THE PAJAMA GAME
The concept for The Pajama Game was adapted from the book 7 1/2 Cents, originally written by Richard Bissell. Bissell collaborated with stage director George Abbott to conceive a musical adaptation for the work, and in 1954, with the help of the composer/lyricist team of Richard Adler & Jerry Ross, The Pajama Game held its premiere at the Saint James Theatre in New York City.
Richard Adler & Jerry Ross had burst onto the Broadway music scene in 1953 by writing a famous number for Tony Bennett called "Rags to Riches". They were young protégés of Frank Loesser (Guys and Dolls), who mentored them and even helped them pen some of the music to The Pajama Game without taking credit. A lover of classic musicals may notice Loesser's influence through the songs "There Once Was a Woman" and "A New Town Is a Blue Town." After The Pajama Game and Damn Yankees (1955), Jerry Ross passed away from lung disease, and Adler never achieved quite the same level of fame after Ross's passing.
The choreography was originally designed for Jerome Robbins (Fiddler on the Roof, West Side Story). But Robbins declined the role, offering instead to be a supervisor for a new recommend: Bob Fosse. Fosse, a successful Broadway actor and dancer at the time, incorporated his now-signature style on the show: jazz hands, turned-in knees, shuffles, and rolled shoulders. Steam Heat is an iconic example of Fosse's work.
The show launched the career of actress Shirley MacLaine (Sweet Charity, Terms of Endearment). Two weeks into the production, Carol Haney broke her ankle and MacLain filled in for her with no chance to rehearse beforehand. Her performance would gather the interest of Hollywood producers and land her a starring role in Alfred Hitchcock's The Trouble With Harry (1955).
The Pajama Game concluded its show run with 1,063 performances over two different venues, which would cement the show's place in Broadway history. Its run received three TONY awards: Best Musical, Best Choreography, and Best Supporting Actress: Carol Haney. The show's success would later beget a motion picture (1957; John Raitt, Doris Day) and multiple revivals.
AZMTO's performance acknowledges the late Janis Paige, who originally played Babe Williams in the show and passed in early June at the age of 101.
