FUR PAJAMAS

Can an '80s one-hit wonder really make it big again?

a New Wave musical - of Lovers and Frenemies

SYNOPSIS

Nigel Gladstone was the hot British front man for Fur Pajamas, a one-hit wonder '80s New Wave band. Now, years later and down on his luck, he makes a desperate (or desperately brilliant?!) proposition to his vengeful ex-bandmate Peter and his young new agent Andi: write a jukebox musical, using their old song catalog, for a competition - with a deadline in 1 week! With an ex-girlfriend who's ready to sue, an elusive ex-wife who may (or may not) hold the key, and a young rock star ready to carry Andi away - can Nigel reconcile his past with the present, and really make it big again?

2 FULL MUSICAL STAGED READINGS

Next Step Theatre Festival

Thursday, June 11 @ 1 pm & 8 pm

The Producers' Club, 358 W 44 St

FREE, but RSVPs required to furpajamasmusical@gmail.com

It's an intimate venue, so don't delay! Provide your name, phone number, number of seats (limit of 2), and performance time.

Admission will be confirmed by return email.

See you at FUR PAJAMAS!

TEASER TRAILER

(song excerpts, in order on the trailer)

"Damn Straight" (ANDI)

"Wanna Be With You" (ZACH & ANDI)

"I Thought I Knew" (NIGEL, ANDI & PETER)

"Fixating On Me" (PETER & NIGEL)

"One of a Kind" (CLAUDIA)

"C'est La Venus" (PETER & THE POM POMS)

"This Isn't Just Some Gig" (NIGEL)

"Can You Feel It" (FUR PAJAMAS)

"Don't Let Them Go" (NIGEL, CLAUDIA & PETER)

(excerpts from a staged reading in Seattle, Oct 2024)

MUSIC BY

John Allman

BOOK + LYRICS BY

David Ceci

STORY BY

John Allman & David Ceci

co-producers

John Allman & David Ceci

MUSIC DIRECTOR

John Allman

STAGE DIRECTOR

Andrew Coopman

FESTIVAL INFO + TICKETS

For information about FUR PAJAMAS and the other shows being presented at the Next Step Theatre Festival (June 8 - 14), visit the festival website at www.nextsteptheatrefest.com.

THE CREATORS

JOHN ALLMAN

Composer, lyricist and playwright John Allman (he/him) was music director for staged readings in Seattle of Fur Pajamas, and his own musical The Miracle of the Salt. He music-directed his children’s musical Bee Present in Redmond, WA. As a singer/songwriter he’s played the Seattle Cabaret Festival. Previously, he MD’d a reading of his own mini-musical adaptation of Poe’s House of Usher. John wrote songs for 4 prior children’s musicals: Snow Queen, Fluffy Tale of Adventure, Alice in Wonderland and Sparkle Fairy’s School. He wrote incidental music for Agamemnon and Henry V at La MaMa ETC in NYC, and MD’d a workshop of his Alice in Santa Fe, NM.

DAVID CECI

David Ceci (he/him) writes across multiple genres about characters who tend to live in the past or the future. In addition to these readings of FUR PAJAMAS, he also recently workshopped his supernatural horror play Unfamiliar: A Maidstone Tale at the PG Exploration Festival (directed by Ciera Eis). Last fall, David directed a staged reading of Act I of Arsinoë IV, his historical drama set in ancient Egypt, at the Spark Theatre Festival, while its origin short play of the same name was a Finalist with Red Bull Theatre's Short New Play Festival. He also self-produced a short play derived from the full-length Unfamiliar: AMT in festivals at both The Secret Theatre and The Players Theatre. The Enemy Unseen, a dystopian sci-fi adventure (formerly Sundown), was selected for a developmental reading at The Skeleton Rep’s Salon Series, and David continues to develop The Fountain, a period romantic drama set in southern Italy. His work has also been developed at The PlayGround Experiment (PGE), Seattle Playwrights' Salon, and Primary Stages ESPA. He is a proud member of the Dramatists Guild and PGE.

ANDREW COOPMAN

Andrew Coopman (they/he) is a freelance director-choreographer. Drama League Directors Project alumnus, Andrew’s work as a director and choreographer has been seen on stages in Chicago, Dallas, Milwaukee, Ithaca, New York City, and more. Credits include: Billy to His Friends (World Premier, The Wild Project/Fresh Fruit Fest), MIKEY! (World Premier, The Tank), Georgia & The Butch (World Premier, The Tank) Alan Turing & The Queen of the Night (World Premier, Players Theater) The Apollo of Bellac (Hangar Theatre), Head Over Heels (Lakewood Playhouse), Bryony Lavery’s Frozen: A Play (Cabaret Theater), Little Women (Seattle Musical Theater), Cinderella (Village Theatre), and Orfeo y Euridice (Seattle Opera). MFA Directing, University of Washington and MA, Educational Theatre, New York University – Steinhardt. SDC member.

