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News, Notes and Next from Arizona Theatre Company
Winter 2007
Volume XXI - No. 2
THE PAJAMA GAME
Nothing’s Quite the Same as the….
The History of The Pajama Game
By David Morden
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The Pajama Game holds a very special place in the history of Musical Comedy. Though it’s not a classic of massive proportions like Oklahoma or Kiss Me, Kate, or a groundbreaking maverick like Hair or Sweeney Todd, it does occupy its own special place in the overall scheme of musical theatre in America – not to mention in the hearts and memories of a multitude of theatergoers. Based on a popular novel of the 1950s by Richard Bissell entitled 7½ Cents, it tells the story of love triumphing over union politics in a pajama factory in Cedar Rapids, |
Iowa. More importantly, though, The Pajama Game launched the careers of some of the American theatre’s greatest artists.
The Pajama Game opened on May 13, 1954 and ran for 1,063 performances. It won Tony Awards for Best Musical, Best Supporting Actress and Best Choreography, which was created by a young up-and- |
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coming Bob Fosse. Among the original producers of the show was Harold Prince, legendary producer and director of a multitude of classic Broadway hits. Frank Loesser was originally recommended to write the score, but he deferred to two of his protégés, Richard Adler and Jerry Ross, who had already scored some hits in Broadway revues of that time. The two men worked as a team, writing both music and lyrics and completed The Pajama Game score in a mere five weeks. John Raitt, who had made his mark on Broadway as Billy Bigelow, the lead character in Carousel, landed the role of Sid Sorokin, factory supervisor and conflicted love interest. The role of Babe Williams went to Janis Paige, a relative newcomer to Broadway. The cast also included popular song-and-dance man Eddie Foy, Jr. and Carol Haney, |
| who won a Tony for her performance as Gladys. Other notable cast members included Charlotte Rae, whose role was cut in rehearsals for the production, and Shirley MacLaine, who danced in the chorus and understudied the role of Gladys. Ms. Haney broke her ankle shortly into the run of the show and Shirley MacLaine ended up performing the role for several months. Director/producer Hal B. Wallis was an audience member at one of MacLaine’s performances, and subsequently signed her as a contract player for Paramount Pictures. |
The Pajama Game was a Broadway hit and received unanimously good reviews for the original production. The creative team of George Abbott (director), Richard Adler, Jerry Ross, Bob Fosse and producers Harold Prince, Robert E. Griffith and Frederick Brisson subsequently went on to assemble another musical-theatre classic, Damn Yankees.
Sadly, Jerry Ross passed away in November, 1955 at the age of 29. Richard Bissell wrote a novel suggested by his experiences on Broadway, Say, Darling, which he then co-adapted back into a Broadway comedy with songs.
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The Pajama Game was revived on Broadway in 1973, directed by one of the co-directors of the original production, George Abbott. This rendition of the musical featured a new twist – interracial romance. The leads were played by Hal Linden (who later became famous as TV’s Barney Miller) and Barbara McNair, with the legendary Cab Calloway playing the role of Hines. The revival, alas, was not a success.
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The second Broadway revival in 2006, however, was a hit, due in large part to the chemistry of the two leading actors, Kelli O’Hara and Harry Connick, Jr., making his Broadway debut. Michael McKean (of This is Spinal Tap and Best in Show fame) took on the comic role of Hines this time around. The production was choreographed and directed by Kathleen Marshall, perhaps best known for her choreography of the 1999 revival of Kiss Me, Kate. This production was nominated for nine Tony Awards and won for Best Revival of a Musical and Best Choreography.
Original costume sketches for Arizona Theatre Company's The Pajama Game by Lindsay W. Davis. |
SPECIAL BONUS!
Click here to see video clips of the stars of the original 1954 production!
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COME TO THE PLAY IN YOUR PJs!
Show off your chic (and comfy) pajamas in high style at
THE PAJAMA GAME!
Click here for some fashion ideas! |
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I. Michael and Beth Kasser |
