Pajama Game

A corrective note: In last Friday's review of "Grease," I misnamed the young lady who did such a wonderful job bringing the obnoxious Patty Simcox to life. She is Tiffani Baldwin, a 16-year-old junior-to-beat Severna Park High School.Sorry, Tiffani. Your career is taking off just as I'm starting to go senile.

New York-- --Actress Megan Lawrence is wearing a hip pink Indian dress over white cotton pants. Her lips, however, sport retro red lipstick, the same shade as her perfectly manicured nails. Her lips and nails say "Gladys Hotchkiss," the 1950s secretary she portrays in the hit Broadway revival of The Pajama Game. The rest of her getup -- which includes fuzzy animal slippers -- is pure Megan Lawrence. Her husband, also a Broadway actor, describes her as "a college-dropout hippie who made good."

The Pajama Game may be a show about a labor dispute, but most of all, it's sheer fun, and Center Stage's exuberant production couldn't have come at a better time. Set in a Midwestern factory town in the 1950s, this infrequently revived 1954 musical (score by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross, book by George Abbott and Richard Bissell) ultimately is about Americans, both labor and management, pulling together for the greater good. French filmmaker Jean-Luc Godard described it as "the first left-wing operetta," and the character of Hines, the pajama factory's "time-study man," introduces the show as "a very serious drama."

The Drowsy Chaperone, a small-scale musical that began as a performance at a bachelor party, woke up yesterday to 13 Tony Award nominations - more than any other show. A Canadian show-within-a-show about a theater fan whose most beloved 1920s musical comes to life in his living room, Chaperone shares the best-musical category with The Color Purple (which is adapted from Alice Walker's 1983 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel and garnered 11 nominations), The Wedding Singer (adapted from the 1998 Adam Sandler movie and produced by native Baltimorean Margo Lion)

New York-- --Actress Megan Lawrence is wearing a hip pink Indian dress over white cotton pants. Her lips, however, sport retro red lipstick, the same shade as her perfectly manicured nails. Her lips and nails say "Gladys Hotchkiss," the 1950s secretary she portrays in the hit Broadway revival of The Pajama Game. The rest of her getup -- which includes fuzzy animal slippers -- is pure Megan Lawrence. Her husband, also a Broadway actor, describes her as "a college-dropout hippie who made good."

The Pajama Game may be a classic musical comedy, but when audiences enter Center Stage's Head Theater for this season-opening production, they'll see anything but a classic set. Instead, they will find themselves facing a gargantuan sewing machine. Well, not the whole machine - just a few important features, specifically a 25-foot aluminum needle, pressure foot and an enormous bolt of striped fabric, crafted out of laminated wood. "It is as if that bolt is being unfurled and sent through the sewing machine to become pajamas ... as if the sewing machine has been made so huge that that's all of it that can be in this building," says Walt Spangler, the show's New York-based set designer.

The Drowsy Chaperone, a small-scale musical that began as a performance at a bachelor party, woke up yesterday to 13 Tony Award nominations - more than any other show. A Canadian show-within-a-show about a theater fan whose most beloved 1920s musical comes to life in his living room, Chaperone shares the best-musical category with The Color Purple (which is adapted from Alice Walker's 1983 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel and garnered 11 nominations), The Wedding Singer (adapted from the 1998 Adam Sandler movie and produced by native Baltimorean Margo Lion)

It's hard to figure out the best part of "Center Stage Presents." Maybe it was when the 400 guests got to catch up with old friends during the cocktail hour at the theater. Or perhaps when they were treated to delightful entertainment by cabaret performer Malcolm Gets, who included a song he wrote about his experiences playing Richard on the canceled sitcom "Caroline In The City." Was it at the silent auction when Center Stage board member Terry Morgenthaler won a walk-on role in next season's production of the musical "The Pajama Game?"

Three commissioned scripts will receive readings in Center Stage's new series of play workshops called "First Look." The playwrights participating in this debut effort are Tony Award-winner Warren Leight, actor/writer/solo performer Danny Hoch and award-winning playwright Lynn Nottage. Each work-in-progress will be cast with professional actors, who will rehearse for four days before presenting two staged readings in the Head Theater. The playwrights will be in residence and can revise their scripts before the second reading, according to artistic director Irene Lewis, who hopes to include post-play discussions with the authors.

Today Nature Walk -- Harford Community College will hold a 5K Cross Country Eco-Run and Guided Family Nature Walk at 8 a.m. On-site registration begins at 7 a.m. in front of the Susquehanna Center. Participants should report to the gym at 7:30 a.m. The cost is $15 for the general public; $10 for HCC students and employees; and free for children ages 12 and younger with a registered adult. Entry fee includes refreshments, a T-shirt and prizes. Proceeds from the event will fund sustainability activities and the purchase of a tree in honor of the college's graduating Class of 2006.

