The Pajama Game

Two of the songs, "There Once Was a Man" and "A New Town Is a Blue Town", were actually written by Frank Loesser, although they were uncredited.[3]

For the 2006 revival, Harry Connick Jr. played the piano, when Gladys (Megan Lawrence), Sid, and Company were on stage for "Hernando's Hideaway".[4] "The length and form of the song remain steady", Kathleen Marshall said, "but he can improvise within it."

In the original production, and in the film version, the famed dance number "Steam Heat" was danced by Gladys. In the 2006 revival, the number was made with Mae (Joyce Chittick), instead of Gladys.[4] Kathleen Marshall explains: "Hines accuses Gladys of being a flirt, and she's not. So does it make sense that she'd go and strut her stuff in front of the whole union? Hines would say, 'Aha, you floozy, I caught you!' Also, she's the boss's secretary, so why would she be at a union meeting? I think it's much more fun that Gladys doesn't really let go until she goes out with Sid, gets real drunk, and throws caution to the wind."

Words and music by Richard Adler; in 2006, Hines (Michael McKean) performed the new number, "The Three of Us" at show's end with Gladys (Megan Lawrence).[4] At the time of the revival, Adler was quoted as saying that he wrote the song for Jimmy Durante in 1964. "It was written for Jimmy Durante", says McKean, "and Durante used to do it in his act, but he never recorded it, so it's kind of an orphan." The song was actually featured in the 1966 television musical, Olympus 7-000, part of the ABC Stage 67 series which also produced Stephen Sondheim's Evening Primrose. Eddie Foy Jr. (who had played Hines in the original Broadway and movie versions of The Pajama Game) introduced the song in Olympus 7-000 and sings it on the Command Records soundtrack album. Donald O'Connor, Larry Blyden and Phyllis Newman also starred in the TV special with Foy.

"The World Around Us" was part of the 1954 Broadway previews and opening, but was dropped during the first week of the Broadway run, replaced by Babe's reprise of "Hey There". This would leave Sid with no songs in the second act, aside from the reprise of "There Once was a Man". The number was restored for the 2006 Broadway revival, allowing star Harry Connick Jr. to have a second-act song.[4]

Words and music by Richard Adler; for the 1973 revival, in place of the second-act "Hey There" reprise, there was a new song, "Watch Your Heart". Retitled "If You Win, You Lose", the song has been included in recent productions of the show and was in the 2006 Broadway production.

The original Broadway production opened at the St. James Theatre on May 13, 1954,[5] and closed on November 24, 1956, after 1,063 performances. It was directed by George Abbott and Jerome Robbins and featured choreography by Bob Fosse. The original cast included John Raitt, Janis Paige, Eddie Foy Jr., Carol Haney, Ralph Dunn, Stanley Prager and Thelma Pelish.

This production is also noted for starting the career of Shirley MacLaine. A relative unknown at the time, she was selected to understudy Carol Haney's role. Starting in late-May 1954, MacLaine filled the role for several months, as Haney was out of commission with an injured ankle. Director/producer Hal B. Wallis was an audience member at one of MacLaine's performances, and signed her as a contract player for Paramount Pictures.

The Pajama Game opened at the London Coliseum on 13 October 1955 and ran for 588 performances – an undoubted hit. Edmund Hockridge played Sid Sorokin and Joy Nichols played Babe Williams. Max Wall, in a rare outing to the musical stage, played Hines, Elizabeth Seal, who later found stardom playing the lead role in Irma La Douce, played Gladys, and Frank Lawless played Prez.

The original Australian production presented by J.C. Williamson commenced at Her Majesty's Theatre, Melbourne on February 2, 1957.[6]

The cast was led by Toni Lamond as Babe Williams and William Newman as Sid Sorokin,[7] with Keith Petersen as Hines, Jill Perryman as Mabel, Don Richards as Prez and Tikki Taylor as Gladys.[6]

It subsequently toured to Sydney's Empire Theatre, commencing June 12, 1957, followed by Her Majesty's Theatre, Brisbane from November 12, 1957. The show then made a return engagement to Her Majesty's Theatre, Melbourne, commencing Boxing Day, December 26, 1957.

The production continued touring through 1958, first to His Majesty's Theatre, Perth from May 3, 1958,[8] then to Theatre Royal, Adelaide from June 18, 1958.

After its Australian season, the tour commenced its New Zealand season on February 10, 1958 at His Majesty's Theatre, Auckland, followed by the Grand Opera House, Wellington, from March 12, 1958, where it concluded its run.[9]

The film version was released by Warner Bros. in 1957 and featured the original stage cast except for Janis Paige, whose role is played by Doris Day, and Stanley Prager, whose role is played by Jack Straw.

A Broadway revival opened on December 9, 1973, at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, but it closed on February 3, 1974, after just 65 performances. It was directed by George Abbott, one of the two directors of the original production in 1954, with choreography by Zoya Leporska. The cast included Hal Linden, Barbara McNair, and Cab Calloway as Hines.

A West End revival arrived at the Victoria Palace in October 1999 having originated at Birmingham Rep and transferred to the Victoria Palace via Toronto. Directed by Simon Callow, it briefly starred Ulrika Johnson as Babe (Birmingham Rep), but she left the production when it travelled to Toronto where Babe was played by Camilla Scott, then in London, Leslie Ashe. Sid Sorokin was played by Graham Bickley throughout, earning himself a Dora Award nomination for 'Outstanding Performance by a male in a Principal Role' in Toronto. It also starred John Hegley and Anita Dobson with choreography by David Bintley. It closed on 18 December 1999.

The Roundabout Theatre Company revival, produced by special arrangement with Jeffrey Richards, James Fuld Jr. and Scott Landis, opened on February 23, 2006 and closed on June 17, 2006, after 129 performances (and 41 previews). Kathleen Marshall was choreographer and director, with a cast starring Harry Connick Jr., making his Broadway acting debut as Sid, Kelli O'Hara as Babe, Michael McKean as Hines, Roz Ryan as Mabel, and Megan Lawrence as Gladys. The revival included three added songs by Richard Adler. The original book by George Abbott and Richard Bissell was revised by Peter Ackerman (screenwriter Ice Age)

Directed by Richard Eyre, the UK 2013 revival of The Pajama Game opened on April 22 at Chichester Festival Theatre's Minerva Theatre and the cast included television personality Gary Wilmot.[10] The production's sold-out run at Chichester ended on 8 June 2013, and on 1 May 2014 it transferred to the West End's Shaftesbury Theatre. The West End transfer received positive reviews from a number of national media outlets.[11][12][13] The production ran for a limited season at the Shaftesbury Theatre, closing on 13 September 2014.[14]