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Pal Joey (play)
Encyclopedia
Pal Joey is a musical
with a book by John O'Hara
(from his novel of the same title
) and music and lyrics by Richard Rodgers
and Lorenz Hart
based on a character and situations O'Hara created in a series of short stories
published in The New Yorker
. It includes two songs that have become standards
: "I Could Write a Book
" and "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered
".
The original 1940 Broadway
production was directed by George Abbott
and starred Gene Kelly
. There have been several revivals since, including a 2008–09 Broadway run, and a 1957 film adaptation
starring Frank Sinatra
, Rita Hayworth
and Kim Novak
.
offered the stories of "Pal Joey" to Rodgers and Hart to turn into a musical. O'Hara was not present during the out-of-town tryouts, and the director George Abbott
took over the rewriting. When the show opened in New York the critics were divided, with Richard Watts (New York Herald Tribune) calling it "brilliant." It became the longest running Rodgers-Hart show to that time. Ethan Mordden wrote that Pal Joey is a "breakthrough in character writing". He noted that "the two leads and Linda are extremely well-drawn", and that whilst "Pal Joey is tough, its script true to its characters". He also believed that the show "finds Rodgers and Hart at their best". Everett and Laird wrote that Pal Joey is the "most important work produced by Rodgers and Hart", and is the "most integrated of their musicals".
Joey Evans, as an unsympathetic antihero, is a striking departure from the usual musical comedy formula. Richard Rodgers
said: "Joey was not disreputable because he was mean, but because he had too much imagination to behave himself, and because he was a little weak."
During early 1950, the song "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered
" had become popular, giving Goddard Lieberson
the idea to produce a studio cast recording. Because of the popularity of that recording, composer-producer Jule Styne
produced the 1952 revival.
Pal Joey premiered on Broadway
on December 25, 1940 at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre
and ran for 374 performances. Directed by George Abbott
with choreography by Robert Alton
, the opening-night cast included Gene Kelly
as Joey, Vivienne Segal
as Vera, and June Havoc
as Gladys. Van Johnson
and Stanley Donen
were also in the cast.
1952 Broadway revival
The musical was a greater success when revived in 1952 on Broadway at the Broadhurst Theatre
. The revival was prompted by the success of the 1950 studio cast album
featuring Segal and Harold Lang
and released by Columbia Records
. It opened on January 3, 1952 and closed on April 18, 1953, after 540 performances. Dances and musical numbers were again staged by Robert Alton
, and it starred Lang, Segal and Helen Gallagher
. The cast also included future Broadway star Elaine Stritch
as Melba, and Bob Fosse
served as the understudy
for Joey. This production had the longest run of any revival of a musical in the history of the Broadway theatre at the time. It won the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award for Best Musical and became the first musical ever to receive eleven Donaldson Awards
.
London
There have been two productions in London's West End
. The first was in March 1954 at the Princes Theatre, starring Harold Lang
, Carol Bruce
and Sally Bazely. The second was at the Noel Coward Theatre
, from September 1980 until September 1981, starring Siân Phillips
, Danielle Carson, and Denis Lawson
.
1976 Broadway Revival
In 1976
a revival on Broadway opened on June 27, 1976 at the Circle in the Square Theatre
and closed on August 29, 1976. The show was directed by Theodore Mann
, choreography by Margo Sappington
, musical direction/additional dance arrangements by Scott Oakley, scenery John J. Moore, costumes Arthur Boccia, lighting Ron Wallace, principal orchestrator Michael Gibson, production stage manager Randall Brooks, stage manager James Bernardi, and press by Merle Debusky and Susan L. Shulman.
The opening night cast featured Christopher Chadman
(Joey), Harold Gary (Mike), Terri Treas
(Kid), Janie Sell
(Gladys), Gail Benedict (Gail), Murphy Cross (Murphy), Rosamond Lynn (Rosamond), Marilu Henner
(Marilu), Deborah Geffner
(Debbie), Boni Enton (Linda), David Hodo
(Gent), Austin Colyer (Ernest), Denny Martin Flinn (Waldo the Waiter), Michael Leeds (Victor), Kenn Scalice (Delivery Boy), Adam Petroski (Louis), Joe Sirola (Ludlow Lowell), Ralph Farnworth (O'Brien), Dixie Carter
(Melba), and Joan Copeland
(Vera) ran for 73 performances.
Other productions, 1960s to 2000s
Pal Joey was produced off-Broadway
in 1963
(15 performances) at City Center
and starred Bob Fosse
as Joey, Viveca Lindfors
as Vera, and Kay Medford
as Melba. The Huntington Theatre in Boston
presented a revised version, adapted by Richard Greenberg
and director David Warren, from September to October 1992. The cast featured Donna Murphy
as Vera. A staged concert in the City Center Encores!
series in May 1995 starred Peter Gallagher
and Patti LuPone
. In 2002, there was a Prince Music Theater production in Philadelphia which starred Christine Andreas
. The following year Andreas won the Barrymore Award for Outstanding Leading Actress in a Musical
for her performance as Vera Simpson.
