This afternoon it was the musical "The Pajama Game" at Arena Stage. I had originally thought to skip this one, but those darned little Facebook ads got to me over time.... After all, I had never seen it before. It was recently revived on Broadway to darling reviews and Tony acclaim. Also there was this: Donna McKechnie who won a Tony for her role as "Cassie" in the original cast of Broadway's "A Chorus Line" was also in the cast. So I went knowing nothing more than it was set in a pajama factory, and I would get to see Donna McKechnie on stage.
Overall impressions: one, "The Pajama Game" is not a very well written musical. It has only two songs that are remembered and only two songs worth remembering: "Steam Heat, and "Hey There". Two, it is a score rich show with lots of dancing. And the dancing in this production was very good. In particular, Tony Neidenbach was a standout in the chorus/ensemble.
In the particulars: at 75 Donna Mckechnie is amazing. Donna McKechnie is 75. I can think of at least three other local actors of extraordinary talent who could have taken the relatively minor role of Mabel to greater heights; ergo, she was just a name brought in to hopefully sucker people like me into purchasing a ticket. It worked! That's a shame for everyone. And a really minor sin given the power of the east of the cast. Eddie Korbich (55), in the role of Vernon Hines, was given the task of playing her contemporary and even dancing with her as her equal which meant that he downplayed in that scene his own talents, but still pushed himself to the edge without ever upstaging her. Of all the aspects of this production, that scene was the most awkward.
As to the rest, the cast was completely wonderful. Blakely Slaybaugh as Prez was as agile in his physicality as he was enjoyable to watch in his comedic portrayal of the factory's weaselly little womanizer. Britney Coleman in the female lead, Babe Williams, was adequate, charming, and at times interesting to watch. Tim Rogan as the male lead was obnoxiously mesmerizing in the of the obnoxious Sid Sorokin. His voice was powerful and tuned to such a vintage broadway musical pitch as to be nearly too perfect to believe. The money shot came in the final scene when he sand and danced naked from the waist up. The man has the body of Adonis. But the real scene stealer turned out to be Nancy Anderson in the role of Gladys Hotchkiss. The girl can sing. The girl can dance. The girl was funny as hell, too!
On stage through Christmas, and now they're offering discounted (35% off!) tickets. Be sure to ask about that when purchasing.
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