Show guide
The Pajama Game
The Pajama Game is a 1954 workplace romance and labor comedy set inside a Midwestern pajama factory, pairing a new superintendent against the union grievance chair he falls for.
- Broadway premiere
- 1954
- Music by
- Adler & Ross
- Genre
- Golden Age
- Setting
- 1950s
The Pajama Game: quick answers
What is The Pajama Game about?
- The Pajama Game is a workplace romance: new superintendent Sid Sorokin falls for Babe Williams, head of the union grievance committee, just as the Sleep-Tite pajama factory's workers fight for a raise of seven and a half cents an hour.
When did The Pajama Game open on Broadway?
- The Pajama Game opened on Broadway on May 13, 1954, at the St. James Theatre and ran for 1,063 performances, closing on November 24, 1956. A 2006 Roundabout revival starring Harry Connick Jr. and Kelli O'Hara won the Tony for Best Revival of a Musical.
Is The Pajama Game a Golden Age musical?
- Yes. The Pajama Game opened in 1954, in the heart of the Golden Age, won the Tony Award for Best Musical and launched Bob Fosse as a Broadway choreographer.
Where and when is The Pajama Game set?
- The Pajama Game is set at the Sleep-Tite pajama factory in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and at the workers' company picnic.
Has The Pajama Game played in London's West End?
- The Pajama Game opened in London on October 13, 1955, at the London Coliseum and ran for 588 performances. A 2014 revival transferred from Chichester Festival Theatre to the Shaftesbury Theatre.
Is there a The Pajama Game movie?
- The 1957 Warner Bros. film, directed by George Abbott and Stanley Donen, starred Doris Day as Babe alongside most of the original Broadway cast, including John Raitt, Carol Haney and Eddie Foy Jr.
The story of The Pajama Game
The show takes place at the Sleep Tite Pajama Factory in a small Iowa town, where the workers are pushing for a seven and a half cent raise. Sid Sorokin arrives as the new superintendent and soon finds himself falling for Babe Williams, the outspoken head of the union grievance committee, even as labor tensions put them on opposite sides of the shop floor.
Around their romance, the show builds a lively factory community, including the jealous, knife throwing time study man Vernon Hines, his patient girlfriend Gladys, and the harried union president Prez. The plot balances workplace comedy with real questions about fair pay, using the will they, won't they romance to soften what is otherwise a story about organized labor standing up to management.
The music and the makers
The score was written by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross, a young songwriting team making their Broadway debut, with a book by George Abbott and Richard Bissell adapted from Bissell's novel 7 1/2 Cents. Their songs mix warm romantic ballads with brassy, rhythmic production numbers that reflect the factory setting and the energy of the shop floor.
Signature numbers include the tender duet Hey There, the percussive Steam Heat, and the upbeat Once a Year Day, all of which showcase the show's blend of Tin Pan Alley melody and sharp comic lyric writing. The score remains one of the most enduring of the 1950s despite Jerry Ross's death just a year after the show opened.
The Pajama Game on Broadway
The Pajama Game opened on Broadway on May 13, 1954, at the St. James Theatre, starring John Raitt as Sid, Janis Paige as Babe, Eddie Foy Jr. as Hines, and Carol Haney as Gladys. It ran for 1,063 performances and won the Tony Award for Best Musical, with additional wins for Carol Haney and choreographer Bob Fosse, who made his Broadway debut on the show.
The musical was adapted into a 1957 film with Doris Day and John Raitt, and it returned to Broadway in a 2006 revival starring Harry Connick Jr. as Sid. Its blend of romance and workplace comedy, along with Fosse's early choreography, cemented its place as a defining show of the 1950s.
The Pajama Game: frequently asked questions
Is The Pajama Game based on a true story?
Loosely. It is adapted from Richard Bissell's 1953 novel 7 1/2 Cents, which drew on Bissell's own experience working at his family's real pajama factory, the H.B. Glover Company in Dubuque, Iowa, though the show's plot and characters are fictional.
Is The Pajama Game a Golden Age musical?
Yes. The Pajama Game opened in 1954, within the Golden Age of Broadway musicals generally dated from Oklahoma! in 1943 to the mid 1960s, and it won the Tony Award for Best Musical at the 1955 ceremony.
Is The Pajama Game currently on Broadway?
No. Its most recent Broadway revival, starring Harry Connick Jr., opened February 23, 2006, and closed June 17, 2006, at the American Airlines Theatre.
When did The Pajama Game open on Broadway?
The Pajama Game opened on Broadway on May 13, 1954, at the St. James Theatre.
Who composed The Pajama Game?
Richard Adler and Jerry Ross wrote the music and lyrics, with a book by George Abbott and Richard Bissell.
What is The Pajama Game about?
It follows a romance between a pajama factory superintendent and the union grievance chair fighting for a wage increase.
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