Pins and Needles

Last updated
Pins and Needles
PinsAndNeedles.JPG
Music Harold Rome
Lyrics Harold Rome
Book Arthur Arent
Marc Blitzstein
Emmanuel Eisenberg
Charles Friedman
David Gregory
Joseph Schrank
Arnold B. Horwitt
John Latouche
Harold Rome
Productions1937 Broadway

Pins and Needles (1937) is a musical revue with a book by Arthur Arent, Marc Blitzstein, Emmanuel Eisenberg, Charles Friedman, David Gregory, Joseph Schrank, Arnold B. Horwitt, John Latouche, and Harold Rome, and music and lyrics by Rome. The title Pins and Needles was created by Max Danish, long-time editor of the International Ladies Garment Workers Union (ILGWU)'s newspaper Justice.

Contents

It ran on Broadway from 1937 to 1940, and was revived in 1978. It was produced again in London in 2010 to positive reviews. In 2016, the show ran at the Provincetown Playhouse in New York City, where it was produced by the Steinhardt School at New York University. [1] The revue was also performed in 1938 in the White House for President Franklin D. Roosevelt and his wife Eleanor. [2] [3]

Background

The International Ladies Garment Workers Union used the Princess Theatre in New York City as a meeting hall. The union sponsored an inexpensive revue with ILGWU workers as the cast and two pianos. Because of their factory jobs, participants could rehearse only at night and on weekends, and initial performances were presented only on Friday and Saturday nights. [4] [5] The original cast was made up of cutters, basters, and sewing machine operators. [6]

Pins and Needles looked at current events from a pro-union standpoint. It was a "lighthearted look at young workers in a changing society in the middle of America's most politically engaged city." [5] Skits spoofed everything from Fascist European dictators to bigots in the Daughters of the American Revolution society. Word-of-mouth was so enthusiastically positive that the cast abandoned their day jobs; the production expanded to a full performance schedule of eight shows per week. New songs and skits were introduced every few months to keep the show topical.

According to John Kenrick, Pins and Needles "is the only hit ever produced by a labor union, and the only time when a group of unknown non-professionals brought a successful musical to Broadway." [4]

Productions

Four ILGWU cast members performing Pins and Needles (December 1937) Pins-and-Needles-1938.jpg
Four ILGWU cast members performing Pins and Needles (December 1937)
Franklin D. Roosevelt, Eleanor Roosevelt, David and Emma Dubinsky, Max Danish and others at a White House performance of Pins and Needles (March 3, 1938) Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt, David and Emma Dubinsky, Max Danish and others at a White House production of "Pins & Needles".jpg
Franklin D. Roosevelt, Eleanor Roosevelt, David and Emma Dubinsky, Max Danish and others at a White House performance of Pins and Needles (March 3, 1938)

Originally written for a small theatrical production with music and lyrics by Harold Rome, [7] the first production of Pins and Needles was directed by Samuel Roland. After a two-week professional run, it was adapted for performances by members of the then-striking International Ladies Garment Workers' Union as an entertainment for its members. Because Roland was associated with left-wing causes, he was asked by ILGWU president David Dubinsky to withdraw.

The better-known ILGWU production was directed by Charles Friedman and choreographed by Benjamin Zemach. [8] It opened on November 27, 1937, at the Labor Stage Theatre [9] and transferred to the Windsor Theatre on June 26, 1939, [10] finally closing on June 22, 1940, after 1,108 performances. [11] The cast included Harry Clark. The production was directed by the African-American dancer Katherine Dunham.

The revue was performed in 1938 in the White House for President Franklin D. Roosevelt and First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. [2] [3] Brooks Atkinson, perhaps the most important theater critic at the time, wrote that "Pins and Needles is a gay, satirical revue, which is amusing, as Mrs. Roosevelt knows, for she has recently sealed it with the cachet of the White House". [12] [13]

When the musical was set to play in Providence, Rhode Island, in October 1940, The New York Times reported that the Providence Bureau of Police and Fire "ruled...that the musical hit 'Pins and Needles' cannot play in [Providence] until one of its scenes is deleted." [14] The scene in question satirized the anti-Jewish, pro-fascist Catholic priest Father Coughlin, the German American Bund leader Fritz Kuhn, and Democratic Party U.S. Senator from North Carolina Robert Reynolds. The New York Times reported that the producers cut the scene but under protest. [15]

The Roundabout Theatre Company produced a revival Off-Broadway at the Roundabout Stage 1 Theatre in 1978, which ran for 225 performances. [16] [17] [18]

The Jewish Repertory Theatre presented a concert in 2003, to include songs and sketches from all versions of the show. [19]

Pins and Needles was presented in the UK for the first time at the Cock Tavern Theatre in Kilburn, London, in November and December 2010. The production was directed by Rachel Grunwald and received positive reviews from the theatre press. [20] [21]

In 2011, an updated version of the show was performed at The Foundry Theatre, in Fort Greene, Brooklyn, by members of the social-justice organization "FUREE" (Families United For Racial and Economic Equality).

