A date and theatre have been secured for the upcoming revival of The Pajama Game, which will be produced under the auspices of the Roundabout Theatre Company.The musical, which will star Harry Connick Jr., will start performances at the American Airlines Theatre on March 2nd. Originally, the show was to have been a purely commerical venture; now, the non-profit company will produce the show with the commercial producers, Jeffrey Richards and James Fuld. Kathleen Marshall (the upcoming Two Gentlemen of Verona, Wonderful Town, Kiss Me, Kate) is attached to the show as director and choreographer.The Pajama Game is to feature two new songs in its classic Richard Adler-Jerry Ross score, and the original book by George Abbott and Richard Bissell will be revised by Peter Ackerman. The Pajama Game is set during union disputes at the Sleep-Tite Pajama Factory, and centers around a love story between two people representing opposing sides of the dispute.Jazz singer/actor Connick Jr. made his theatrical debut not as a performer, but as a composer/lyricist--for 2001's short-lived Thou Shalt Not, a sultry updated adaptation of Zola's Therese Raquin. He has previously performed on Broadway in 1990's An Evening with Harry Connick Jr. and His Orchestra. As an actor, Connick Jr. has appeared in the films Little Man Tate, Independence Day, Hope Floats, The Iron Giant (to which he leant his voice), My Dog Skip, the telemusical of South Pacific (as Cable) and Basic. Heavily featured on the soundtrack to When Harry Met Sally, his other albums include and Songs I Heard, We Are in Love and Blue Light, Red Light.
The Pajama Game was performed at Encores! in 2002; Brent Barrett and Karen Ziemba starred as the feuding lovers. The original production opened at the St. James Theatre on May 13th, 1954 to run for 1,063 performances; the show won Tonys for Best Musical, for Bob Fosse's choreography and for Carol Haney as Best Featured Actress in a Musical (understudy Shirley MacLaine would become a star by going on for her one night). The show, which was directed by Abbott and Jerome Robbins, features such hits in its score as "Hernando's Hideaway," "Steam Heat," "There Once Was a Man," and "Hey There." The Pajama Game became a 1957 film starring Doris Day and was revived once before in 1973.
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