Wide awake at Shannon Musical Society this February

WITH Christmas out of the way, Shannon Musical Society’s rehearsals for The Pajama Game are back in full swing after the break.
The next few weeks are set to be very busy for all involved in the society, as the show dates are from February 12 to 18.
This year’s producer hails from Dublin, the well-regarded Donal Cantwell. Once again, the musical director for the production is Carmel Griffin with her able assistant Rosemary Walsh. The choreographer is Shannon’s Karen Barrett and she is now putting the cast through their final paces.
This is the 34th production to have been staged by the society and is one of the social highlights of the year in Shannon.
The Pajama Game is a musical comedy set in the mid ’50s and promises plenty of laugher and excitement.
It’s a rather timely production as it deals with the subject of industrial strife as workers at the Sleep-Tie Pajama Factory in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, look for a pay rise of seven and a half cents an hour. One of the themes is workplace romance as love blossoms between Babe Williams, one of the workers, and Sid Sorokin, a new superintendent at the factory.
Gary Keane is back with the SMS playing the leading role, while Hilary Orpen plays Babe Williams, the lady in his life. There are a number of familiar faces in the production along with a few newcomers, making it a show not to be missed.
The booking office will be opening in SkyCourt shopping centre on Monday, February 6. Bookings can also be made by phone on 086 2142554. Tickets must be collected and paid for within 48 hours of booking.
Dara Gough is chairperson of the SMS and prior to the launch of the production, she said the society typically has large numbers taking part in its productions. “There could be 45 on stage and another 120 come on board for the week of the show. As well as those on stage, there are people involved in the stage crew, the front of house and props. It’s one of the biggest events in Shannon and there are usually full houses for each of the seven nights.”
Dara also said the society typically gets a lot of support from the public in Shannon. “Everyone comes on board and it helps to create a great spirit in the community at the time of the production. We get great support. It costs €60,000 to €70,000 each year to stage it so we do a lot of fundraising and our main sponsors this year will be the Shannon Knights.”
The SMS production in 2011 was The Wedding Singer and was performed before large crowds last February.