ABSTRACT
In one of the earliest versions of Pins and Needles, the performers identified themselves in a song titled “First Impression.” In it, they told who they were and where they came from. We’re not George M. Cohans or Noel Cowards Or Beatrice Lillies or Willie Howards. We’ve never played in stock or studied at the playhouse. And the only line we’ve ever said in a Broadway house is—Which way to the gallery? As you see we’re not tragedians or comedians Or showgirls or kick-in-a-row girls or troopers or even supers, We’re plain, simple, common, ordinary, Everyday men and women who work hard for a living—We’re from the shops. Dressmakers, cloakmakers, cutters, underwear workers, knit-goods workers, neckwearmakers, embroiderers, stampers, checkers, examiners, graders, pressers, trimmers, binders, pinkers. All of us—From the shops!!
