Emily Holden and Chris Ellis star as "Babe" and "Sid" in the University of Southern Maine Department of Theatre and School of Music joint production of THE PAJAMA GAME. Ellis is a 2008 graduate of Oak Hill High School and Holden graduated from Fryeburg Academy in 2008.The University of Southern Maine Department of Theatre and School of Music present the full-on, over-the-top, singing-and-dancing, romantic comedy: THE PAJAMA GAME - March 5-14, 2010.
WHEN: March 5, 6, 11, 12, 13 at 7:30 p.m. and March 7 & 14 at 2 p.m.
WHERE: Russell Hall on the University of Southern Maine's Gorham Campus
TICKETS: $20 for the general public; $14 for seniors and USM staff; $10 for students
SPECIAL: "$5 @ Five" show will be held on March 10 at 5 p.m., all tickets just $5
BOX OFFICE: (207) 780-5151 Reservation recommended
The University of Southern Maine Department of Theatre and School of Music team up to present the Tony Award winning show March 5 to 14, 2010, in Russell Hall on the USM Gorham campus. Director Wil Kilroy says he and his cast are reveling in the full-sized musical flavor of this audience favorite.
"What we're doing is a big piece of classic American theatre," he said recently at a rehearsal in Russell Hall. "There's major dancing and lots of singing - and it's a romance, definitely a romance."
The original production opened on Broadway in 1954, winning multiple Tony Awards. Musical director Edward Reichert notes the show includes sassy, jubilant song and dance numbers like "Steam Heat," "Hernando's Hideaway," and the timeless ballad "Hey There." Music/lyrics are by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross, and the script by George Abbott and Richard Bissell.
The large cast includes talented musical theater majors - with the direction and design being handled by theatre professionals and faculty members. Vanessa Beyland is choreographer; Charles Kading is set designer; Kurt Alger is costume designer; and Shannon Zura is the lighting designer.
Here's the story setup -- amid a looming labor dispute at the Sleep-Tite Pajama Factory, love blooms! While Babe (played by Emily Holden, Fryeburg Academy 08) and her fellow union stitchers agitate for a seven-and-a-half cent raise, she's also falling in love with the new superintendent, Sid (Christopher Ellis, Oak Hill High School 08). Hines, the popular efficiency expert (Jeremiah Haley of Portland), is in love with Gladys (Autumn Pound of Portland), the secretary of the company President, Old Man Hasler (Michael Frier, Camden Hill Regional High School 07). And the head of the union, Prez (Joey Valliere, Old Orchard Beach High School 07), is courting several women at once, even though he's married!
Also in the cast are Greer Vashon of Waterville as Mae; Rylee Doiron of Wilton as Brenda; Caitlyn O'Reilly of Farmington as Poopsie (and a Steam Heat dancer in Hernando's Hideaway); James McDonald of Malden, Mass., as Lewie; Kyle Robert Dennis of Pittsfield as Cyrus; Patrick Molloy of Orono as Babe's dad, Pop; Matthew Defiore of Mexico as Max; Kelly Mosher of Marstons Mills, Mass., Kelly Mosheras as Sid's secretary, Mabel; and Jacob Cote of Bangor as Charley the handyman.
Factory Workers include Sarah Flagg of Hampden, Alice Hofgren of Waterville, Jonathan Marro of Claremont, N.H., Jericah Potvin of Millinocket, Kyle Skillin of Biddeford, and Abigail Worthing of Arundel.
The success of the show spawned the making of a film version in 1957 starring Doris Day, and several revivals. The 2006 Broadway revival, starring Harry Connick Jr., earned multiple Tony Awards, including Best Revival of a Musical.
Caitlin O'Reilly, left, Joey Valliere and Emily Holden sing and dance in "Steam Heat" a show-stopping number from the University of Southern Maine Department of Theatre and School of Music joint production of THE PAJAMA GAME. O'Reilly is a 2008 graduate of Mt. Blue High School. Valliere is a 2006 graduate of Old Orchard Beach High School and Holden is a 2008 graduate of Fryeburg Academy.
