''Pins and Needles'' (1937) is a musical

revue A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance, and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own dur ...

with a book by Arthur Arent, Marc Blitzstein, Emmanuel Eisenberg, Charles Friedman, David Gregory, Joseph Schrank, Arnold B. Horwitt, John Latouche, and

Harold Rome Harold Jacob "Hecky" Rome (May 27, 1908 – October 26, 1993) was an American composer, lyricist, and writer for musical theater. Biography Rome was born in Hartford, Connecticut and graduated from Hartford Public High School. Originally, he c ...

, 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''. It ran on Broadway from 1937 to 1940, and was revived in 1978. It was produced again in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

in 2010 to positive reviews. In 2016, the show ran at the

Provincetown Playhouse The Provincetown Playhouse is a historic theatre at 133 MacDougal Street between West 3rd and West 4th Streets in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. It is named for the Provincetown Players, who converted the former ...

in New York City, where it was produced by the Steinhardt School at

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, th ...

.''Pins and Needles''
local802afm.org The revue was also performed in 1938 in the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in ...

for President

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

and his wife

Eleanor Eleanor () is a feminine given name, originally from an Old French adaptation of the Old Provençal name ''Aliénor''. It is the name of a number of women of royalty and nobility in western Europe during the High Middle Ages. The name was introd ...

.Daniel Katz. ''All Together Different: Yiddish Socialists, Garment Workers, and the Labor Roots of Multi-Culturalism''. New York: NYU Press, 2011.Susan Ware. "Skin Deep", a review of the book
An Intimate Affair: Women, Lingerie, and Sexuality
' by Jill Fields, University of California Press, 2007.

appeared in the ''Washington Post'', Sunday, July 15, 2007.

Background

The International Ladies Garment Workers Union used the Princess Theatre in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

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. Kenrick, Johnbr>"Pins and Needles"
Musicals101.com, accessed July 28, 2010
pbs.org, accessed July 28, 2010 The original cast was made up of cutters, basters, and sewing machine operators. ''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." Skits

spoof Spoof, spoofs, spoofer, or spoofing may refer to: * Forgery of goods or documents * Semen, in Australian slang * Spoof (game), a guessing game * Spoofing (finance), a disruptive algorithmic-trading tactic designed to manipulate markets __NOTOC__ ...

ed everything from Fascist

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dictator A dictator is a political leader who possesses absolute power. A dictatorship is a state ruled by one dictator or by a small clique. The word originated as the title of a Roman dictator elected by the Roman Senate to rule the republic in tim ...

s to

bigots Discrimination is the act of making unjustified distinctions between people based on the groups, classes, or other categories to which they belong or are perceived to belong. People may be discriminated on the basis of race, gender, age, reli ...

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."

Productions

Originally written for a small theatrical production with music and lyrics by

, 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 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 U.S. unions to have a primarily female memb ...

as an entertainment for its members. Because Roland was associated with

left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...

causes, he was asked by ILGWU president

David Dubinsky David Dubinsky (; born David Isaac Dobnievski; February 22, 1892 – September 17, 1982) was a Belarusian-born American labor leader and politician. He served as president of the International Ladies Garment Workers Union (ILGWU) between 1932 ...

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

Katherine Dunham Katherine Mary Dunham (June 22, 1909 – May 21, 2006) was an American dancer, choreographer, anthropologist, and social activist. Dunham had one of the most successful dance careers of the 20th century, and directed her own dance company for ...

. The revue was performed in 1938 in the

for President

and First Lady

Eleanor Roosevelt Anna Eleanor Roosevelt () (October 11, 1884November 7, 1962) was an American political figure, diplomat, and activist. She was the first lady of the United States from 1933 to 1945, during her husband President Franklin D. Roosevelt's four ...

Brooks Atkinson Justin Brooks Atkinson (November 28, 1894 – January 14, 1984) was an American theatre critic. He worked for '' The New York Times'' from 1922 to 1960. In his obituary, the ''Times'' called him "the theater's most influential reviewer of hi ...

, 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". When the musical was set to play in

Providence, Rhode Island Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts ...

, in October 1940, ''

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'' reported that the Providence Bureau of Police and Fire "ruled...that the musical hit 'Pins and Needles' cannot play in rovidenceuntil one of its scenes is deleted." The scene in question satirized the anti-Jewish, pro-fascist Catholic priest

Father Coughlin Charles Edward Coughlin ( ; October 25, 1891 – October 27, 1979), commonly known as Father Coughlin, was a Canadian-American Catholic priest based in the United States near Detroit. He was the founding priest of the National Shrine of the ...

