Musical dredges up ’50s chic > `Pajama Game’ a snoozer

“The Pajama Game” is one of those shows that give musicals a bad name. It’s long, dated, corny. And more: It has a moral. Not only does it try to teach some lessons about triumphantly true love (standard fare in musicals) but it does so through a story about the union woes at the Sleep Tite Pajama Factory in Cedar Rapids, Iowa (huh?).

In this 1950s musical, which finishes a run at the Grand in Ellsworth this weekend, women are babes, and men are looking for babes.

It’s the type of stuff that you can take for about 10 minutes.

But not three hours.

As it is, “Pajama Game” — the story — is a snoozer. Unfortunately, you can’t really blame director Ken Stack for that. You can blame him for picking it, but it’s a tough play to present, and he has done a superb job at keeping the large cast stitching along. He’s boss at creating the 1950s setting, and costume director Linda Grindle does her share with polka-dot dresses, knotted neck scarves (yuk!) and pedal pushers.

And there’s just no denying that several of the songs in this show are absolute hits. “Hey There” (as in “you with the stars in your eyes”), “Steam Heat” and “Hernando’s Hideaway” are some of the best tunes written by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross (who also collaborated on “Damn Yankees”).

These songs also happen to be the most entertaining parts of the show thanks to choreography (and a special guest appearance) by Judy Savage. Performers Heather Astbury and Steve Gormley are knockout funny in tangolike dances for “Hernando’s Hideaway,” and the jazzy dance team of Savage, Eliza Jacobson and Harold Philbrook are loose and cool in “Steam Heat.”

Other top-notch performances are given by Padraic Conroy, as the hassling boss Hasler, and the ever-clowning David Closson as a manager at the factory. Barbara Pinkham, as Hasler’s secretary, and Eric Henry, as a bedraggled, stamp-collecting father, make indelibly good marks in these roles.

Gormley has the lead as Sid Sorokin, a young Chicagoan who has recently been hired as a factory superintendent. And Leslie Michaud is Babe, head of the factory’s grievance committee. Gormley overshoots himself vocally on this one, and his booming voice takes more space than music director Robert Bahr should have allowed. But his nice-guy acting makes up for any hyperbole in the singing. One wishes the same could be said for Michaud, who doesn’t bring much cleverness to a role that’s noted for that unusual combination of spunkiness and charm.

If you’re up for the 1950s jokes and jibes — which many audience members were when the show opened two weeks ago — then you won’t want to miss this blue-collar love story. But be forewarned: You’ve heard all the sexist drivel before — and it wasn’t that funny the first time around. The best reason to see this show is to watch the Grand actors having a good time — because the story of “Pajama Game” might put you right to sleep.

“The Pajama Game” will be performed 8 p.m. May 24 and 25, and 2 p.m. May 26 at the Grand in Ellsworth. For tickets, call 667-9500.