Reviewed by Judy Richter
Back in the early 1950s, a raise
of 7 1/2 cents an hour was a lot of money, especially for factory workers. A
lot has changed since then, but despite some of its datedness, "The
Pajama Game"
can still resonate with modern audiences. Foothill Music Theatre makes that point clear in its
lively production directed by Jay Manley.
Part
of the reason for the 1954 show's success is its music and lyrics by Richard
Adler and Jerry
Ross. Songs like
"Hey There,"
I Love You More,"
"Steam Heat"
and "Hernando's Hideaway" became hits on their own. Much of the reason for
FMT's success with the show comes from a talented cast with romantic leads with
good onstage chemistry and a backup team of talented dancers and comic actors.
With
a book by George Abbott and Richard Bissell, based on Bissell's novel, "7 1/2 Cents," the plot is fairly
formulaic. Boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy and girl get back together. In
this case, the boy, or man, is Sid Sorokin (David Sattler), newly hired superintendent of
the Sleep-Tite pajama factory in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The girl, or woman, is
Babe Williams (Sarah Aili), a factory worker and head of the union grievance
committee. Although there's an immediate attraction between them, Babe tries to
keep Sid at arm's length because they're on opposite sides in contract
negotiations. The workers are threatening to strike if the company president,
the blustering, Joe McCarthy-admiring Mr. Hasler (Todd Wright), doesn't give the workers a
raise of 7 1/2 cents an hour. Nevertheless, Sid and Babe become an item until a
complication at the end of Act 1.
Sattler
and Aili make a great couple. Both are good singers, although Aili sometimes
veers from legit singing style into a country-western twang. There's solid
comic backup from Doug Baird as Vernon Hines, a time-study man; Karen DeHart as Gladys Hopkins, Mr. Hasler's
secretary and Vernon's love interest; Linda Piccone as Mabel, Sid's secretary; Michael
Rhone as
"Prez," a lecher and union president; and Katerie McRae as Mae, who hankers after
"Prez".
Katie
O'Bryon is
responsible for the choreography, evoking the original Broadway production's
choreographer, Bob Fosse, in "Steam Heat." The flexible set design is by Joe
Ragey with
lighting by Kurt Landisman and sound by Andrew C. Heller. Janis Bergmann's costumes are colorful but not
quite in keeping with styles of the time. Mark Hanson is musical director.
"The
Pajama Game" may rank among the second tier of American musicals, but it
does recall a time when basic consumer products were still made in the USA. It
also looks ahead by making Babe a strong leader as well as an attractive,
caring woman.