Pins and Needles (1937): Everything in moderation

Pins and Needles, a revue produced and performed by the International Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union (ILGWU) in 1937, is frequently compared with another leftist revue of the Great Depression, Parade, produced by the Theater Guild in 1935. Parade presented satirical sketches entirely from the liberal perspective, which apparently did not satisfy audiences, because the show closed in only five weeks. Pins and Needles, on the other hand, ran for three years, although it, too, was born out of a socially progressive culture. Why, then, did it succeed? The following study will illuminate Pins and Needles’ balanced content, which was achieved by introducing skits that featured the tempered political viewpoints and socially progressive ideals of the union from which it came. Through the careful construction of content, and the decisions made by the show’s creative team, which included theatre professionals and union leadership who answered to the cast of ILGWU members, Pins and Needles’ enjoyed wide-ranging and long-lasting appeal.