GHS Students Perform "The Pajama Game"

Musical theater comes to Grayson! Join the students of ’s Drama department as they present “,” a lighthearted musical comedy that follows the employees of the Sleep Tite Pajama Company as they fight for a seven-and-a-half cent raise from their skinflint boss. In the midst of this ordeal, romantic sparks fly between Babe, the grievance committee head, and Sid, the new factory superintendent.

The students are performing under the tutelage of Grayson High School drama teacher Haley Flanders, who is making her directorial debut. This is Flanders’s first year as a teacher, but she’s no stranger to GHS – she graduated from there in 2006.

“We are very proud of this production,” Flanders said. “We supported the entire Fine Arts department in this show, with students from the Dance, Drama, Live Orchestra, and Chorus departments making up the cast and crew.”

The cast isn’t only made up of students, though – two characters are portrayed by teachers at the school. Courtney Cook, a substitute teacher, plays the part of Mabel, the mother hen of the factory and Sid’s secretary. The part of Mr. Hasler, the factory’s boss, is played by math teacher Greg Field, who was awarded the Teacher of the Year honor in the past.

Rounding out the cast are Emily Weller and Bobby Bartolotta, reprising the roles of Catherine “Babe” Williams and Sid Sorokin, who are the stars of the play. Both are chorus students at GHS, and this is their first appearances in a musical. The role of Gladys, the boss’s attractive, quick-witted secretary, is played by Drama student Michel Berg. Drew Kenyon, a sophomore, is acting in the role of Vernon Hines, the factory timekeeper, who thinks that Gladys flirts too much and stays in a jealous fit for most of the play.

Featuring fast-paced musical numbers with a jazz and bluesy style, romance budding between characters, and a good dose of comedy, this adaptation is a perennial favorite of high school and community-based drama groups.

The play is based on the Broadway production that first hit the stage on May 13, 1954, and ran for 1,063 performances. It was reprised in 2006, and included Harry Connick Jr. portraying Sid.

Performances will be held at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday the and Friday of this week. A special showing will take place at 230 p.m., just in time for patrons of the Grayson Days Festival to drop in for some entertainment. Reserve tickets can be purchased at the school or on The Pajama Game’s Facebook page for $7. Tickets sold at the door will be $10. The play runs for about 2 hours and promises to be a jovial recreation for the people of Grayson.