CAST LIST

NIGEL: Oliver Callahan

ANDI: Rachel Croom

PETER: David Michael Kirby

CLAUDIA: Ronda Christie

EVA JEAN: Heidi-Liz Johnson

ZACH: Niko Rissi

MAITRE D: Sam Seleznow

DENISE: Elizabeth Alm

STAGE DIRECTIONS, U/S: Shayna Rives

CHARACTER DOUBLING

ANDI: Adelita, Commuter, Pom Pom

CLAUDIA: Commuter, Pom Pom

EVA JEAN: Entourage, Commuter, Pom Pom, Jaded New Yorker

ZACH: Entourage, Pat, Train Conductor, Jaded New Yorker

DENISE: Entourage, Commuter, Pom Pom, Jaded New Yorker

MAITRE D: Entourage, Commuter, Paralegal, Jaded New Yorker, Gothic Character

SET LIST

"Life of a Star"

"This Isn't Just Some Gig"

"Damn Straight"

"C'est La Venus"

"Safe Choice"

"I'm Over That"

"Delirium"

"The Snake"

"Drive a DeLorean"

"Fixating on Me"

"One of a Kind"

"Famous Once"

"What Would Keith Do?"

"Wanna Be With You"

"Echoes of the Past"

"I Can Feel It"

"I Thought I Knew"

"Don't Let Them Go"

THE CAST

OLIVER CALLAHAN

Oliver Callahan is excited to be workshopping this rockstar role of Nigel! Recent theatre credits include Judas, Jesus Christ Superstar (Spotlight Theater), Gleb, Anastasia (Bainbridge Performing Arts), and Anthony, Sweeney Todd (Vashon Repertoire Theatre). Previously, Oliver spent three years in the US Army and in that time had the honor to serve as the Assistant Director of the 82nd Airborne Division’s All-American Chorus. After his time in the service, Oliver moved to Seattle to attend the University of Washington, earning a post-baccalaureate degree in Vocal Performance. Upon graduating, he was accepted into NYU Steinhardt’s prestigious Graduate Vocal Performance program in musical theater. @theolivetenor

RACHEL CROOM

Rachel Croom is an actress and singer-songwriter from Jackson, New Jersey. She began attending Actors Playground School of Theatre in Freehold, New Jersey, when she was nine years old. Film: "Blasphemy," "Mean Girls (2024)," "PK" and upcoming "Noise." Her debut EP, 'Big Music Fan', is available on all streaming platforms. Most recently, she released her double A-side single, "Too Awake to Sleep / For the Ones Who Go Away" (2025). Currently, she’s overjoyed to be actively developing new works. Catch her as Marie Taylor in Mr. Griffin, Ms. Taylor running at the LATEA Theatre June 10th, 12th, and 14th as a part of NYTF. Love to my people. Nothing if not for my teachers. @rachelcroom

DAVID MICHAEL KIRBY

David Michael Kirby (DMK) is a graduate of the Atlantic Theater Company conservatory program. He is a versatile actor, singer, director, and writer. His most recent play "Ephemory Lane" premiered at New Ambassadors' Blurring Boundaries Festival in 2021. Numerous NYC appearances include A Little Princess (US premiere-Signature); The Spoon River Project (NYC premiere-Greenwood Cemetery); Carnival Round the Central Figure (NYC premiere-IRT). Select film: Zero Issue; WARFIELD; The Lion’s Den. Web series: Mythos (ITVFest award-winner). DMK is a founding member of New Ambassadors Theatre Company, and serves on its leadership team.

RONDA CHRISTIE

Ronda Christie is so excited to be involved in today’s staged reading, after recently relocating to New York! Her theatre credits include The Magic Snowman and The True Story of the Three Little Pigs at the Indianapolis Children’s Museum Lilly Theatre, and Eurydice at Actors’ Theatre of Columbus. Her most recent film credit was as assistant director and supporting actress, playing Nora in New High Score, which won Best Indiana Film at PopCon International Film Festival 2026. She studied at The Ohio State University (Go Bucks!), where she received a BA in Theatre.

HEIDI-LIZ JOHNSON

Heidi-Liz Johnson (she/her) is thrilled to be joining the cast in this exciting next step for Fur Pajamas! Heidi has been honored to be a part of a number of new and upcoming works, including Billy to His Friends, House of Fallen Women, Class of ’69, Treeson, To Be A Gloucesterman, and Little Things. Favorite roles include Alice (Bright Star), Fiona (Shrek The Musical), Mary Poppins (Mary Poppins), Christine (Dirty Rotten Scoundrels), and Jerusha (Daddy Long Legs). Many thanks to Andrew, David, and John for entrusting her with this material, and much love to Mychal, the Johnsons, and the Ballways. @heidilizjohnson // www.heidi-lizjohnson.com

NIKO RISSI

Niko Rissi (Zach) is a proud Greek/Italian actor from New York City and is super excited to be a part of bringing this piece to the Next Step Festival. His favorite credits include Josh Groban’s Great Big Radio City Show (Chorus), In The Heights (Benny) and The Magic School Bus: Lost in the Solar System (Ralphie). Endless thanks to his family and team for their continued support.