Today Nature Walk -- Harford Community College will hold a 5K Cross Country Eco-Run and Guided Family Nature Walk at 8 a.m. On-site registration begins at 7 a.m. in front of the Susquehanna Center. Participants should report to the gym at 7:30 a.m. The cost is $15 for the general public; $10 for HCC students and employees; and free for children ages 12 and younger with a registered adult. Entry fee includes refreshments, a T-shirt and prizes. Proceeds from the event will fund sustainability activities and the purchase of a tree in honor of the college's graduating Class of 2006.

Three commissioned scripts will receive readings in Center Stage's new series of play workshops called "First Look." The playwrights participating in this debut effort are Tony Award-winner Warren Leight, actor/writer/solo performer Danny Hoch and award-winning playwright Lynn Nottage. Each work-in-progress will be cast with professional actors, who will rehearse for four days before presenting two staged readings in the Head Theater. The playwrights will be in residence and can revise their scripts before the second reading, according to artistic director Irene Lewis, who hopes to include post-play discussions with the authors.

The Pajama Game may be a show about a labor dispute, but most of all, it's sheer fun, and Center Stage's exuberant production couldn't have come at a better time. Set in a Midwestern factory town in the 1950s, this infrequently revived 1954 musical (score by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross, book by George Abbott and Richard Bissell) ultimately is about Americans, both labor and management, pulling together for the greater good. French filmmaker Jean-Luc Godard described it as "the first left-wing operetta," and the character of Hines, the pajama factory's "time-study man," introduces the show as "a very serious drama."

The Pajama Game may be a classic musical comedy, but when audiences enter Center Stage's Head Theater for this season-opening production, they'll see anything but a classic set. Instead, they will find themselves facing a gargantuan sewing machine. Well, not the whole machine - just a few important features, specifically a 25-foot aluminum needle, pressure foot and an enormous bolt of striped fabric, crafted out of laminated wood. "It is as if that bolt is being unfurled and sent through the sewing machine to become pajamas ... as if the sewing machine has been made so huge that that's all of it that can be in this building," says Walt Spangler, the show's New York-based set designer.

It's hard to figure out the best part of "Center Stage Presents." Maybe it was when the 400 guests got to catch up with old friends during the cocktail hour at the theater. Or perhaps when they were treated to delightful entertainment by cabaret performer Malcolm Gets, who included a song he wrote about his experiences playing Richard on the canceled sitcom "Caroline In The City." Was it at the silent auction when Center Stage board member Terry Morgenthaler won a walk-on role in next season's production of the musical "The Pajama Game?"

Yesterday at Camden Yards, someone not Jon Miller announced that, playing at shortstop, was someone not Cal Ripken.Whoa. What alternate universe have we stumbled onto here?Even legends, it seems, move on."Hey, where's he going?" fan Scott Baker joked yesterday as the team ran onto the field for the first inning and Ripken veered sharply away from the pack to head to his new position at third base. "That doesn't look right, does it?"It was like that "missing man" formation that fighter pilots do in honor of a lost colleague, one jet arcing away from the rest and going on his lonely way.At least Ripken was just steps away from his usual spot at shortstop.

Countdown to spring! Only two and a half weeks to go! This is time of year when a gardener's thoughts turn lightly to -- roto-tilling. This is my last opportunity to prune the trees before the sap runs, time to plant the spinach and the peas and potatoes.Mind you, I never actually get any of these things done, except for pruning, but this is when all this ought to be done. In a person of less refinement and breeding, this would be procrastination. It's just that there's so much I want to do.*Keith Wahl of the Savage United Methodist Church called to announce that the church will hold a free Easter play March 27. Last year, the church presented two performances of the Easter play and had to turn away guests for lack of space.

Psst, don't tell anyone. Those silk charmeuse pants your neighbor wore at her party? They're actually her pajama bottoms. That rugby-striped henley cotton top her husband was wearing when he picked up the morning paper in the driveway? It's the same pajama top he snored in all night.The new generation of pajamas is not just for sleeping anymore.Pajama ensembles were the signature of "alterna-hunk" Evan Dando of the Lemonheads when the band was beginning to gain attention a few years ago. Mr. Dando would show up in restaurants and on stage wearing his PJs. Back then, his outfits were a statement.

Countdown to spring! Only two and a half weeks to go! This is time of year when a gardener's thoughts turn lightly to -- roto-tilling. This is my last opportunity to prune the trees before the sap runs, time to plant the spinach and the peas and potatoes.Mind you, I never actually get any of these things done, except for pruning, but this is when all this ought to be done. In a person of less refinement and breeding, this would be procrastination. It's just that there's so much I want to do.*Keith Wahl of the Savage United Methodist Church called to announce that the church will hold a free Easter play March 27. Last year, the church presented two performances of the Easter play and had to turn away guests for lack of space.