Pajama Game

Audience Perspective

I attended Lynchburg College Theater Department’s evening show, Pajama Game, on Saturday March 2^nd, 2013. It was an experience within itself; I arrived about 30 minutes before the show started in order to avoid the ticket window chaos. Apparently, more than 40 other individuals had the same idea.  I was surprised to see a long line for the ticket window; I was also discouraged when I found out that I had to stand in the same long line even though I had brought my tickets online.  As I stood in line, I observed around and I overheard an individual talking about how word had gotten out that the production was amazing and thus many people decided to check it out. I was surprised when I heard this and it gave me a good vibe, since prior to this evening, I had no expectations of the play; I was just attending because it was a class requirement.

As I stepped into the theater, I was taken aback to see the theater almost completely filled.  The seats in my row were almost complete as the leftover seats were for my boyfriend and me. I sat close to the wall, which did not provide such a good angle but nonetheless I was glad to be able to sit down.  There was an elderly couple next to me and they seemed eager for the show to start. The elderly lady was talking to another lady about one of the performers and how she was doing so well. I examined the audience before the play started and realized that there was a strong generational gap. Most of the audience members were older members of society, with the exclusion of a very few young Lynchburg College students who were also in attendance.  

 

The play started with the character Hines breaking the fourth wall with his humor and commentary on the play which he continued throughout the performance. In general, many of the comments he made broke the fourth wall and satirized the very nature of musical themselves. For example, during the song, I’ll Never Be Jealous Again; Hines made a joke about how both cast members in that scene randomly broke out into song, and mysteriously knew the exact same song and dance routine. Hines provided an excellent comic relief as well as setting up the background for the entire show.

 

 

I'll Never Be Jealous Again

Throughout the first act, the audience was great, attentive and responsive. They were laughing at all the jokes, and their claps were loud and powerful. As the play transitioned smoothly from one scene to the other during the first act, the audience seemed to go right along it. During the second act, however, the play did not seem to have the same energy and flow as the first half. Each actor continued to perform well, but overall each scene seemed disconnected from the one before. The play still ended well and the audience cheered very loudly for the grand finale.

 

Lynchburg College's Pajama Game Cast

 Immediately after leaving the theater, I was overwhelmed with the amount of people in the hallway. They weren’t moving at all, and made the exit a bit more cumbersome. Additionally, I did not have a chance to congratulate the actor Kenley Hoover on a job well done due to a swarm of people surrounding him. As we walked away from the building, we both agreed that the talent of the individuals in the play was magnificent but the flow of the play could have been a bit better.