PaliHi Presents ‘The Pajama Game’

This spring, Palisades High School takes on the challenge of performing the full-scale classic Broadway musical, ‘The Pajama Game,’ on May 27 and 28, and June 2, 3, and 4 at 7:30 p.m. in Mercer Hall on the school campus, 15777 Bowdoin. In addition to its artistic value, this play has an immense sentimental value to the community. Palisadian John Raitt, who passed away earlier this year, originated the lead role of Sid Sorokin in the Broadway production of ‘The Pajama Game’ in 1954. PaliHi is proud to announce that the second performance, Saturday, May 28, will serve as a tribute to John Raitt honoring his artistic contribution to the Broadway community, with several of his family members in attendance. ‘The Pajama Game,’ by George Abbott and Richard Bissell, takes place in the Sleep Tite pajama factory in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. It chronicles the love story between Sid Sorokin (played by Eric Rosenstein) and Babe Williams (Gilli Messer) who are surrounded by the conflict of the traditional battle of the union workers versus the management in the Union’s quest to acquire a 7-cent raise. Many hilarious characters are found at Sleep Tite, including the humorous Hineszie (Adam McCrory), his seductive secretary Gladys (Taylor Fisher), the lovable secretary Mabel (Tia Lebherz), the childish president of the Union, Prez (Jeremy Ungar), the quintessential angry boss Mr. Hasler (Jake Weingarten), and the hysterical factory worker Mae (Annie Tippe), to name a few. The play also includes many impressive ensemble scenes and numbers with Bob Fosse-reminiscent choreography, and the memorable tunes by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross. This musical marks the culmination of Monica Iannessa’s first year as Pali’s new and enthusiastic drama department director. Monique Smith returns as choreographer and Dwight Stone, PaliHi’s new choir teacher, is the music director. Terry Henderson will conduct the Pali orchestra. General admission is $10 and reserved luxury seating is $20. Tickets are available at the door but for reservations call 454-0611.