What the Pajama Men Do
Posted by Mark Chavez on 3/22/2006Hello all. I hope this web log finds you well. We have just finished our third, highly successful, week running here at the Steppenwolf Garage. If you aren’t one of the lucky people who have caught the Pajama Men, then you have two short weeks in which to right that wrong and come check us out. On a side note, the weeks themselves aren’t short, I was just trying to emphasize the fact or phenomenon that time often gets away from us or tends to “fly by” before we’ve had a chance to do all we wanted to in the allotted time-frame. So better get those tickets now while you’re thinking about it. If you aren’t sure you want to come to the show because you don’t know enough about it, try a review , view a clip or ask a friend (or as we say back home in New Mexico, amigo). I, myself have trouble describing our show to people who are unfamiliar with our work: (If they are familiar with it I simply say “Why are you asking me to describe it, Mom? You just saw it.”) If someone wants me to explain what it is the Pajama Men do the conversation usually goes thusly:
SOMEONE: “So, what is it you guys do?”
MARK: “Close your eyes and imagine a color that doesn’t exist in the human visual spectrum.”
SOMEONE: [eyes closed] “Uh…ok.”
MARK: “Good now describe that color to me.”
SOMEONE: “That’s impossible…I couldn’t possibly…”
MARK: With his arms crossing confidently over his chest, gaze narrowing, and the slightest of knowing smiles escaping from his lips he whispers: “Exactly.”
SOMEONE: “You’re saying your show doesn’t really exist?”
MARK: “No. Just that it’s hard to describe.”
SOMEONE: “So. Air is hard to describe to someone unfamiliar with it, that doesn’t mean that I want to watch it for an hour.”
MARK: “Right. You’re just going to have to trust me that it’s more entertaining than air. Who would be unfamiliar with air anyway?”
SOMEONE: “Space whales.”
MARK: “Well, you got me there.”
So there you go. If you have seen us and want to describe us to the reading public then by all means, post a comment. If haven’t seen us yet, but want to describe a color no one has ever seen then that’s fine too. Thank you for reading, if you’ve come here by mistake and were simply trying to look up Gary Sinise’s bio click here and you’ll be on your way.
March 26th, 2006 at 12:39 pm
How did you ever book the “pajama men”into a theatre such as yours?This is a travesty. I would like a refund. If these two con artists were performing ona street corner, people would surely walk by.I doubt if I will take “critics” opinions ever again. This is precisley why regional theatre suffers from attendance.
March 27th, 2006 at 11:37 am
Thanks for your comment. We are sorry you did not have a positive experience at the show. At Steppenwolf, we pride ourselves on providing an eclectic but excellent range of programming, particularly in our Garage space. We recognize that all work will not be to all tastes. This is even more apt when discussing our Visiting Company Initiative, of which Pajama Men is a part. Our goals with the VCI are to provide a platform for work that might not otherwise find a home and that stands in useful counterpoint to what we ourselves produce. We make the leap of faith, and ask our audiences to make it with us, that diversity and a range of presentational styles and artistic voices provides all of us with richer and deeper conversation. We thank you for your willingness to make that leap with us. We hope and trust you will find other programs you attend more satisfying than you found this one. To many of our audience members, the Pajama Men have seemed original, inventive, and unusual, and we invite comments from them too.
March 28th, 2006 at 8:58 am
I was going to write that Second City and Steppenwolf were playing an elaborate joke that would culminate at the April 1st Pajama Men performance where we revealed that Mark and Shenoah were, in fact, “con artists,” not the award-winning comedy duo that we imported from Scotland via New Mexico.
With complete respect for the opinion stated above, I do want to say that most folks love these guys (that’s why we brought them here) and the show is selling out every week. Any one else want to chime in?
