The Pajama Game

The Pajama Game. Old school theatre at it’s best, if you love classic tunes, thin plot lines and out dated humour that now days has completely different meanings,  mixed with large Broadway style numbers and all the frills, fabrics and wigs you can imagine then the Pajama Game is for you.

With a score from Richard Adler and Jerry Ross, this musical is from the 50’s when Broadway theatre was at one of its most pivotal times. Transitioning into larger scale musicals with big scene changes and chorus numbers was becoming a necessity to meet the needs of the ever hungry New York theatre community. The Pajama Game was a hit and ran for almost 1100 productions as it filled all the requirements of the era. Flashy dancers, catchy melodies and above all, a squirm worthy love story. The show has had 2 revivals, and scored the Tony Award for Best Revival in 2006.

I can see why this show isn’t put on regularly as it has a lot of elements which are difficult to pull off, a lot of scene changes, intricate effects and a large cast who are all required to sing, dance and act. Taking on this massive undertaking are Co Directors Jaison & Kerryn Hoernel and credit must go to them. The pair have put together a cast very suitable for this style of show, casting singers who have great elements of Country and Western, Broadway and Classical training in their vocal abilities and a mix of voices that complimented each other beautifully.

All lead performers seemed in tune with their characters and the understandings of their background, they maintained a strong presence in scenes and didn’t try to upstage or dramatise more than required. It was fantastic to see a cast full of different ages, this must have been a great family style experience for all the performers. Having performers age from teens to the more senior and experienced folk, gives a show so much depth and realism, and it was great to see that care had been taken to create this refreshing mix.

Personal stand out for me was Victoria Zainal playing the role of Mabel. Zainals comic timing was bliss as she breathed flavoursome life into the gossipy receptionist role in every respect, her voice, walk, attitude, facial expressions and energy were all perfect. She provided constant entertainment in every scene.

Scene transitions were a touch timely and could have been sped up a little, however the changes were necessary and given that space isn’t a luxury at The Whitehorse Centre, they managed to fill most scenes with large, well made and effective sets designed by John Wonnacott, so the small wait in-between scenes was worthwhile.

Ryan Jacobs was on team as conductor and held together a tight and rehearsed orchestra. At times I felt the music could have been faster paced but that’s being picky and partly because I am more familiar with modern day shows which move along faster, in retrospect I guess it was nice to chill out with the slower sound. I over heard comments from near by audience members commending the relaxing and hypnotising sound that Jacobs led for the performance

It was a nice change to sit in The Whitehorse Centre and not see Moving lights flying everywhere and blinding me, so thanks to designer Michael Brasser. The colourful rig was quite basic in format but large in numbers and provided some great old school style effects which succeeded on complimenting the show and not distracting. Greg Gingers sound design was also excellent, with no issues at all, this was a very welcomed relief to my weary ears, which have been trained to expect the worst, given the restraints of amateur companies and their sound budget restraints.

Babirra have taken a risk putting on such a classic like Pajama Game, and it has paid off very well with their season selling great numbers, however I believe there are still some tickets left if you can get along to enjoy this rarely produced stage show. It runs until the 15th Oct. See What's On for more information.

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