In 2016, Pins and Needles ran at the Provincetown Playhouse in New York City, where it was produced by the Steinhardt School at New York University. [1] The production was directed by Meg Bussert with orchestrations and musical supervision by Joe Church. The cast featured NYU students, who would have been around the same ages as the actors in the original production.

Songs

25th Anniversary recording

In commemoration of the show's 25th Anniversary, in May 1962, Columbia Records released a studio recording of the score featuring then-newcomer Barbra Streisand. [19] Columbia president Goddard Lieberson did not approve Streisand's involvement with this record until pressured by Harold Rome. She remained unsigned to Columbia until October 1, 1962. The recording was digitally restored and remastered for CD release.

Track listing

  1. "Sing Me A Song With Social Significance" [2:52]
  2. "Doing The Reactionary" [2:01]
  3. "One Big Union For Two" [2:57]
  4. "It's Better With A Union Man" [3:03]
  5. "Nobody Makes A Pass At Me" [4:17]
  6. "I've Got The Nerve To Be In Love" [4:46]
  7. "Not Cricket To Picket" [2:29]
  8. "Back To Work" [2:13]
  9. "Status Quo" [4:27]
  10. "When I Grow Up (The G-Man Song)" [2:49]
  11. "Chain Store Daisy" [3:50]
  12. "Four Little Angels Of Peace" [4:36]
  13. "Sunday In The Park" [3:31]
  14. "What Good Is Love" [3:38]
  15. "Mene, Mene, Tekel" [3:51]

Barbra Streisand vocals are featured on tracks 2 (Solo), 5 (Solo), 7 (Solo), 9 (Solo), 12 & 14 (Solo).

Related Research Articles

<i>Gypsy</i> (musical) 1959 musical by Jule Styne, Stephen Sondheim, and Arthur Laurents

Gypsy: A Musical Fable is a musical with music by Jule Styne, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a book by Arthur Laurents. It is loosely based on the 1957 memoirs of striptease artist Gypsy Rose Lee, and focuses on her mother, Rose, whose name has become synonymous with "the ultimate show business mother." It follows the dreams and efforts of Rose to raise two daughters to perform onstage and casts an affectionate eye on the hardships of show business life. The character of Louise is based on Lee, and the character of June is based on Lee's sister, the actress June Havoc.

<i>Ziegfeld Follies</i> Series of elaborate theatrical revue productions

The Ziegfeld Follies were a series of elaborate theatrical revue productions on Broadway in New York City from 1907 to 1931, with renewals in 1934, 1936, 1943, and 1957. They became a radio program in 1932 and 1936 as The Ziegfeld Follies of the Air.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marc Blitzstein</span> American composer

Marcus Samuel Blitzstein, was an American composer, lyricist, and librettist. He won national attention in 1937 when his pro-union musical The Cradle Will Rock, directed by Orson Welles, was shut down by the Works Progress Administration. He is known for The Cradle Will Rock and for his off-Broadway translation/adaptation of The Threepenny Opera by Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill. His works also include the opera Regina, an adaptation of Lillian Hellman's play The Little Foxes; the Broadway musical Juno, based on Seán O'Casey's play Juno and the Paycock; and No for an Answer. He completed translation/adaptations of Brecht's and Weill's musical play Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny and of Brecht's play Mother Courage and Her Children with music by Paul Dessau. Blitzstein also composed music for films, such as Surf and Seaweed (1931) and The Spanish Earth (1937), and he contributed two songs to the original 1960 production of Hellman's play Toys in the Attic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Dubinsky</span> Belarusian-born American labor leader

David Dubinsky was a Belarusian-born American labor leader and politician. He served as president of the International Ladies Garment Workers Union (ILGWU) between 1932 and 1966, took part in the creation of the CIO, and was one of the founders of the American Labor Party and the Liberal Party of New York.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harold Rome</span> American composer, lyricist, and writer

Harold Jacob "Hecky" Rome was an American composer, lyricist, and writer for musical theater.