March 28th, 2006 at 8:11 pm
Hello Steppenwolf Blog World! Attended ‘Pajama Men’ in the Garage Theater. Can I be completely honest? I was disappointed. Yes, I was! First off, the boyz played favortism to center section. Second, we were sitting stage left. Third, we couldn’t hear very well. Fourth, if you can’t hear or see live theater, what’s the point? Steppenwolf has always taken pride in offering sight and sound. I believe it would have been a more affective show if the boyz were puppeteers and did their schtick using little guys dressed and looking just like them. Maybe fling them around a bit during their routine. All in all, I was pretty under-entertained. I do appreciate that the Garage is there and that new and cutting edge stuff is being given a spotlight. It is a very cool space and reminds me a little of the Curbside Playhouse in Joliet, an old bar that was converted to a little theater.
PS: To comment on Ms. Leonard’s remarks..seriously, the boyz have been playing to sold out audiences because the good name Steppenwolf has been attached and also for some strange inexplicable reason, these guys were given great reviews??! Ah well, tis a noble thing we do!
March 28th, 2006 at 8:31 pm
With all do respect to Renee Mumford’s comment, these guys are due their great reviews and aren’t selling out simply because they have Steppenwolf’s name on their theatre. It is as much their honor to perform there as it is an honor to have them perform, fore they are the bridge that has opened this unique collaboration. For you to suggest that they are merely selling out due to the name on the theatre makes you forget that they are actually good enough to be there in the first place. If you were to google these wonderful men in pajamas you would see that they won the award for best duet in pretty much the world by winning the prestigious Double Act award. Only close to 2 million people attend this event, which is pretty much 1/2 of the Netherlands but only 1/6 of Los Angeles. This isn’t to say that all 2 million people saw them, but if they could have they definitely would have. Soon enough they will. I send my love and see you soon PAJAMA MEN!
March 29th, 2006 at 12:19 am
With all do respect to you too Mr. Sonnenberg. Maybe it’s a generational thing. Or maybe I’m going hard of hearing. Truly, it was difficult to hear and the boys did favor front center, except for one time when they flirted with a pretty woman stage left. I attended the performance with my husband and 23 year old son who also thought they sucked. So there goes my generational thing. With the types of reviews I read about them prior, my anticipation for seeing something very very funny fell flat. I think if these guys were performing on Michigan Avenue, they would have tough competition. But what is Art anyway? Personal interpretation that others might or might not agree with? I’m glad you love the Pajama Men. I thought they looked like nice boys. RM
March 29th, 2006 at 10:26 am
I appreciate your telling me and them that your husband and son thought they sucked, because all it will do is motivate them to work harder and motivate them to go to even greater lengths to succeed at what it is that they do. People like you said that Jim Carey “sucked”, the same was said of Rodney Dangerfield and both of them only look back and thank you for telling them they suck. Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David were told the same thing. Thanks for your support. I would also love to see how your husband and son do in this year’s Edinburgh Fringe Festival if they are entering. Have a wonderful day and I look forward to our future scintillating correspondence.
March 29th, 2006 at 2:25 pm
I COULDN’T HEAR, was my point. This is a friendly place and I dare not let my stubborness in debating with you get the best of me. You are making assumptions about my comedic palate and I am a little offended by it. You make a fine arguement though and actually touch on part of what I was trying to communicate and that is: we all have our own opinions of Art. If commerical success is the final, most important aspect to the Art Form (which I happen not to believe) then the comedians mentioned above have certainly achieved financial success in what they ‘do’. But I could always hear them, whether it was on television (I’d turn up the sound, if need be) or in live performance. I think my husband and son were really saying, “I couldn’t hear them fully and compeletly!” and therefore, they sucked. At the end of the day, the question is as relevant as ever, ‘what is art?’. These guys are expressing themselves creatively, and that makes them artists. It is a technical issue, Mr. Sonnenberg. We could not hear them, and because it was theatrical it severly infringed on our enjoyment level. If I were to go to the Art Institute and not be able to see a painting, whether blind or because the painting was hidden behind some type of scrim and hindered my….you get the picture. I wish Pajama Men all the success in the world. I hope they get rich or famous or both, if that is their goal. You might be too young to remember Captain Kangaroo and an act that frequented the farm, Banana Man. He was something else and I think these guys are onto that same bizarre type of humor that can be very affective. You have a wonderful day too. I hope I’m not obusing this blog site (already) I just got here! And this is a well bred site to boot!