SAM SELEZNOW

Sam Seleznow (He/Him) is a NYC based Actor, Musician, and Writer. NYC credits: Mikey! (The Tank), Billy to His Friends (The Wild Project). Regional credits include: Picnic at Hanging Rock (Goodspeed), Matilda (Theatre Workshop of Nantucket), Ragtime, Sunset Boulevard, Man of La Mancha (Mac-Haydn Theatre). Sam was a production singer for cruise lines such as Holland America and AIDA Cruises. Sam would like to thank his friends, family, and partner Jacob. His original music is currently on all streaming platforms. Hartt School Alum. @samseleznow samseleznow.com

ELIZABETH ALM

Elizabeth Alm (she/her) is thrilled to be making her NYC debut with the team of Fur Pajamas! Originally from the PNW, she is now a NYC-based singer, actor, and writer. Credits include: Junie B Jones is Not a Crook (SecondStory Rep), Fluffy Tale of Adventure (SecondStory Rep), and Politically Motivated (Glass Iris Productions). Special thanks to my cat, Cash. The real MVP for tolerating all the belting and head voicing in our tiny apartment.

SHAYNA RIVES

Shayna Rives (she/her) is a NYC based creative and has most recently been seen Off-Broadway in Alan Turing and The Queen of the Night. Regional credits include The Prom (Alyssa Greene) and Xanadu (Kira U/S, Swing) with Tent Theater.

DEVELOPMENT HISTORY

John & David at the post-reading party in Seattle (Oct 2024).

How Did This Happen?

John and David met at a Dramatists Guild ‘speed dating’ event for writers and composers in NYC, and while John was intrigued by David’s basic story idea that eventually became FUR PAJAMAS, David insisted that he needed to write the entire story out as a straight play before the two of them could collaborate on a musical version. Serious collaborative work on adapting that play version into a show with music began in earnest in 2019, and the Seattle Playwrights Salon hosted a self-produced staged reading in July of that year. Following an unanticipated pause brought on by COVID-19, David returned to the next draft of the book, presenting several rewritten / new scenes at The PlayGround Experiment - a developmental theater company based in NYC - in 2021 and 2022. After a year in which John and David focused on individual projects, in March 2024 they returned to FUR PAJAMAS and conducted a Zoom table reading of the fully revised script. In October 2024, they moved ahead and self-produced a staged reading of the current version of the show in Seattle... which brings us to the upcoming staged reading at the Next Step Theatre Festival at The Producers' Club in NYC!

Playing at 2025 TPS Pitch Day

Tickling the ivories in 2024

Talkback at 2019 SPS

Theatre Puget Sound 2025

Seattle Armory 2024

(2024 logo designed by Noel Pederson-Walker)

Palace Theatre & Bar 2019

2025 Pitch Scene

2024 Staged Reading

2019 Staged Reading

SPECIAL THANKS

Book writer and lyricist David Ceci would like to acknowledge the vital role played by two very special NYC-based organizations in the development of FUR PAJAMAS.

Primary Stages Einhorn School for the Performing Arts (ESPA) offers classes in writing, acting and directing. In 2016, in a short plays writing course taught by Leah Nanako (Kentucky, Two Mile Hollow), David wrote a 10-minute play about the chaotic collision of three vastly different people - Peter, Andi & Nigel - in the office of a rock music agent. This is when FUR PAJAMAS was born! In 2017, David wrote the lyrics for all of the songs on the band's four studio albums in a lyric writing course taught by Adam Gwon (Ordinary Days, Scotland PA). Some of those diegetic songs made their way into the score. Later that spring, David started to flesh out Nigel's story in a weekend writing workshop taught by Melissa Ross (Nice Girl, Of Good Stock). And that summer, in a cabaret-style event celebrating ESPA writers, David presented two scenes (directed by Ria DiLullo) and two songs (directed by Jen Curfman) with Tony Patryn as Nigel and Badia Farha (School of Rock, Hell's Kitchen) as Eva Jean. Other ESPA courses that provided additional structure for David's work on the book were taught by Suzanne Bradbeer (Confederates, The God Game), Winter Miller (In Darfur, No One is Forgotten), and Michael Mitnick (The Siegel, Fly By Night).