<i>The Garrick Gaieties</i> 1925 Rodgers and Hart musical

Garrick Gaieties is a revue with music by Richard Rodgers and lyrics by Lorenz Hart, the first successful musical by this songwriting team.

<i>The Cradle Will Rock</i> Musical

The Cradle Will Rock is a 1937 play in music by Marc Blitzstein. Originally a part of the Federal Theatre Project, it was directed by Orson Welles and produced by John Houseman. Set in Steeltown, U.S.A., the Brechtian allegory of corruption and corporate greed includes a panoply of social figures. It follows the efforts of Larry Foreman to unionize the town's workers and combat the powerful industrialist Mr. Mister, who controls the town's factory, press, church, and social organization. The piece is almost entirely sung-through, giving it many operatic qualities, although Blitzstein included popular song styles of the time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">International Ladies Garment Workers Union</span> 20th-century American labor union

The International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union (ILGWU), whose members were employed in the women's clothing industry, was once one of the largest labor unions in the United States, one of the first US unions to have a primarily female membership, and a key player in the labor history of the 1920s and 1930s. The union, generally referred to as the "ILGWU" or the "ILG", merged with the Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers Union in the 1990s to form the Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Employees (UNITE). UNITE merged with the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees Union (HERE) in 2004 to create a new union known as UNITE HERE. The two unions that formed UNITE in 1995 represented 250,000 workers between them, down from the ILGWU's peak membership of 450,000 in 1969.

<i>I Can Get It for You Wholesale</i> 1962 Broadway musical

I Can Get It for You Wholesale is a musical originally produced by David Merrick, with music and lyrics by Harold Rome, and book by Jerome Weidman, based on his 1937 novel of the same title. Its 1962 production marked the Broadway debut of 19-year-old Barbra Streisand, who was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical. The story is set in the New York City Garment District in 1937, during the Great Depression, and the songs utilize traditional Jewish harmonies evocative of the setting and the period of the show.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Princess Theatre (New York City, 1913–1955)</span> Former theatre in Manhattan, New York

The Princess Theatre was a joint venture between the Shubert Brothers, producer Ray Comstock, theatrical agent Elisabeth Marbury and actor-director Holbrook Blinn. Built on a narrow slice of land located at 104–106 West 39th Street, just off Sixth Avenue in New York City, and seating just 299 people, it was one of the smallest Broadway theatres when it opened in early 1913. The architect was William A. Swasey, who designed the Winter Garden Theatre two years earlier.

<i>Black and Blue</i> (musical) Musical

Black and Blue is a musical revue celebrating the black culture of dance and music in Paris between World War I and World War II.

<i>Sophisticated Ladies</i> Musical

Sophisticated Ladies is a musical revue based on the music of Duke Ellington. The revue ran on Broadway in 1981–83, earning two awards and eight nominations at the 35th Tony Awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harry Clark (actor)</span> American actor

Harry Clark was an American actor.

<i>The Billy Barnes Revue</i> Musical by Billy Barnes

The Billy Barnes Revue is a 1959 musical comedy revue with music and lyrics by Billy Barnes and sketches by Bob Rodgers. The revue premiered in Los Angeles in 1959 and went on to be produced both on Broadway and Off Broadway.

Arthur Lessac was the creator of Lessac Kinesensic Training for the voice and body. Lessac's voice text teaches the “feeling process” for discovering vocal sensation in the body for developing tonal clarity, articulation, and for better connecting to text and the rhythms of speech.

<i>I Can Get It for You Wholesale</i> (album) 1962 cast recording by various artists

I Can Get It for You Wholesale: Original Broadway Cast Recording contains the songs from the Broadway musical I Can Get It for You Wholesale, with music and lyrics by Harold Rome. The album contains Barbra Streisand's solo "Miss Marmelstein", which is the best-known song from the musical.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles S. Zimmerman</span> American socialist activist

Charles S. "Sasha" Zimmerman (1896–1983) was an American socialist activist and trade union leader, who was an associate of Jay Lovestone. Zimmerman had a career spanning five decades as an official of the International Ladies Garment Workers Union. During the early 1970s, Zimmerman and Bayard Rustin were national Co-Chairmen the Socialist Party of America and the Social Democrats USA.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fannia Cohn</span> Belarusian-born Jewish American trade union educator (1885-1962)

Fannia Mary Cohn was a leading figure in the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union (ILGWU) during the first half of the 20th century. She is remembered as one of the pioneers of the workers' education movement in the United States and as a prolific author on the theme of trade union education.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">48th Street Theatre</span> Former theatre in Manhattan, New York

The 48th Street Theatre was a Broadway theatre at 157 West 48th Street in Manhattan. It was built by longtime Broadway producer William A. Brady and designed by architect William Albert Swasey. The venue was also called the Equity 48th Street Theatre (1922–25) and the Windsor Theatre (1937–43).