2008 Broadway revival
Producer Marc E. Platt
, along with Richard Greenberg (who had written the 1992 Boston adaptation) and director Joe Mantello
planned a revival for fall 2007, which was postponed. The Roundabout Theatre Company
and Platt presented a limited engagement, with previews beginning on November 14, 2008, officially opening on December 18, 2008, and closing on March 1, 2009. The original book by John O'Hara
had undergone substantial "adaptation" by Greenberg, eliminating characters and reassigning songs. Mantello directed, with choreographey by Graciela Daniele
. The production starred Stockard Channing
as Vera, Martha Plimpton
as Gladys, Matthew Risch as Joey, Jenny Fellner as Linda, and Robert Clohessy
as Mike. The set designer was Scott Pask
, with costumes by William Ivey Long
and lighting by Paul Gallo
. Advance publicity for the show included a full page spread in the November issue of Vogue
, featuring Christian Hoff
in costume as Joey. Hoff began previews as Joey, but he was forced to leave the production on November 22, 2008 due to an injury. His understudy, Matthew Risch, took over the part. Risch had previously appeared in Chicago
and Legally Blonde
on Broadway in featured roles.
This new production also offers a song for Joey that was cut prior to the 1940 Broadway premiere ("I'm Talking to My Pal"), and also interpolated are the Rodgers & Hart songs ("Are You My Love?") from the 1936 film Dancing Pirate
, and ("I Still Believe in You") from the 1930 musical, Simple Simon
. Both are for Joey and Linda.
In Chicago
in the late 1930s, Joey Evans, a second-rate dancer and nightclub MC, a charming "heel" with big plans, schemes to get his dream–his own nightclub–"Chez Joey". He meets young and naive Linda English outside a pet shop, and, impressing her with his grandiose lies, they are romantically attracted ("I Could Write a Book
"). In the nightclub, the older, wealthy but bored married socialite, Vera Simpson comes in with her friends and becomes interested in Joey as the chorus girls are doing a song-and-dance number ("That Terrific Rainbow"). Joey, playing hard-to-get, insults Vera and she walks out. When Vera later returns to the club, Joey, in order to save his job, turns on his charm; they walk out together and start an affair ("What is a Man"). Joey runs into Linda while Vera is buying him expensive new clothing, and Linda becomes distraught. Vera, however, is glowing in the romance ("Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered
"). Joey convinces Vera to set him up in business, but she becomes vulnerable to a blackmail attempt. As his nightclub is ready to open, Joey expresses his disdain for women ("What Do I Care For a Dame").
Act II
"Chez Joey" is about to open, as the chorus rehearses ("The Flower Garden of My Heart"). Melba, an ambitious reporter, interviews Joey, revealing quite a bit of her other glamorous interviews ("Zip"). [In the 2008 revival, Gladys plays a "reporter" in a skit during the floor show at Chez Joey, doing the "Zip" number and going from demure suit-and-hat to the revealing burlesque costume.] Gladys Bumps, a chorus girl who dislikes Joey, conspires with an old flame, Ludlow, to blackmail Vera. [In the 2008 revival, Joey fires Gladys, and to get back at him, she conspires with Mike, the club manager, to blackmail Vera. Mike is forced into the scheme because Gladys threatens to have him fired because he is gay.] Linda overhears the plotting, and tells Vera, who then tells the Police Commissioner, who arrests Gladys and Ludlow. Vera and Linda both agree that Joey is not worth the trouble ("Take Him"). Vera has thrown Joey out and closes "Chez Joey". Although he and Linda meet again, Joey leaves her to follow another, unknown woman.
Act II
† 2008 revival: "Zip" is sung by Gladys; cut songs restored; Linda's reprise added
wrote: "If it is possible to make an entertaining musical comedy out of an odious story, Pal Joey is it. John O'Hara
has written a joyless book about a sulky assignation. Under George Abbott
's direction some of the best workmen on Broadway have fitted it out with smart embellishments. Pal Joey offers everything but a good time, whether Joey is a punk or a heel is something worth more careful thinking than time permits. Although Pal Joey is expertly done, can you draw sweet water from a foul well?
When he reviewed the 1952 revival, Atkinson called the production "brilliant", writing: "There is no sign of age in the brisk performance that Robert Alton
has expertly staged; and the acting is sharp and original... Miss Segal presides over the sordid affairs of an astringent tale with humor, reserve, and charm. It would be hard to improve upon Harold Lang
's performance as the heel.
