fourth time with DLO.

"I feel funny calling myself a veteran," he said modestly. "I never saw myself as born to be an actor. So many people have been so supportive, though."

His wife Sara, one of his chief supporters, will make her onstage debut in "Working."

"I play a book editor," she said, "and I'm really a teacher. Although I do something different for a living than my character, there are certain universal truths.

"She's in the corporate world, she plays the game, but she feels conflicted. That can relate to any job."

Williams hopes to emphasize the similarities between the characters in the show and the people in the audience in another way.

"We'll have a Power Point presentation of photos of Danville businesses displayed as background during the show," he said. "We hope this will enhance the relationship between what's happening onstage and the audience's own experiences."

FYI

Danville Light Opera presents a dinner-theater production of "Working" at 6:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday and at 12:30 p.m. Feb. 19 at Danville Area Community College's Bremer Theatre. Tickets are $26 for adults and $22 for students 18 and under. Box office hours are 2-4 p.m. today and 7-9 p.m. Monday through Wednesday at DLO Center Stage in the Village Mall. Call 431-1660 for further information.