The PlayGround Experiment (PGE), a developmental theatre company founded by current Artistic Director Mike Lesser, is home to an extraordinary group of writers, actors, directors and designers who are welcoming, encouraging and generous with their time and feedback. Fast forward to 2021 and 2022, when David presented several new and revised FUR PAJAMAS scenes that were brilliantly read by the amazingly talented actors of PGE during various Volumes, PGE's flagship program designed to 'test drive' messy new work.

FUR PAJAMAS 2026 GRAPHICS DESIGNED by

RENÉE NICOLE GRAY

See Renée's other design work at her website, https://reneenicolegray.com/

What's With The Name?

Well, it turns out that Nigel was a big Talking Heads fan growing up. In 1986, when they released their album, True Stories, Nigel was first in line to buy it at the only record shop in his small English village of Hitchen, north of London . After racing home with his newly acquired treasure, Nigel proceeded to play that album so often that the needle started to cut through the vinyl. Wild Wild Life was the lead single from that album, and when Nigel heard the first line of that song - "I'm wearing fur pajamas" - he couldn't stop imagining himself as a rock 'n' roll god. Before his nan could say "Bob's your uncle," he'd spent all his money to buy a old electric guitar and booked a flight to New York, where he just KNEW that he could achieve his rock 'n' roll dreams and live the life of a star!

Little did he know just how fast that would happen, or how quickly it would all fade away...

THE BAND

WHAT COULD HAVE HAPPENED

NIGEL GLADSTONE

Guitar, Lead Vocals

PETER BERTUCCI

Keyboards, Vocals

CLAUDIA RICHTER

Bass, Vocals

ADELITA RAMOS

Drums, Vocals

THE ENTOURAGE

WHAT WOULD HAVE HAPPENED

ANDI WILSON

Empire Music

ZACH POWELL

Desperate Measures

EVA JEAN BARNES

Law Offices of E. J. Barnes

MAITRE D

Delirium Bistro

DENISE MAXWELL

Empire Music

VINCE MALONE

Empire Music

THE ALBUMS

WHAT SHOULD HAVE HAPPENED

1989 - Meadowlands Records

1990 - Polyurethane Records

1991 - Isometric Records

1992 - Last Ditch Records

Sleep Tight (1989)

Fur Pajamas' debut album, Sleep Tight, was released in 1989 months before the band's live television appearance in California. After that, Meadowlands Records quickly ordered a second and then a third pressing of their single I Can Feel It as it was flying up the charts due to extensive radio airplay and television news reports. Regardless of how it got there, I Can Feel It found itself in Billboard's Top 10, putting Fur Pajamas firmly - if briefly - on the map. For a time, at least some of its members reaped the rewards of music stardom.

Your Eyes (1990)

Their follow-up record, Your Eyes, is an eclectic mix of hard-pounding anthems like Drive a DeLorean, alongside meloncholy love songs like Your Eyes (Call to Me). Try as it might, though, this second studio album could not replicate the unexpected success of Sleep Tight. The pop sensibility of most of its tracks invokes the endless teen angst of unrequited love, harkening back to simpler days. It appeared that some of the magic of Sleep Tight was missing, which should not have come as a surprise, given the fact that, by the time of this album's release, the band's original lineup had undergone significant changes. While the boys soldiered on, this subsequent work was not well-received by the critics, especially Rolling Stone.

Gruesome Garden (1991)

Gruesome Garden, the band's third album, dares to explore dark themes ripped from the pages of Gothic horror stories - decay, isolation, supernatural terror, and psychological distress can all be found on this record. Many of the songs were related to specific characters from such tales as Dracula, Frankenstein, The Invisible Man, and 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. In Leave Leave Go, for example, Dr. Jekyll implores his romantic partner to remove herself before he transforms into his monstrous alter-ego. A sleeper hit with Fur Pajamas fans, Fixating On Me tells the story of a young man's anxiety as he is stalked by a spurned lover. Even though album sales dropped to a new low, this record became a cult hit and, some say, served as the inspiration for a significant uptick in Horror Metal music output in the mid-'90s.

Herringbone Haze (1992)

Fur Pajamas' final studio album, Herringbone Haze, was an apt swan song for a group that simply refused to adapt to a changing music scene. Centered on the idea of mindless suburban conformity in both the US and the UK, it does have a few outliers. C'est la Venus, for example, is a snappy pop tune about someone with a secret crush, and it's very at odds with the tone of the rest of the album. Herringbone Haze also saw the boys delve into politics again (after their Fawn Hall-inspired Deer In The Lights from Sleep Tight). On HH, Brothers and Sisters is a rousing tribute to the Polish trade union Solidarity, which had successfully fought back again the country's authoritarian overlords. After this final album release, Fur Pajamas chose not to tour in support of it, which may or may not have been related to the fact that several Eastern European nations banned both Nigel and Peter from ever setting foot inside their borders.

Those bans remain in effect to this day.

Page updated

Google Sites

Report abuse