The Los Angeles Garment Workers strike of 1933 is considered to be one of the most influential strikes in Los Angeles after the passing of the New Deal. The strike is known for being one of the first strikes where Mexican immigrant workers played a prominent role. The garment workers strike occurred in the fall of 1933 in the downtown Garment District in Los Angeles, California. Leaders of the strike, including Rose Pesotta and other members of the International Ladies Garment Workers Union (ILGWU), organized the strike to be culturally orientated in order to include Mexican immigrant workers to fight for union recognition in the garment industry.

References

  1. 1 2 Pins and Needles local802afm.org
  2. 1 2 Daniel Katz. All Together Different: Yiddish Socialists, Garment Workers, and the Labor Roots of Multi-Culturalism. New York: NYU Press, 2011.
  3. 1 2 Susan Ware. "Skin Deep", a review of the book An Intimate Affair: Women, Lingerie, and Sexuality by Jill Fields, University of California Press, 2007. This review appeared in the Washington Post, Sunday, July 15, 2007.
  4. 1 2 Kenrick, John."Pins and Needles" Musicals101.com, accessed July 28, 2010
  5. 1 2 "Political Satire" pbs.org, accessed July 28, 2010
  6. ↑ "Cultural Initiatives" laborarts.org, accessed July 28, 2010
  7. ↑ "Mr. Rome of 'Pins and Needles'", New York Times, December 12, 1937, p. 194
  8. ↑ Kisselgoff, Anna. "Benjamin Zemach, 95, Dancer; Worked in Theater and Films" The New York Times, June 30, 1997
  9. ↑ "The Play: Pins and Needles", The New York Times, November 29, 1937, p. 18
  10. ↑ "Pins and Needles" moves to Windsor Tonight", The New York Times, June 26, 1939, p. 17.
  11. ↑ "'Pins and Needles' Ends Run Tonight: Sets a Record for Musicales With 1,108 Performances--Began Here Nov. 27, 1937", The New York Times, June 22, 1940, p. 18
  12. ↑ Atkinson, Brooks (March 13, 1938). "Standards in Drama Criticism; Mrs. Roosevelt's Dissatisfaction With the Comments on the Stage In This Newspaper and One Other". The New York Times . Retrieved 2017-12-15.
  13. ↑ See also, Louis Stark, "President Pledges Wide Aid to Labor", The New York Times, March 4, 1938, p. 8: "The New York cast of 'Pins and Needles,' sponsored by the International Ladies Garment Workers' Union, presented ten sketches from its musical revue. Earlier, the 'Pins and Needles' company appeared at the White House, performing part of its full show before the President, Mrs. Roosevelt and a few of their friends."
  14. ↑ "'Pins and Needles' Scene Banned", The New York Times, October 23, 1940, p. 27
  15. ↑ "Cut Skit From 'Pins and Needles'", The New York Times, October 24, 1940, p. 30
  16. ↑ "'Pins and Needles' listing, Off-Broadway" Internet Off-Broadway Database listing, accessed July 28, 2010
  17. ↑ See Tom Prideaux, "Tailor-Made Hit of the 30s: 'Pins and Needles,' put on by the ILGWU, first tickled the consciousnesses of audiences in 1937. Now the musical takes on a new generation", The New York Times, Sunday, June 4, 1978, Sunday magazine, p. 8
  18. ↑ Eder, Richard. " 'Pins and Needles,' Musical, Is Staged: The Cast" The New York Times, July 8, 1978
  19. 1 2 Jones, Kenneth."Mason and Walton Sing Rome's Pins and Needles in NYC Concert, March 27-31" Playbill.com, March 27, 2003
  20. ↑ BWW News Desk."PINS and NEEDLES Plays The Cock Tavern Theater" westend.broadwayworld.com, November 4, 2010
  21. ↑ Lukowski, Andrzej."'Pins and Needles' Review" TimeOut.com, November 24, 2010
  22. ↑ "Sparkling Musical Revue" Life, December 27, 1937, pp. 52-53
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.