March 29th, 2006 at 10:17 pm
With comedians, it’s even more a matter of taste than it is with plays. There are comedians praised in heaven over here that I really, really dislike.
I also think that the sold out shows at Step have nothing to do with the name Steppenwolf. I’m sure they have tons of fans, also in Chicago. But there are also people who didn’t know them and were really disappointed with them. But that’s life.
Jo
A PS to daniel sonnenberg: “Only close to 2 million people attend this event, which is pretty much 1/2 of the Netherlands” : learn your geography before you post something, Netherlands has close to 18 million people living here right now
March 30th, 2006 at 9:31 am
Went online looked up Banana Man for old times sake. Sam Levine created Banana Man for Vaudville, it was a vaudvillian act and that struck a chord, I would have to put Pajama Men in the same catagory, a sort of Bauhaus version, minimal vaudville?
My family and I went to see them because the act was associated with Second City and being performed at Steppenwolf, the reviews didn’t hurt our decision to go either. It’s not that we didn’t ‘get’ their act, it was that it didn’t seem fresh or as funny as anticipated. We came with high expectations and if we had come with a more vaudvillian mind set, I think we could have enjoyed ourselves more..I’ll not go on about sound problems again!
March 30th, 2006 at 10:17 am
Meant to say the population of the Greater Amsterdam area where I wrote Netherlands. Let’s make it so people can hear that Pajama Men please. They need Pajama mics! Whatever the case, glad that it was due to technical difficulties and not them that actually sucked cause they certainly do not. Know my geography but thank you for calling me out on my typo.
April 4th, 2006 at 8:39 am
I have never visited the Steppenwolf or the city of Chicago, but I have seen the Pajama Men at the Edinburgh Festival in 2005, and they were OUTSTANDING. Absolutely hilarious! One of the greatest hours of entertainment. Anyone who disagrees is like a Chinese shoe..ie. soleless…soulless. The reason I am posting this is:
1) Shame on the detractors. You are lucky enough to have the Pajama Men in your country. Treasure them. Buy them flowers, take them out for dinner once in a while, don’t neglect them. Because when they defect to Britain, like Bill Hicks, I won’t let them out.
2) Pajama Men - please come back to the UK and entertain us. Our rich comedy circuit feels like the word MATE when you take away the A and the E, i.e. MT…(empty). Or like a Chinese shoe etc etc. If you come back, I promise I’ll let you go home after. (Ignore point 1. It’s a set up I tells ya.)
Praises unto ye,
Ed
April 5th, 2006 at 12:09 pm
Walking into Steppenwolf’s garage on Friday March 31, 2006 my mind was filled with racing thoughts of everyday worry and anxiety. However, upon vacating my stage left seat, I felt relaxed and calm as only the way consistent belly aching laughter can bring.
The Pajama Men’s show is brimming with hilarity and originality. I for one have yet to come across such a show with superb timing, character development, and concentration. Yes any comedic show, as is everything else, is faced with the reality of confronting utmost approval or dislike from its’ audience. Everyone is of course entitled to their opinion that may or may not come down simply to being able to hear the dialogue. However, as is the case with The Pajama Men, the show’s success should not be brought down to question the theatre(s) who are hosting the production.
Yes it is true Steppenwolf and Second City are predominant names in Chicago’s theatre scene. It is possible that the show received attention on that association alone. However, it is not possible that The Pajama’s Men positive recognition surfaced as a result of their backing. No matter what one’s opinion is of the show itself, one aspect cannot be ignored - originality. Liking it or disliking it is not a generational thing. If a family does not enjoy the show I for one believe it goes towards similar ideals and tastes within a family rather then age difference.
This show can stand on its’ own two feet and it is my belief and sincerest hope that they return to Chicago.