You won’t sleep through The Pajama Game at 42nd Street Moon
A review by Carol Canter with photos by Ben Krantz.
This is the final weekend to catch 42nd Street Moon’s exuberant production of The Pajama Game and tickets are going fast. The good news is a Pay-What-You-Can final performance has been added Sunday, June 19 at 7:30pm ($15-$50). My advice to theater lovers — get your tickets now for a joyful musical with an excellent cast, terrific choreography, amazing singing, good laughs and even a labor dispute in which romance saves the day.
As a kid at summer camp who played a very minor role in a production of The Pajama Game, I forgot the story but remembered every word of the score with legendary hit songs as achingly lyrical as “Hey There”(“You with the stars in your eyes”), as charmingly funny as “There Once was a Man,”(“Who loved a woman …”), and as mock sexy as “Steam Heat,” and “Hernando’s Hideaway.”
Actress, dancer and choreographer Renee DeWeese pays tribute to the original work of Bob Fosse in The Pajama Game, his first Broadway musical in 1954.
Of course, while we root for workers to get their “Seven-And-A-Half-Cents” an hour raise, the true magnetism of The Pajama Game is the budding romance between “labor and management.” It’s carried off to perfection by the fine performances of Ben Jones playing new shop superintendent Sid Sorokin, and Ashley Garlick playing Babe Williams, feisty head of the grievance committee. Things build from Babe’s musical denial to her co-workers as she sings, “I’m Not at All in Love,” to the poignant solo by Sid, whose virtuoso rendition of “Hey There” brought the audience to a frenzy of applause, and many to tears.
Jones has appeared with great American Symphony Orchestras, sharing the spotlight with the likes of Michael Tilson Thomas, Frederica von Stade, and Michael Morgan, and worldwide with the Royal Concertgebouw and the State Opera of Prague. Ashley Garlick is an accomplished costume designer as well as actress and singer, and the tug-of-war chemistry with Jones works like a charm.
In fact, the entire cast turned in impressive performances, affirming the importance of small theater companies, the need to support them, and our good fortune to have 42nd Street Moon in San Francisco.
*****
WHAT: 42nd Street Moon’s presents World Premiere of Revised Tony Award-winning “Best Musical” THE PAJAMA GAME
WHEN: June 2–19, 2022
Friday 8:00 p.m.; Saturday 6:00 p.m.; Sunday 3:00 p.m.and 7:30p.m.
WHERE: Gateway Theatre, 215 Jackson St, San Francisco, CA 94111.
RUNNING TIME: Two hours and thirty minutes, including one intermission.
TICKETS: $35 — $76 and may be purchased online at 42ndstmoon.org/the-pajama-game or by calling (415) 255–8207.
THE TEAM:
Company: The cast of THE PAJAMA GAME will feature Ben Jones as “Sid,” Ashley Garlick* as “Babe,” Nick Nakashima as “Hines,” Renee DeWeese as “Gladys,” Daniel Thomas* as “Prez,” Tracy Camp* as “Mabel,” Jesse Caldwell* as “Hasler” and “Pop,” Katherine Stein* as “Mae,” Tiana Paulding as “Brenda,” Nicole Tung* as “Sandra,” James Mayagoitia as “Charley,” Tony Conaty* as “Joe,” Nicholas Yenson* as “Max” and Tosca Maltzman as “Poopsie.”
Music and Lyrics by: Richard Adler and Jerry Ross
Book by: George Abbott and Richard Bissell
Additional Script Revisions by: Annie Potter
Based on the Novel “7½ Cents” by: Richard Bissell
Directed by: Becky Potter
Music Director: Armando Fox
Choreographed by: Renee DeWeese
Associate Choreographer: Sarah Schori
Scenic Designer: Mark Mendelson
Costume Designer: Katie Dowse
Stage Manager: Tanya Telson*
*Member of Actors’ Equity Association, the union of professional actors and stage managers.
+Member of United Scenic Artists.