In reviewing the 1995 Encores! concert, Vincent Canby
noted: "Here was a show in which cynicism, sophistication, bogus sentimentality and high spirits were as much the content as the form of an otherwise traditional Broadway musical. The first production [1940] shocked a lot of critics and many theatergoers. There was no question about the quality of the Richard Rodgers
score and Lorenz Hart
lyrics. The disturbance was caused by John O'Hara
's corrosive book: the sordid adventures of a Chicago nightclub singer and M.C. named Joey Evans. It wasn't until the 1952 revival that Joey was recognized as literature's latest darling, the antihero. In 1995, Pal Joey is a treasure."
panned the 2008 production, describing it as "in mourning for its own lifelessness", having "no detectable pulse". Todd Haimes, the Artistic Director of the Roundabout Theatre, commented on the "new book by Richard Greenberg that, in my opinion, does a stunning job of enhancing O'Hara's original by more fully integrating the songs with the book and giving even more of a full life to each of his characters." The Times
quoted Haimes as saying that he thought "the Greenberg adaptation transformed the original 'flawed book' by enriching the dialogue and sharpening the characters of not only Joey but the women in his life, like the damaged society wife Vera Simpson... and the wronged chanteuse Gladys Bumps.... In other words, there would be a stronger story that might match the well-known songs." According to New York Magazine
, "Greenberg... simplified the story and removed much of the old script's gangster gothic.... He made it smarter and sexier, and bleak. Where the movie ended with Novak and Sinatra walking off into the California sunshine, this ends with Joey alone on a dark street corner, wondering—like so many right now—what the hell to do."
Variety
wrote: "The Rodgers and Hart songs...are certainly easy on the ear, but what makes the Roundabout revival of their 1940 show so compelling is Richard Greenberg's trenchant adaptation of the original book by John O'Hara
. Erasing the sanitizing stamp of musical-theater coyness, Greenberg brings a fascinating melancholy grubbiness to this cynical story of sordid emotional transactions and opportunistic behavior in late-1930s Chicago. It's a dark show for desperate times...The major discovery is [Martha] Plimpton's heretofore-hidden musicality...even half-talking her [Channing] songs, she puts across the rueful resignation of "What Is a Man?" with elegance... and pours enough bruising self-deprecation into "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered
" to make it work." The New York Post ("a flawed revival") gave the production 2½ stars. The Associated Press wrote: "Richard Greenberg... has given John O'Hara's original book... a new sheen without changing the general outline of the story: punkish song-and-dance man scores big, gets his comeuppance but soldiers on. Greenberg's rewrite is crisp and to the point. There is a hard-boiled briskness to his work, a film-noir sensibility in its punchy dialogue that ricochets lickety-split across the stage. Channing gets across this number [Bewitched], one of the most famous in the Rodgers and Hart canon, in what can be described as her best Rex Harrison My Fair Lady
manner. It's half-sung, half-spoken but acted to the fullest, a consummate bit of musical-theater performing.... Plimpton is quite a revelation in the role." Variety
, praising the production and specifically Risch, wrote a follow up response to the mixed reviews stating "it's bizarre to see Mantello's staging pejoratively described as "ruthless," "joyless" and "unhappy" -- as if such qualities don't compute in musical theater. One of the controversies of this "Joey" is that its leading man, newcomer Matthew Risch, the understudy who replaced Christian Hoff in the eleventh hour, fails to deliver the requisite dollop of charm to his catting around. Reviewers have compared him with actors they never saw in the role, namely Gene Kelly, or men who have never essayed Joey onstage, including Hugh Jackman, Harry Connick Jr. and, yes, Frank Sinatra, who insisted, among other woeful ideas, that he sing "The Lady Is a Tramp" in the misconceived (and far happier) 1957 film version. A big, toothy movie star might have assured theatergoers that this cad really wasn't what he is -- a cad. Risch, to his credit, offers a tough, uncompromising portrait that allows only two brief moments of moral conscience -- both of which lead Joey to shield his girlfriend Jenny from, well, Joey." adding "Coincidence or not, Risch's Joey is a younger brother of Erwin Schrott's Don Giovanni, seen at the Met Opera earlier this season. When these guys smile, it's the devil's work at play with any woman's affections. If the show offers a pessimistic view of female sexuality, then so be it. Joey and Giovanni, not the women, are the ones going straight to hell." and "In the end, Mantello and Risch's Joey is an easy antihero to understand, if not love."
was released by Columbia on February 12, 1951.
A partial cast recording of the 1952 Broadway revival was released in January 1952 by Capitol Records. It featured Helen Gallagher, Elaine Stritch and others from the revival cast, but starred non-cast members Jane Froman
and Dick Beavers as Vera and Joey, in place of Segal and Lang.
A 1980 London Revival Cast recording was released on the TER Label/JAY Records, starring Denis Lawson
and Siân Phillips
.
A cast recording of the 1995 concert, starring Patti LuPone
and Peter Gallagher
, was released October 12, 1995 by DRG (ASIN: B000000PL1).
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
with a book by John O'Hara
John O'Hara
John Henry O'Hara was an American writer. He initially became known for his short stories and later became a best-selling novelist whose works include Appointment in Samarra and BUtterfield 8. He was particularly known for an uncannily accurate ear for dialogue...