, the German American Bund leader

Fritz Kuhn Fritz Kuhn (born 29 June 1955) is a German politician who served as Mayor of Stuttgart from 2012 until 2021. He was co-chairman of Alliance '90/The Greens, the German Green party, in 2002 and its parliamentary group from 2002 to 2013. Early ...

, and

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U.S. Senator from

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Robert Reynolds. ''The New York Times'' reported that the producers cut the scene but under protest. The

Roundabout Theatre Company The Roundabout Theatre Company is a leading non-profit theatre company based in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, affiliated with the League of Resident Theatres. History The company was founded in 1965 by Gene Feist, Michael Fried and Elizabet ...

produced a revival Off-Broadway at the Roundabout Stage 1 Theatre in 1978, which ran for 225 performances. The Jewish Repertory Theatre presented a concert in 2003, to include songs and sketches from all versions of the show. ''Pins and Needles'' was presented in the UK for the first time at the

Cock Tavern Theatre The Cock Tavern Theatre was a pub theatre located in Kilburn, London, Kilburn in the north-west of London. The venue specialised in new works and critical revivals. Resident companies Good Night Out Presents and OperaUpClose were also based at t ...

in Kilburn, London in November and December 2010. The production was directed by Rachel Grunwald and received positive reviews from the theatre press. 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

in New York City, where it was produced by the Steinhardt School at

. 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

;Act I * "First Impression" - Entire Company * "Why sing of Skies Above?" - Boys and Girls * "Public Enemy No. 1" - Sung by Jean Nicita * "The General is Unveiled" - General, Speaker, Secretary and Invited Guests * "Sunday in the Park" - Papa, Mama, Boy, Girl, Cop, Balloon Man, Vendor, Couple, Man with Carriage, Lonesome Guy, Park Attendant, Radical, Man on Bench and Passersby * "Dear Beatrice Fairfax" - Sung by Millie Weitz * "Britannia Waives the Rules" (Sketch and Lyrics by: John La Touche and Arnold B. Horwitt, Music By Bernece Kazounoff - The Prime Minister, The Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, The Secretary of State for War, The First Lord of the Admiralty, The German Envoy, The Japanese Envoy and Miss Beamish * "Men Awake" - Singers and Dance Group ;Act II * "Lorelei On the Rocks" (Lyrics By John La Touche, Music By Bernece Kazounoff) - Die Lorelei and A Storm Trooper * "Lesson In Etiquette" - The Expert * "What Good is Love?" - Sung by Grace Quatropani * "One Big Union for Two" - Girls and Boys * "Vassar Girl Finds a Job" - Sung by Millie Weitz * "Four Little Angels of Peace" - Anthony Eden,"Sparkling Musical Revue"
''Life'', December 27, 1937, pp. 52-53 Mussolini, Japanese and Hitler, Mussolini, Japanese and Hitler * "Slumming Party" - Mrs. Dalyrymple III, Mrs. Dalyrymple's Protege, Mrs. Dalyrymple's Nephew, Mrs. Dalyrymple's Aunt, Mrs. Dalyrymple's Uncle and Mrs. Dalyrymple's Chauffeur * "We've Just Begun" (Lyrics By Charles Friedman and Harold J. Rome) - Entire Company

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 Barbara Joan "Barbra" Streisand (; born April 24, 1942) is an American singer, actress and director. With a career spanning over six decades, she has achieved success in multiple fields of entertainment, and is among the few performers awar ...

.Jones, Kennet
"Mason and Walton Sing Rome's Pins and Needles in NYC Concert, March 27-31"
Playbill.com, March 27, 2003 Columbia president

Goddard Lieberson Goddard Lieberson (April 5, 1911 – May 29, 1977) was the president of Columbia Records from 1956 to 1971, and again from 1973 to 1975. He became president of the Recording Industry Association of America in 1964. He was also a composer, and ...

did not approve Streisand's involvement with this record until pressured by

. She remained unsigned to Columbia until October 1, 1962. The recording was digitally restored and remastered for CD release.

Track listing

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

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

References

External links

*
Guide to ILGWU records, 1884-2006, bulk 1923-1995. Includes oral history interviews with cast members and related archival materials.
{{Authority control 1937 musicals Broadway musicals Revues