Bayou City Concert Musicals to Present THE PAJAMA GAME at Heinen Theatre, 9/12-15

Bayou City Concert Musicals will present the classic musical comedy, The Pajama Game, for five performances at the Heinen Theatre, 3517 Austin, September 12-15, 2013. The Thursday performance (9-12) will begin at 7:30 p.m. with the Friday (9-13) and Saturday (9-14) performances beginning at 8:00 p.m. There will be two performances on Sunday (9-15), a matinee at 2:00 p.m. and an evening performance at 7:30 p.m.

The Pajama Game premiered on Broadway on May 13, 1954 and ran for 1063 performances. The music and lyrics were from the team of Richard Adler and Jerry Ross, and the book was written by George Abbott and Richard Bissell, based on Bissell's novel "7 ½¢." The original Broadway production won three Tony Awards: Best Musical, Best Featured Actress in a Musical (Carol Haney) and Best Choreography (an up and coming choreographer named Bob Fosse). The 2006 revival, starring Harry Connick, Jr. and Kelli O'Hara, picked up two Tony Awards, including Best Revival of a Musical.

The Pajama Game was made into a 1957 film starring Doris Day and John Raitt, along with the rest of the original Broadway cast. The film remains one of the most popular movie musicals of all time.

The Pajama Game is a popular choice for high school, university, and community theatre groups, but it has not seen a professional production in Houston since TUTS staged it in 1975, nearly 40 years ago.

The Pajama Game is set in an Iowa pajama factory, where the union, led by Prez (Gerald Guidry), is demanding a 7½¢ an hour raise from the factory's tightwad owner (John Raley). When a new superintendent (Cole Ryden) arrives on the scene, the young head of the grievance committee (Beth Lazarou) is smitten immediately. The rocky road to romance is played out against the wage battle and the somewhat stormy romantic adventures of the factory's obsessively jealous time study man (Jon L. Egging) and the owner's secretary (Jennifer Gilbert). Susan Shofner holds the story and the factory together as the superintendent's secretary, Mabel.

The BCCM production will be directed by BCCM Artistic Director Paul Hope. Mitchell Greco will co-direct with Michael Mertz as musical director. Melissa Pritchett is the prime choreographer, with special choreography for "Steam Heat" (based on Fosse's original) by Krissy Richmond. Dr. Dominique Røyem will conduct the orchestra.

The Pajama Game tickets are available by phone at 713-465-6484 or on-line at www.bayoucityconcertmusicals.org. Single ticket prices range from $50 to $25.

Proceeds from Bayou City Concert Musicals' production of The Pajama Game will benefit the Tim Harris Memorial Fund, which supports local musicians who have suffered catastrophic illness or injury.

Bayou City Concert Musicals is funded in part by grants from the Cullen Trust for the Performing Arts and the City of Houston through the Houston Arts Alliance.

Photo by: Dalton DeHart for Bayou City Concert Musicals.

To post a comment, you must register and login.