(from his novel of the same title
Pal Joey
Pal Joey is a 1940 epistolary novel by John O'Hara, which became the basis of the 1940 stage musical comedy and 1957 motion picture of the same name, with music by Richard Rodgers and lyrics by Lorenz Hart....
) and music and lyrics by Richard Rodgers
Richard Rodgers
Richard Charles Rodgers was an American composer of music for more than 900 songs and for 43 Broadway musicals. He also composed music for films and television. He is best known for his songwriting partnerships with the lyricists Lorenz Hart and Oscar Hammerstein II...
and Lorenz Hart
Lorenz Hart
Lorenz "Larry" Milton Hart was the lyricist half of the famed Broadway songwriting team Rodgers and Hart...
based on a character and situations O'Hara created in a series of short stories
Pal Joey
Pal Joey is a 1940 epistolary novel by John O'Hara, which became the basis of the 1940 stage musical comedy and 1957 motion picture of the same name, with music by Richard Rodgers and lyrics by Lorenz Hart....
published in The New Yorker
The New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
. It includes two songs that have become standards
Standard (music)
In music, a standard is a tune or song of established popularity.-See also:* Blues standard* Jazz standard* Pop standard* Great American Songbook-Further reading:* Greatest Rock Standards, published by Hal Leonard ISBN 0793588391...
: "I Could Write a Book
I Could Write a Book
"I Could Write a Book" is a show tune from the 1940 Rodgers and Hart musical Pal Joey , where it was introduced by Gene Kelly and Leila Ernst.-Notable recordings:*Betty Carter - The Audience with Betty Carter *Harry Connick, Jr...
" and "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered
Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered
"Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered" is a show tune and popular song from the 1940 Rodgers and Hart musical Pal Joey. The song was introduced by Vivienne Segal in the 1940 Broadway production, and also sung by Miss Segal both on the 1950 hit record and in the 1952 Broadway revival...
".
The original 1940 Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
production was directed by George Abbott
George Abbott
George Francis Abbott was an American theater producer and director, playwright, screenwriter, and film director and producer whose career spanned more than nine decades.-Early years:...
and starred Gene Kelly
Gene Kelly
Eugene Curran "Gene" Kelly was an American dancer, actor, singer, film director and producer, and choreographer...
. There have been several revivals since, including a 2008–09 Broadway run, and a 1957 film adaptation
Pal Joey (film)
Pal Joey is a 1957 film, loosely adapted from the musical play of the same name, and starring Rita Hayworth, Frank Sinatra, and Kim Novak. Jo Ann Greer sang for Hayworth, as she had done previously in Affair in Trinidad and Miss Sadie Thompson. Kim Novak's singing voice was dubbed by Trudy Erwin...
starring Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
, Rita Hayworth
Rita Hayworth
Rita Hayworth was an American film actress and dancer who attained fame during the 1940s as one of the era's top stars...
and Kim Novak
Kim Novak
Kim Novak is an American film and television actress. She began her career with her roles in Pushover and Phffft! but achieved greater prominence in the 1955 film Picnic...
.
Background
The author John O'HaraJohn O'Hara
John Henry O'Hara was an American writer. He initially became known for his short stories and later became a best-selling novelist whose works include Appointment in Samarra and BUtterfield 8. He was particularly known for an uncannily accurate ear for dialogue...
offered the stories of "Pal Joey" to Rodgers and Hart to turn into a musical. O'Hara was not present during the out-of-town tryouts, and the director George Abbott
George Abbott
George Francis Abbott was an American theater producer and director, playwright, screenwriter, and film director and producer whose career spanned more than nine decades.-Early years:...
took over the rewriting. When the show opened in New York the critics were divided, with Richard Watts (New York Herald Tribune) calling it "brilliant." It became the longest running Rodgers-Hart show to that time. Ethan Mordden wrote that Pal Joey is a "breakthrough in character writing". He noted that "the two leads and Linda are extremely well-drawn", and that whilst "Pal Joey is tough, its script true to its characters". He also believed that the show "finds Rodgers and Hart at their best". Everett and Laird wrote that Pal Joey is the "most important work produced by Rodgers and Hart", and is the "most integrated of their musicals".
Joey Evans, as an unsympathetic antihero, is a striking departure from the usual musical comedy formula. Richard Rodgers
Richard Rodgers
Richard Charles Rodgers was an American composer of music for more than 900 songs and for 43 Broadway musicals. He also composed music for films and television. He is best known for his songwriting partnerships with the lyricists Lorenz Hart and Oscar Hammerstein II...
said: "Joey was not disreputable because he was mean, but because he had too much imagination to behave himself, and because he was a little weak."
During early 1950, the song "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered
Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered
"Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered" is a show tune and popular song from the 1940 Rodgers and Hart musical Pal Joey. The song was introduced by Vivienne Segal in the 1940 Broadway production, and also sung by Miss Segal both on the 1950 hit record and in the 1952 Broadway revival...
