Review: THE PAJAMA PARTY at Grand Théâtre

Broadway World had the pleasure of attending the premiere of The Pajama Game, a musical play by author Richard Bissell and George Abbott. Set in 1950s America, it tells the story of a pajama factory where workers are actively demanding a salary raise of seven and a half cents. At the height of McCarthyism and the proliferation of union movements in the United States, The Pajama Game offers an amusing display of power dynamics between both classes and genders.

The plot centers around the ill-advised love affair between Sid Sorokin, a recently appointed factory superintendent, and Babe Williams, the headstrong speaker of the Union Grievance Committee. The two find themselves at opposing sides of the salary dispute and must ultimately make a choice between their values, personal ambitions and their love for each other.

The Gold: The completeness. When you think of musical theatre, multiple things come to mind. The Pajama Game not only presented virtually all of these possible features, but it pretty much excelled at all of them. Performers had to act, sing, dance, play an instrument and move around each other for two hours straight. Very few numbers required a cast member to simply focus on one of these elements. The image of one or two singer standing still on stage while delivering a five minute soliloquy or duet is very much the opposite of what this show has for us. Jean Lacornerie and Raphael Cottin, both responsible for the mise-en-scène, had the herculean task of coordinating and blocking this play and to them we say bravo.

The Silver: The humour. While the play itself is mostly based on suggestive interactions and sassy dialogue, the delivery of the cast was by far the strongest comedic asset. A cheeky giggle, a cute little hip sway, a malicious gaze - it was the little things that made so much land so well. The best examples of this dynamic were perhaps given to us by the characters of Gladys, Prez and Mabel.

The bronze: The bilingual nature of the show. Dialogue parts were delivered in French, while the songs remained in the original English. One wonders how well this aspects works for musical aficionados in France. Fans of the genre are devoted to both narrative and song, which makes us wonder if there might not be some resistance from viewers who are not fluent in both languages. In any case, if there is a country where this mix works, it is probably Luxembourg. Which brings us to another point of praise for the cast - swapping between the two languages so frequently, while juggling all the rest? Hats off.

As always, our thanks to the Grand Theátre for entertaining us during these complex times and to everyone involved for a great night.

To reach out to the writer: nuno.de.sousa.lopes@gmail.com

Image credit: M. Cavalca

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