A 1950s union strike in a textile factory doesn’t sound like the best setting for a musical comedy, but, for Kentlake Drama it has worked well in its production of Richard Adler and Jerry Ross’ “The Pajama Game.”
Based on the novel “7 1/2 Cents” by Richard Bissell, the musical follows the plight of workers in a pajama factory. It also highlights the conflict between the older and younger generation in terms of values and morals as well as the shifting roles for men and women.
Pam Cressey, Kentlake’s Drama production director, said that she isn’t entirely sure how it works as a musical comedy, given the serious themes it addresses. Nevertheless, she thought it was perfect for the talent she currently has at her disposal.
“It’s a crazy romp through history,” she explained. “I wanted to do a period musical. I love making them (the students) do research. It’s a great one for them to cut their teeth on. I’ve got a lot of freshmen.”
The Kentlake production of “The Pajama Game” is also unique in that it features double casted parts for each role. Cressey explained this was done because 60 students auditioned for 30 parts. Instead of cut out some students she decided to give all of them an opportunity to participate.
“I just doubled everything,” she said.
The two main characters, Sid Sorokin and Catherine “Babe” Williams, are therefore played by four actors. Sorokin is played by Zach Vermilion and Mitch Hillyard, while “Babe” is played by Emily Halverson and Julia Payment. The relationship between Sorokin and Babe, who fall in love, emphasizes the sexual tension and conflict over gender roles in society at the time.
“It’s the only conflict in the story, so we’re pushing it pretty hard,” Cressey said.
Sorokin is the factory superintendent, while Babe is the leader of the union threatening to strike unless the workers receive a pay raise, which leads to a dicey situation for both of them as they must decide which is more important: love or their political and professional aspirations.
“She (Babe) cares more about the union winning the strike,” Cressey said. “She’s a new kind of woman.”
“She’s the strong business woman,” Halverson said. “But she does want to be the vulnerable one and to be taken care of.”
Sorokin, on the other hand, “doesn’t want to lose his job, so he puts his love on hold until the strike is done.”
Playing the same role with another person sounded tricky at first, according to Payment, but in the end worked well.
“It’s always scary because there that’s tendency to have some friction,” she said. “But me and Emily are really close.”
Halverson added that they try to base their performances off of the character, rather than imitate each other.
“You try to mimic the character and do what the character would do,” she said. “We talk about it all the time.”
VISUALIZING THE OLD RULES OF SOCIETY
The dichotomy of sexual promiscuity and 1950s morality is explored both in the dialogue, action and the stage props. For example, characters kiss behind a transparent wall or building, so the audience can see what was at that time concealed due to social expectations.
“They’re putting on this facade but it’s quite see through,” Cressey said. “It’s kind of blatant (now). We don’t have the same values as they did. In the 1950s, they were promiscuous and wild. (In the play) they’re all pretending to be these perfect middle Americans. It was a weird time in culture to hide what now is out in the open. They were very into their own issues of what was right or wrong. They were questioning their upbringing and values.”
“The Pajama Game,” Cressey explained, is also very much a battle of the sexes. Women and men in the factory are delegated very specific responsibilities, which is symbolized by their attire of either dungaree overalls for the men or bright pink skirts for the women.
“The woman have always been in charge, you know,” Cressey said. “The men think they were running it, but women ran it under the rug. They let the men think they were in charge. We still have the battles, but, it’s nothing like this.”
According to Cressey, the women “use their bedroom savvy to control things,” during the labor dispute, something which is treated tongue-in-cheek.
RESEARCHING A DIFFERENT PERIOD OF HISTORY
Many students, such as Payment, noticed after reading the script how different sex was treated in the musical.
“Today, everyone’s so open in their sexuality and before it was very hidden,” she said.
“It plays upon how in the 1950s people didn’t just lie around,” Vermilion said. “There was (supposed to be) marriage first. My character is the opposite. I feel like he’s responsible, but he knows what he wants and gets what he wants.”
“I feel like Sid is the only normal one up there,” Hillyard said.
At the same time, Vermilion stated, Sorokin very much represented the prevalent attitude of the time.
“He wants Babe, but at the same time he chooses his career first,” he said. “He has aspect of himself that are relatable, but he holds the values of the 1950s, working hard to get what he wants.”
Besides sexual mores of the time, the union strikes and the historical context it was based in was another issue the students had to do research on. The title of the novel, “7 1/2 Cents,” refers to the hourly raise the workers desire — seven and a half cents — which the company management refuses to budge on, causing the strike. Today, the national minimum wage is $7.25 and $8.67 in Washington State. In 1975, the national minimum wage was 75 cents an hour.
“It’s pretty funny to think about it now,” Cressey said. “It’s definitely outdated.”
This is among the reasons Cressey said she encouraged the students do research on it.
“If you don’t have the history behind it the story doesn’t work in modern day,” she said.
Besides the story, the songs are another critical aspect of the production.
“Almost every song is about breaking social code,” Cressey said. “It’s huge on chorus, which to me this is the strongest chorus of students I’ve ever had.”
“I love (the) singing,” Payment said.
“They’re fun,” Halverson said. “You can put so much personality into them.”
Ultimately, irony and lightheartedness are what makes the comedy work, Cressey said.
“(It’s) honky dorky and fun because everyone wins,” she said. “We have come a ways, but not really — that’s the humor.”
“The Pajama Game” premieres at 7 p.m. Dec. 1 at Kentlake High School and runs on Dec. 2, 3, 8, 9, 10, 15, 16 and 17. Saturday shows start at 2 p.m.
Tickets are $10 general admission and $8 for students and seniors.
To purchase tickets, visit www.brownpapertickets.com.
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