" had become popular, giving Goddard Lieberson
Goddard Lieberson
Goddard Lieberson was the president of Columbia Records from 1956 to 1971, and from 1973 to 1975. He was also a composer, and studied with George Frederick McKay, at the University of Washington, Seattle....
the idea to produce a studio cast recording. Because of the popularity of that recording, composer-producer Jule Styne
Jule Styne
Jule Styne was a British-born American songwriter especially famous for a series of Broadway musicals, which included several very well known and frequently revived shows.-Early life:...
produced the 1952 revival.
Productions
Original Broadway productionPal Joey premiered on Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
on December 25, 1940 at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre
Ethel Barrymore Theatre
The Ethel Barrymore Theatre is a legitimate Broadway theatre located at 243 West 47th Street in midtown-Manhattan, named for actress Ethel Barrymore....
and ran for 374 performances. Directed by George Abbott
George Abbott
George Francis Abbott was an American theater producer and director, playwright, screenwriter, and film director and producer whose career spanned more than nine decades.-Early years:...
with choreography by Robert Alton
Robert Alton
Robert Alton was an American dancer and choreographer, a major figure in dance choreography of Broadway and Hollywood musicals from the 1930s through to the early 1950s...
, the opening-night cast included Gene Kelly
Gene Kelly
Eugene Curran "Gene" Kelly was an American dancer, actor, singer, film director and producer, and choreographer...
as Joey, Vivienne Segal
Vivienne Segal
Vivienne Sonia Segal was an American actress and singer.Segal was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She is best remembered for creating the role of Vera Simpson in Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart's Pal Joey and introduced the song "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered"...
as Vera, and June Havoc
June Havoc
June Havoc was a Canadian-born American actress, dancer, writer, and theater director. Havoc was a child Vaudeville performer under the tutelage of her mother. She later acted on Broadway and in Hollywood and stage directed . She last appeared on television in 1990 on General Hospital...
as Gladys. Van Johnson
Van Johnson
Van Johnson was an American film and television actor and dancer who was a major star at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios during and after World War II....
and Stanley Donen
Stanley Donen
Stanley Donen ; is an American film director and choreographer whose most celebrated works are Singin' in the Rain and On the Town, both of which he co-directed with Gene Kelly. His other noteworthy films include Royal Wedding, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Funny Face, Indiscreet, Damn...
were also in the cast.
1952 Broadway revival
The musical was a greater success when revived in 1952 on Broadway at the Broadhurst Theatre
Broadhurst Theatre
The Broadhurst Theatre is a legitimate Broadway theatre located at 235 West 44th Street in midtown Manhattan.It was designed by architect Herbert J. Krapp, a well-known theatre designer who had been working directly with the Shubert brothers; the Broadhurst opened 27 September 1917...
. The revival was prompted by the success of the 1950 studio cast album
LP album
The LP, or long-playing microgroove record, is a format for phonograph records, an analog sound storage medium. Introduced by Columbia Records in 1948, it was soon adopted as a new standard by the entire record industry...
featuring Segal and Harold Lang
Harold Lang
Harold Lang was an American dancer and actor.-Biography:Lang began his professional career as a ballet dancer, making his professional debut with the San Francisco Ballet in 1938 and then going on to perform with the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo two years later and American Ballet Theatre in 1943...
and released by Columbia Records
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
. It opened on January 3, 1952 and closed on April 18, 1953, after 540 performances. Dances and musical numbers were again staged by Robert Alton
Robert Alton
Robert Alton was an American dancer and choreographer, a major figure in dance choreography of Broadway and Hollywood musicals from the 1930s through to the early 1950s...
, and it starred Lang, Segal and Helen Gallagher
Helen Gallagher
Helen Gallagher is an American actress, dancer, singer and makeup artist.-Early years:Born in Brooklyn, she was raised in Scarsdale, New York for several years until the Wall Street crash which heralded the Great Depression, and her family moved to the Bronx. Her parents separated and she was...
. The cast also included future Broadway star Elaine Stritch
Elaine Stritch
Elaine Stritch is an American actress and vocalist. She has appeared in numerous stage plays and musicals, feature films, and many television programs...
as Melba, and Bob Fosse
Bob Fosse
Robert Louis “Bob” Fosse was an American actor, dancer, musical theater choreographer, director, screenwriter, film editor and film director. He won an unprecedented eight Tony Awards for choreography, as well as one for direction...
served as the understudy
Understudy
In theater, an understudy is a performer who learns the lines and blocking/choreography of a regular actor or actress in a play. Should the regular actor or actress be unable to appear on stage because of illness or emergencies, the understudy takes over the part...
for Joey. This production had the longest run of any revival of a musical in the history of the Broadway theatre at the time. It won the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award for Best Musical and became the first musical ever to receive eleven Donaldson Awards
Donaldson Awards
The Donaldson Awards were established in 1944 by the drama critic Robert Francis in honour of the founder of Billboard, W. H. Donaldson . Categories included 'best new play', 'best new musical', 'best performance', 'best debut' and 'best costumes and set design'...
