BWW Reviews: Weathervane Wins THE PAJAMA GAME

The Weathervane Playhouse in Newark has taken a shotgun approach to the musicals it is presenting this summer. The theater company opened its summer season with RENT, the edgy rock musical by Jonathan Larson. Then it staged with THE PAJAMA GAME, a light-hearted musical by Richard Alder and Jerry Ross, as its second musical of the season.

The latter musical opened July 2 and will close out its run on July 7-11 at the Playhouse (100 Price Road in Newark).

Directed by Valerie Accetta with musical direction by Kevin Wines, THE PAJAMA GAME is a labor union love story set in the Sleep-Tite Pajama Factory. Union Grievance leader Babe Williams (played by the talented Molly Griggs) and new factory superintendent Sid Sorokin (Clay Singer) fall in love but soon find themselves on opposite sides of a labor dispute as factory workers prepare to strike for a 7 ½ cent increase to their hourly wages.

THE PAJAMA GAME was the second collaboration of Adler and Ross with their third being DAMN YANKEES. THE PAJAMA GAME won Tony Awards for choreography (Bob Fosse), best performance by a female actress (Carol Haney) and best musical in 1955. Its 2006 revival, which starred Harry Connick Jr. and Kelli O'Hara, also captured Tonys for best revival of a musical and best choreography.

The two-act musical is from what is called "the Golden Age of musicals" and at times it really shows its age spots and wrinkles. The show's situations and stereotypes of men and women in workplace often resemble, at best, a comedic, musical version of MAD MEN or, at worst, a sexual harassment training video set to music. If it were set in the 2000s, the show would end with the antics of the skirt chasing supervisors and the man-hungry nine-to-fivers of the Sleep-Tite Pajama Factory sending their human resource manager to a sanitarium.

If the audience can overlook that premise, they will be treated some memorable performances. Griggs has that rare combination of solid acting skills pared with a beautiful voice. She creates a palatable tension and chemistry with Singer in songs like "There Once Was a Man" and "Small Talk."

Theirs is not the only love story in the musical. Vernon Hines (Layne Roate), the time-obsessed efficiency expert, is also smitten with the factory president's attractive secretary Gladys Hotchkiss (Demi Ahlert). Roate, who played the sullen Mark Cohen in RENT, shows his range with his goofy portrayal of Hines in songs like "Racing With The Clock" and "Think Of The Time I Save."

Despite being married, Prez (Patrick Clements), the union representative, is also in love ... with nearly every other female he encounters. During a drunken company picnic "Once-A-Year Day," he finally ends up with Mae (Kayla Walsh).

Seth Chin-Parker (Myron Hasler), Barbe Helwig (Mabel), E.J. King (Joe) and Caylie Newcom (Poopsie) head up a talented cast. William Blount (drums), Douglas Lear (trombone), Melanie Richards (reeds), Cole Rumora (bass), John Vermeulen (reeds) and Joe Watkins (trumpet) do a wonderful job of keeping the score on track.

The show's best number, "7 ½ Cents," shows the effect of a less than a dime pay increase has over the lifetime of the workers. In a way it is a good analogy of the show. While THE PAJAMA GAME may not have the powerful catalogue of some of the other musicals, the sum of the Weathervane Playhouse cast's performances added up to a solid show.

Weathervane Playhouse presents THE PAJAMA GAME 8 p.m. July 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11. Call 740-366-4616 for information.

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