| Thank goodness for the Production
Company! With the legit houses of Melbourne dark, we are lucky to have
at least one musical company giving work to professional actors,
directors and designers as well as providing fantastic entertainment
for musical fans. (Not that there isn’t a world of brilliant musical
performances throughout the Melbourne amateur theatre scene but there
is something special about seeing a professional show!)
With The Pajama Game, TPC have fulfilled their mission to bring
back rarely performed shows. Not seen in Melbourne since 1957, Pajama
Game has been brought vividly back to life by a large, hard-working
cast and a production team with an eye for detail. |
With period shows such as this where the sexual politics are quite out
of date with modern practices (How To Succeed In Business Without
Really Trying is another example that comes to mind), there is a
choice for the director to make – either have the cast perform the
whole show tongue-in-cheek with a knowing wink to the audience or have
them immerse themselves in the period and act in accordance with the
time being portrayed. Terrence O’Connell chose the latter and has
succeeded in creating a charming world where factory workers thrill
over a workplace romance and go to any lengths for their
seven-and-a-half-cents raise.
The large ensemble are perfect in their commitment to the look and
actions of the period (1950s). Special mentions go to |
Ian Stenlake (Sid) and Pippa
Grandison (Babe)
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| Anna Burgess as the breathy dumb blonde and TPC
mainstay Rod Waterworth in a well-deserved cameo. Effort had clearly
been put into developing characters within the ensemble and these came
across very clearly, adding to the colour of the story. The chorus
were well served with three sets of costumes, not to mention a fourth
set for the fabulous pyjama fashion parade finale – which featured a
fun uncredited cameo from Melbourne’s own ‘pajama’ king Peter
Alexander (generous sponsor of the production).
Having recently been enjoying the cd of the Tony winning 2006
Broadway revival cast of The Pajama Game starring Harry Connick Jr, I
was concerned that my expectations for the music would be too high.
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Rachael Beck (Gladys), Peter
Olsen and Sean McGrath performing Steam Heat
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These concerns were swept away from the first notes of the
overture, as conducted by the highly talented and experienced Peter
Casey. With Annie Get Your Gun (2004) and Kiss Me, Kate (2005), TPC
had been able to use the new orchestrations from the recent Broadway
revivals of these shows. The Pajama Game revival was too recent for
them to acquire the new orchestrations. The original work, however,
proved thoroughly enjoyable especially as heard with the excellent
sound design. The score contains several standards, including Steam
Heat, Hernando’s Hideaway and Hey, There.
Choreographer Alana
Scanlan did a stunning job in creating witty, character driven
movement that served the story. Steam Heat was of course a highlight,
as were the fun and games of the company in Once-A-Year-Day and the
hilarious dance break and mime actions of Hines and Mabel in I’ll
Never Be Jealous Again. The tightness of the company in numbers such
as Hernando’s Hideaway belies the two week rehearsal period.
Ian Stenlake as Sid Sorokin was in fine voice and made a handsome,
charismatic leading man. Pippa Grandison, despite her unfortunate wig,
was an endearing, sassy heroine as Babe Williams. Together these two
made a sexy, totally believable couple with great chemistry. Their
duets were great, especially There Was Once A Man. Despite the
predictability of the boy-meets-gets-loses-gets-girl storyline, the
traditional end of act one split was still dramatic in its execution
thanks to the commitment to the story and characters by these two
actors. |
| Rachel Beck in another unfortunate wig
(these wigs were made more noticeable by the fact that the chorus
girls all appeared to have styled their own hair in the period, which
looked much more natural) used her multitude of skills to bring the
singing and dancing comic character of Gladys to life. |
| Adam Murphy gave a solid performance in the comic role
of Hines. Adam was possibly a little young for a character role like
this, but his dancing skills were appreciated. Julie O’Reilly (who
played the comic female roles in The Producers) was a hoot as
outspoken secretary Mabel. David Harris gave Prez a distinctive look
and was fun as a self confident womaniser. Peter Hosking showed great
acting skill in making two such distinct characterisations as grouchy
boss Hasler and Babe’s loveable Pop.
Every time I think TPC have raised the bar as high as I think they
can, they raise it again. Pajama Game had more sets, props, costumes
and lighting effects than ever. Plenty of old fashioned sewing
machines, typewriters and phones added
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David Harris (Prez) and Rachael
Beck (Babe)
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| authenticity. The sets were painted in
cute pajama-style stripes. Possibly the extra performance TPC have
added to each show this year has given them a little more money to
spend. The performance I attended was basically full, with over 2,000
happy theatregoers who went out into the night humming the tunes and
smiling over the enjoyable story and antics of The Pajama Game. I was
very happy to be one of these theatregoers, and I look forward to
Camelot in August! |
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The Pajama Game plays until this Saturday (23rd July
2006)
Tickets from
www.ticketmaster.com.au
Adam Murphy (Hines), Rachael Beck
(Gladys), Pippa Grandison (Babe) and company
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