The Department of Theatre and Speech concludes the 2009-10 season with the classic American musical The Pajama Game. The show will run April 2, 3, 7, 8, 9, 10—all shows begin at 7:30 p.m. in the Dorothy Hackett Ward Theatre, UTC Fine Arts Center, corner of Vine and Palmetto Streets.
The Pajama Game won the 1955 Tony award for Best Musical. More than fifty years later, it won the 2006 Tony for Best Revival of a Musical, proving the enduring appeal of this classic American Musical.
Set in 1954 in a Cedar Rapids, Iowa, pajama factory, the musical follows the journey of Babe Williams and Sid Sorokin, two employees in the Sleep Tite Pajama Factory. Babe, the head of the union’s Grievance Committee, and Sid, the factory’s new foreman, must negotiate a labor dispute and a burgeoning romantic relationship at the same time. Add to this, the antics of other wacky characters and some beautiful, fun and timeless music, such as the songs “Steam Heat,” “Hey There,” and “Hernando’s Hideaway,” and you have a musical that presents a serious message about worker’s rights and corporate greed while never forgetting to entertain.
“The play explodes with a sense of fun and old-fashioned theatricality,” says director and UTC theatre professor Steve Ray. “It’ll entertain your socks off in the way only Golden Age musicals can. Yet, there are also important themes being explored. Besides being a statement against the abuse of workers, The Pajama Game is also a snap shot of the way women in the workplace were perceived in the 1950s. This adds another level of theme and comedy to a contemporary production of this play, much like what is happening in the television series Mad Men.”
Besides Ray, the creative team includes musical direction by Suzanne Carter, scenic design by Gaye Jeffers, costume design by Sydney Roberts, lighting design and technical direction by John Burgess and choreography by Donna Massari of the Massari-Wood Dance Center.
Cast members include: Megan Cobb, Brooke Cunningham, Savannah Daigle, Jessica Dempsey, Marquef Donald, Matthew Gonzalez, Adena Grace, Michael Haggerty, Jamie Harkin, Blake Harris, Thom Hawtin, Sean Henon, Stephanie Hirsh, Tiffany Kelly, Tyler Mascia, Maggie McNulty, John Moser, Will Park, Nicole Pavol, Daniel Pound, Lauren Presson, Aiden Smith, Kenneth Stewart, Jaraious Sykes, Emily White, Alex Whittle
For more information, please contact the UTC Theatre Department at 425-4374.