.
London
There have been two productions in London's West End
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
. The first was in March 1954 at the Princes Theatre, starring Harold Lang
Harold Lang
Harold Lang was an American dancer and actor.-Biography:Lang began his professional career as a ballet dancer, making his professional debut with the San Francisco Ballet in 1938 and then going on to perform with the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo two years later and American Ballet Theatre in 1943...
, Carol Bruce
Carol Bruce
Carol Bruce was an American band singer, Broadway star, and film and television actress.Bruce was born Shirley Levy in Great Neck, New York, the daughter of Beatrice and Harry Levy. She began her career as a singer in the late 1930s with Larry Clinton and his band...
and Sally Bazely. The second was at the Noel Coward Theatre
Noël Coward Theatre
The Noël Coward Theatre, formerly known as the Albery Theatre, is a West End theatre on St. Martin's Lane in the City of Westminster. It opened on 12 March 1903 as the New Theatre and was built by Sir Charles Wyndham behind Wyndham's Theatre which was completed in 1899. The building was designed by...
, from September 1980 until September 1981, starring Siân Phillips
Siân Phillips
Jane Elizabeth Ailwên "Siân" Phillips, CBE, is a Welsh actress.-Early life:Phillips was born in Gwaun-Cae-Gurwen, Neath Port Talbot, Wales, the daughter of Sally , a teacher, and David Phillips, a steelworker-turned-policeman...
, Danielle Carson, and Denis Lawson
Denis Lawson
Denis Stamper Lawson is a Scottish actor and director. He is known for his roles as John Jarndyce in the BBC's adaptation of Bleak House and as Gordon Urquhart in the film Local Hero, but is best known for playing the part of Wedge Antilles in the original Star Wars trilogy.-Early life:Lawson was...
.
1976 Broadway Revival
In 1976
1976 in music
-January–February:*January 5 – Former Beatles road manager Mal Evans is shot dead by Los Angeles police after refusing to drop what police only later determine is an air rifle....
a revival on Broadway opened on June 27, 1976 at the Circle in the Square Theatre
Circle in the Square Theatre
The Circle in the Square Theatre is a legitimate Broadway theatre in midtown Manhattan on 50th Street in the Paramount Plaza building.The original Circle in the Square was founded by Paul Libin, Theodore Mann and Jose Quintero in 1951 and was located at 5 Sheridan Square in Greenwich Village...
and closed on August 29, 1976. The show was directed by Theodore Mann
Theodore Mann
Theodore Mann, birth name Goldman, is an American theatre producer and director and the Artistic Director of the Circle in the Square Theatre School....
, choreography by Margo Sappington
Margo Sappington
Margo Sappington is an American choreographer and dancer born July 30, 1947 in Baytown, Texas. She was nominated in 1975 for both a Tony Award as Best Choreographer and a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Choreography for her work on the play Where's Charley?. In 1988, her ballet Virgin Forest was...
, musical direction/additional dance arrangements by Scott Oakley, scenery John J. Moore, costumes Arthur Boccia, lighting Ron Wallace, principal orchestrator Michael Gibson, production stage manager Randall Brooks, stage manager James Bernardi, and press by Merle Debusky and Susan L. Shulman.
The opening night cast featured Christopher Chadman
Christopher Chadman
Christopher Chadman was an American dancer and choreographer who was nominated for Tony, Drama Desk, and Outer Critics Circle Awards and was the winner of the Fred Astaire Award for his choreography for the 1992 revival of Guys and Dolls.Born in the Bronx, Chadman studied at the High School of...
(Joey), Harold Gary (Mike), Terri Treas
Terri Treas
Terri Treas is an American actress, writer and director. She has starred in films and on television. Terri is best known for her role as Newcomer Cathy Frankel on the Fox Network short-lived science fiction series Alien Nation and in the five movies produced subsequent to the TV series which...
(Kid), Janie Sell
Janie Sell
Jane Ann "Janie" Sell is an American actress.-Career:Sell won the Tony as Best Featured Actress in a Musical for Over Here!, which also starred the then-surviving Andrews Sisters, Maxene and Patty...
(Gladys), Gail Benedict (Gail), Murphy Cross (Murphy), Rosamond Lynn (Rosamond), Marilu Henner
Marilu Henner
Mary Lucy Denise "Marilu" Henner is an American actress, producer and author. She is best known for her role as Elaine O'Connor Nardo on the sitcom Taxi from 1978 to 1983.-Early life:...
(Marilu), Deborah Geffner
Deborah Geffner
Deborah Geffner is an American actress, singer, and dancer. She is best known for her role as Victoria in Bob Fosse's award winning movie All That Jazz which she filmed concurrently with performing in A Chorus Line on Broadway She worked again with Fosse in his movie Star 80...
(Debbie), Boni Enton (Linda), David Hodo
David Hodo
David "Scar" Hodo is the construction worker character in the group, The Village People. He is one of three original members still performing with the group .Hodo graduated from California State University, Sacramento in 1969 where he majored in Speech and acted...
