‘The Pajama Game’ will keep audiences’ toes tapping

• Weathervane Playhouse will present “The Pajama Game” starting Thursday.
• The classic musical features fun songs and choreography.

NEWARK – Before they buy tickets for Weathervane Playhouse’s production of “The Pajama Game,” there’s one thing Barbe Helwig wants audience members to know.

There’s a very good chance they’ll spend the show tapping their toes and humming the songs all the way home.

“It’s a really fun show,” Helwig said. “The characters are fun and the music is great.”

For the third show in its season, Weathervane is transporting its audience back to the 1950s where the workers at the Sleep-Tite Pajama Factory are demanding a seven-and-a half-cent raise.

Things get even more complicated when union leader Babe Wilson falls in love with Sid Sorokin, the new factory superintendent.

When the show kicks off Thursday, it will be the first time the classic will be performed on Weathervane’s stage, said director Valarie Accetta.

Although the musical explores labor issues and interpersonal relationships in the workplace, it also offers humorous moments and a great soundtrack, Accetta said.

Many people will recognize songs from the musical such as “Steam Heat,” “Hernando's Hideaway” and “Once a Year Day,” she said.

“The score is so great,” she said. “It’s such great jazzy music. When it opened in 1954, people went nuts.”

Cast members have spent a lot of time working on the music and dance numbers with choreographer Tracy Wilson.

“Valarie’s interpretation of this show is very plot driven and very real,” she said. “I wanted to try to come up with movement that is exciting but still moves the plot forward.”

Although the musical is more traditional, there are still lots of elements to keep audience members engaged in the action, Accetta said.

Audience members who attend the show on the Fourth of July will have the opportunity to participate in another way. Buy one, get one free tickets are available and anyone who wears pajamas to the show gets a free popcorn, Accetta said.

Clay Singer, who plays Sid, went to Carnegie Mellon University with Molly Griggs, who plays Babe. Both actors are making their Weathervane debut with “The Pajama Game.”

Griggs said she sees the musical is a great “museum piece” that can be used to explore the norms and social issues of the time while still appealing to modern audiences.

“It’s got a little bit of everything,” she said. “There is something for everybody.”

Singer said he was mostly drawn to the show by the music.

“These are songs that get stuck in your head for the rest of the day,” he said.

Helwig, of Granville, who plays Mabel in the show, said the performance is a great opportunity for fans of the show to see it again. Those seeing it for the first time are in for a treat.

“I think it will just be a good time,” he said. “You’ll be tapping your toes, laughing and smiling.”

ajeffries@newarkadvocate.com

740-328-8544

Twitter: @amsjeffries

IF YOU GO

What: “The Pajama Game”

When: 8 p.m. Thursday, Friday, Saturday, July 7-11 and 2 p.m. Saturday

Where: Weathervane Playhouse, 100 Price Road, Newark, Ohio

Cost: $33 for adults, $31 for seniors, $22 for students and $12 for children

More info: Call 740-366-4616 or go to weathervaneplayhouse.org.