A musical full of romance, comedy, passion and worker’s rights is set for the center stage as part of Three Rivers College’ musical “The Pajama Game.” Performances will take place at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday at the Tinnin Fine Arts Center.
The musical is based on the 1953 novel “7 1/2 Cents” by Richard Bissell and George Abbott. While two romances essentially come to fruition during the performance, the play takes place inside a pajama factory, where workers are vying for raises.
Alexander Hyde, a freshman at TRC, is cast in one of the lead roles as Vernon Hines, the factory timekeeper.
Hyde said that Hine’s primary issue is anger and jealousy. To prepare for the character, he had to amp up his behavior.
“I feel like Heinz has a bit of an anger issue. So I have to take all of the emotions I have inside of me and kind of amp them up by 10. There’s a lot of screaming and a lot of not necessarily legible talking,” he said. “I feel like the fact that he takes himself very seriously makes him even more, funnier to watch and funnier to portray.”
Hines’ love interest, Gladys Hotchkiss, is portrayed by freshman Emma Harris. The character Hotchkiss is a quick-witted secretary who is chased by other characters in the play.
Harris feels that while her character of Gladys is serious, playing strictly by the rules, her character also gives a sort of comic relief to the production.
“Not everybody will have the same type of sense of humor, but I think some people will, and will get a good laugh out of it,” Harris said.
Hyde emphasized that while the musical production is a classic, it offers a bit of everything for all types.
“We have a lot of heart,” he said of the cast for TRC’s production. “We have a lot of passion. We love what we do. And we have so much fun with it. And we know that the audience will as well.”
Admission is free to the public.