(Gent), Austin Colyer (Ernest), Denny Martin Flinn (Waldo the Waiter), Michael Leeds (Victor), Kenn Scalice (Delivery Boy), Adam Petroski (Louis), Joe Sirola (Ludlow Lowell), Ralph Farnworth (O'Brien), Dixie Carter
Dixie Carter
Dixie Virginia Carter was an American film, television and stage actress, best known for her role as Julia Sugarbaker in the CBS sitcom Designing Women...
(Melba), and Joan Copeland
Joan Copeland
Joan Copeland is an American actress and the younger sister of celebrated playwright Arthur Miller. She began her career appearing in theatre in New York City during the mid 1940s. She moved into television and film during the 1950s while still maintaining an active stage career...
(Vera) ran for 73 performances.
Other productions, 1960s to 2000s
Pal Joey was produced off-Broadway
Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway theater is a term for a professional venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, and for a specific production of a play, musical or revue that appears in such a venue, and which adheres to related trade union and other contracts...
in 1963
1963 in music
-Events:*January 1 – The Beatles start a 5-day tour in Scotland to support the release of their new single, "Love Me Do".*January 4 – At Cortina d'Ampezzo in Italy, Dalida receives a Juke Box Global Oscar for the year's most-played artist on juke boxes....
(15 performances) at City Center
New York City Center
New York City Center is a 2,750-seat Moorish Revival theater located at 131 West 55th Street between 6th and 7th Avenues in Manhattan, New York City. It is one block south of Carnegie Hall...
and starred Bob Fosse
Bob Fosse
Robert Louis “Bob” Fosse was an American actor, dancer, musical theater choreographer, director, screenwriter, film editor and film director. He won an unprecedented eight Tony Awards for choreography, as well as one for direction...
as Joey, Viveca Lindfors
Viveca Lindfors
Elsa Viveca Torstensdotter Lindfors , better known under her professional name of Viveca Lindfors, was a Swedish stage and film actress.-Life and career:...
as Vera, and Kay Medford
Kay Medford
Kay Medford , was an American character actress and comedienne.She was born Margaret Kathleen O'Regan in New York City to James and Mary O'Regan, first-generation Irish-American parents, both of whom had died by the time she was 15 years old...
as Melba. The Huntington Theatre in Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
presented a revised version, adapted by Richard Greenberg
Richard Greenberg
Richard Greenberg is an American playwright. He is the author of over 25 plays including eight South Coast Repertory world premieres: Our Mother's Brief Affair, The Injured Party, The Violet Hour, Everett Beekin, Hurrah at Last, Three Days of Rain Richard Greenberg (1958–present) is an American...
and director David Warren, from September to October 1992. The cast featured Donna Murphy
Donna Murphy
Donna Murphy is an American stage, film, television actress and singer.Murphy has won two Tony Awards for Best Actress in a Musical for her roles in Passion as Fosca and in The King and I as Anna Leonowens...
as Vera. A staged concert in the City Center Encores!
Encores!
Encores! Great American Musicals in Concert is a program that has been presented by New York City Center since 1994. Encores! is dedicated to performing the full score of musicals that rarely are heard in New York City...
series in May 1995 starred Peter Gallagher
Peter Gallagher
Peter Killian Gallagher is an American actor, musician and writer. Since 1980, Gallagher has played many roles in numerous Hollywood films. He starred as Sandy Cohen in the television drama series The O.C. from 2003 to 2007...
and Patti LuPone
Patti LuPone
Patti Ann LuPone is an American singer and actress, known for her Tony Award-winning performances as Eva Perón in the 1979 stage musical Evita and as Madame Rose in the 2008 Broadway revival of Gypsy, and for her Olivier Award-winning performance as Fantine in the original London cast of Les...
. In 2002, there was a Prince Music Theater production in Philadelphia which starred Christine Andreas
Christine Andreas
-Biography:BroadwayAndreas was born in Camden, New Jersey. She made her Broadway debut in a 1975 revival of Angel Street. The following year she was cast as Eliza Doolittle in the 20th Anniversary production of My Fair Lady, for which she received the Theatre World Award...
. The following year Andreas won the Barrymore Award for Outstanding Leading Actress in a Musical
Barrymore Awards for Excellence in Theater
The Barrymore Awards for Excellence in Theater are awards presented by the Theatre Alliance of Greater Philadelphia for Philadelphia-area theater productions. One journalist referred to the award as "Philadelphia’s equivalent of a Tony."...
for her performance as Vera Simpson.
2008 Broadway revival
Producer Marc E. Platt
Marc E. Platt
Marc E. Platt , also credited as Marc Platt, is an American film, television and theatre producer.-Life and career:Platt was raised in Pikesville, Maryland. He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1979. He was an avid member of the Penn Glee Club during his time at the university...
