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In 1954, in the midst of Broadway's golden age of musicals, this sassy opus (with music and lyrics by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross plus choreography by Bob Fosse) enjoyed a surprising two-and-a-half-year run. It helped gained stardom for some--John Raitt (Bonnie's dad), Shirley MacLaine (spotted in the chorus)--a few of its songs became standards ("Hey There," "Steam Heat," "Hernando's Hideaway"), and a 1957 feature film followed starring Doris Day. It's an offbeat tale--essentially a love story wrapped around a union dispute at a pajama factory--and it's easy to surmise that this national touring company was launched in fall 2008 mainly as a nod to the show's status as an offbeat classic rather than as any kind of statement about put-upon workers, though that relevance seems ever-more-palpable now. The origin of this particular production was a 2006 Roundabout Theatre staging with Harry Connick Jr., Kelli O'Hara and Michael McKean, which failed to make the move to Broadway, and instead, with a lesser-known cast, now visits the hinterlands.
Tuesdays-Sundays. Starts: Feb. 17. Continues through Feb. 22, 2009
Tuesdays-Sundays. Starts: Feb. 17. Continues through Feb. 22, 2009
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