Theater Preview: Broadway classic makes old times seem new again

May 3, 2016 1:28 PM PT

A charming taste of an old Broadway classic will land at the Alex Theatre in Glendale on May 15 when the Musical Theatre Guild returns for a lively performance of songs and dialogue from “The Pajama Game.”

The original musical opened in New York in 1954 and won three Tony Awards, including Best Musical. Based on the novel “71/2 Cents” by Richard Bissell, it was translated to the stage with music and lyrics by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross, with a book by George Abbott and Richard Bissell.

Though it has returned to Broadway in revival productions in 1972 and 2006 (when it won that year’s Best Revival Tony), “The Pajama Game” is often seen as a quaint relic of another era of theater and is usually seen in student productions.

That’s one reason it appeals to the Musical Theatre Guild. Resurrecting popular theater pieces is central to its 20-year mission.

“It’s not done very often and it’s got an incredible score,” says actor and company spokesman Kevin McMahon. “It’s a piece of history ... I think there are five or six standards that came out of that show. The show is about the labor movement, which is so unusual for a musical comedy. These people are fighting for a 71/2 cent increase in their salary. It’s very timely.”

Most members of the cast have some history with the piece. McMahon says he first performed it in high school.

“It was a long, long time ago,” he says with a laugh. “It was my first real kiss onstage. How’s that?”

MTG cast member Doug Carfrae, who plays Mr. Hasler at the Alex Theatre, has a particularly special connection with “The Pajama Game,” having been a young actor in the 1972 revival on Broadway. It was directed by the original production’s George Abbott, with a “black/white cast” headed by Barbara McNair, Hal Linden and Cab Calloway.

“I was a young kid and I loved it,” Carfrae says now. “It was so exciting to be on Broadway and work with those people. It was wonderful for me.”

This time, Carfrae plays Mr. Hasler, “who is not in favor of the union and is kind of a mean, crappy old guy” in the middle of a labor dispute at the Sleep-Tite pajama factory. Despite the conflict, the resolution of the musical is a predictably happy one.

“It’s a sweet, wonderful musical from the golden age of musicals,” says Carfrae, who plays opposite actors Shannon Warne (as Babe) and Damon Kirsche (as Sid). “Because it’s from that era, it’s maybe too naive now for audiences today, so it doesn’t get done a lot today. That’s why MTG does the things they do — shows you don’t get to see very often.”

For two decades, the Guild has performed the songs and dialogue of the classic musicals without much in terms of sets or staging. The productions are as much concerts of classic songs as theatrical experiences. The Guild currently performs all of its shows at the Alex.

“They’re usually sung really, really well because that’s what we do,” Carfrae says. “It’s about hearing the music and seeing the show, but you take away all of the props and the sets. It’s a bare bones kind of thing, so you can really see what the musical is and what it was.”

What: Musical Theatre Guild performs “The Pajama Game”

When: May 15, 7 p.m.

Where: Alex Theatre, 216 N. Brand Blvd., Glendale

Tickets: $45

More info: (818) 243-2539, musicaltheatreguild.com and alextheatre.org

Steve Appleford, steve.appleford@latimes.com

Twitter: @SteveAppleford