Tony Award Winners: 1955 The Pajama Game

10 Mar

the pajama game

 

The Pajama Game is a wonderful mish-mosh of musical styles, successfully hitting each one before going on to the next.   We’ve got factory influenced work-song (Can’t Waste Time), picnic sing-a-longs (Once a Year Day), croony love ballads (Hey There), western whoop-ups (There Once Was a Man), vaudeville comedy (I’d Trust Her), big modern dance number (Steam Heat)and even a Tango (Hernando’s Hideaway).  All of these songs are terrific by the way.     The only two songs that aren’t so hot are “Her is” and “Think of the Time I Save”  two “comedic” numbers that aren’t very funny.

John Riatt (Bonnie Riatt’s father of all things) is a marvelous performer–his voice is big and bold and perfect for these songs.   Janis Paige, while being a very good performer and quite a looker (you can’t tell by this picture but she looks like a Rockette that got away from the herd) has a rather limited voice.  I actually prefer the movie soundtrack, which is surprising because Doris Day is known for being rather milquetoasty, here her voice has more than enough character and doesn’t get eaten up by Riatt.     Don’t bother with the 90’s Harry Connick version–he’s too Sinatra-y, and the whole thing sounds strained and overproduced.

 

Leave a comment