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Production credits
Director
Kathleen Marshall
Vocal and Dance Arrangements, Musical Supervisor
David Chase
Full Credits: IBDb
Notes from David
The Pajama Game, which originally premiered in 1954, was a show that was considered unrevivable. Too old-fashioned. A relic of another time. Well, Kathleen Marshall proved them all wrong by creating a sexy, visceral, musically and physically vibrant production full of fantastic character actors.
We weren't sure about Harry Connick at first. He seemed almost afraid of the audience, talking in a whisper and upstaging himself. But when he opened his mouth to sing, nightingales leapt forth. Soon, he developed confidence, and that led to a fiery performance. The heat and musical chemistry between Harry and Kelli O'Hara made "There Once Was a Man" explosive.
Kathleen and I fashioned "Hernando's Hideaway" around Harry's brilliant piano playing and Megan Lawrence's comic genius. What a fantastic number. Btw, yes, I stole a bit from Billy May's version, and I also did my own mini-tribute to Bobby Darin's version of "Up a Lazy River" by having Harry sing the last chorus almost entirely on one pitch.
And yeah, that's Paula being the bobblehead behind him during "Hernando's Hideaway". One of my proudest moments was when I travelled to Sydney for the Australian production of "Billy Elliot", and one of the cast members was beyond thrilled to meet Paula's husband -- I mean, everyone had seen her on the Tonys in that moment, and she was, at least in certain circles, famous.
BTW, Harry would sit and play the piano during rehearsal breaks, and I loved watching him. He is one of only two people (Elton John being the other) who I've seen play with utter determination and confidence, never searching for the right note or right voicing -- it was always just THERE. A veritable gift from God.
Harry was also very respectful as a musician -- I had re-arranged the entire score top to bottom, and he only asked me to change one chord in the entire score. He did insist on some of his own musicians in the pit, and that was a happy thing -- two of my favorite musicians in the world are John Allred (trombone) and Neal "Sugar" Caine (bass), both of whom I've continued to work with on a regular basis.
This production should've run for a long, long time.
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Awards
Winner — Tony Award
Kathleen Marshall — Best Choreography*
- Dance Music Arrangements by David Chase
Nominee — Tony Award
Dick Lieb and Danny Troob — Best Orchestrations^
- Vocal, Dance, and Incidental Music Arrangements by David Chase
- Music Supervision by David Chase
- Music Direction by Rob Berman
NOTE FROM DC:
*The role of a Dance Music Arranger is not currently recognized by the American Theatre Wing. The Tony Award for Best Choreography nonetheless tacitly honors the intensely collaborative and symbiotic relationship between Choreographers and Dance Music Arrangers.
^There is no Tony Award for Music Arrangers, and the last Tony Award for Music Direction was given in 1964. Therefore, the Tony Awards for Best Score and for Best Orchestration (the latter of which began being awarded in 1997) tacitly recognize the otherwise unacknowledged contribution of the Arranger(s), Music Directors, and Music Supervisors.
resources
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The Pajama Game (aka Harry on Broadway Act One)
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