, along with Richard Greenberg (who had written the 1992 Boston adaptation) and director Joe Mantello
Joe Mantello
Joseph Mantello is an American actor and director best known for his work on Broadway productions of Wicked, Take Me Out and Assassins, as well as earlier in his career being one of the original Broadway cast of Angels in America...
planned a revival for fall 2007, which was postponed. The Roundabout Theatre Company
Roundabout Theatre Company
The Roundabout Theatre Company is a leading non-profit theatre company based in New York City.-History:The company was founded in 1965 by Gene Feist and Elizabeth Owens and now operates five theatres, all in Manhattan: the American Airlines Theatre ; Studio 54 ; the Stephen Sondheim Theatre The...
and Platt presented a limited engagement, with previews beginning on November 14, 2008, officially opening on December 18, 2008, and closing on March 1, 2009. The original book by John O'Hara
John O'Hara
John Henry O'Hara was an American writer. He initially became known for his short stories and later became a best-selling novelist whose works include Appointment in Samarra and BUtterfield 8. He was particularly known for an uncannily accurate ear for dialogue...
had undergone substantial "adaptation" by Greenberg, eliminating characters and reassigning songs. Mantello directed, with choreographey by Graciela Daniele
Graciela Daniele
Graciela Daniele is an Argentine-American dancer, choreographer, and theatre director.-Biography:Born at Buenos Aires, Daniele began her dance training at the age of seven at Teatro Colón, Argentina's equivalent of Moscow's Bolshoi Theatre...
. The production starred Stockard Channing
Stockard Channing
Stockard Channing is an American stage, film and television actress. She is known for her portrayal of First Lady Abbey Bartlet in the NBC television series The West Wing; for playing Betty Rizzo in the film Grease; and for her role as Ouisa Kittredge in the play Six Degrees of Separation and its...
as Vera, Martha Plimpton
Martha Plimpton
Martha Campbell Plimpton is an American actress and singer and former model. Plimpton is a screen, stage and television actress. She first appeared as Jonsy in the feature film River Rats before rising to prominence in the Richard Donner film The Goonies portraying the character Stef...
as Gladys, Matthew Risch as Joey, Jenny Fellner as Linda, and Robert Clohessy
Robert Clohessy
Robert Clohessy is an American actor, known for playing Correctional Officer Sean Murphy on the HBO drama Oz. He was also a cast member in the final season of Hill Street Blues....
as Mike. The set designer was Scott Pask
Scott Pask
Scott Pask is an American scenic designer. He has worked primarily on stage productions in the United States, on Broadway and Off-Broadway, and in regional theatre, as well as in the United Kingdom...
, with costumes by William Ivey Long
William Ivey Long
William Ivey Long is an American costume designer for stage and film. His most notable work includes The Producers, Hairspray, Nine, Crazy for You, Grey Gardens and Young Frankenstein.-Early life and education:...
and lighting by Paul Gallo
Paul Gallo
For the radio host of the same name, see Paul Gallo .Paul Gallo is an award-winning American theatrical lighting designer....
. Advance publicity for the show included a full page spread in the November issue of Vogue
Vogue (magazine)
Vogue is a fashion and lifestyle magazine that is published monthly in 18 national and one regional edition by Condé Nast.-History:In 1892 Arthur Turnure founded Vogue as a weekly publication in the United States. When he died in 1909, Condé Montrose Nast picked up the magazine and slowly began...
, featuring Christian Hoff
Christian Hoff
-Biography:Hoff was born in San Francisco, California, and later moved with his family to San Diego. At eight years old he began acting at the San Diego Junior Theater, and not long after was playing Winthrop in The Music Man.-Career:...
in costume as Joey. Hoff began previews as Joey, but he was forced to leave the production on November 22, 2008 due to an injury. His understudy, Matthew Risch, took over the part. Risch had previously appeared in Chicago
Chicago (musical)
Chicago is a musical set in Prohibition-era Chicago. The music is by John Kander with lyrics by Fred Ebb and a book by Ebb and Bob Fosse. The story is a satire on corruption in the administration of criminal justice and the concept of the "celebrity criminal"...
and Legally Blonde
Legally Blonde (musical)
Legally Blonde is a musical with music and lyrics by Laurence O'Keefe and Nell Benjamin and book by Heather Hach. The story is based on the novel Legally Blonde by Amanda Brown and the 2001 film of the same name. It tells the story of Elle Woods, a sorority girl who enrolls at Harvard Law School to...
on Broadway in featured roles.
This new production also offers a song for Joey that was cut prior to the 1940 Broadway premiere ("I'm Talking to My Pal"), and also interpolated are the Rodgers & Hart songs ("Are You My Love?") from the 1936 film Dancing Pirate
Dancing Pirate
-Cast:*Charles Collins as Jonathan Pride*Frank Morgan as Mayor Don Emilio Perena*Steffi Duna as Serafina Perena*Luis Alberni as Pamfilo *Victor Varconi as Don Balthazar *Jack La Rue as Lt. Chago...
, and ("I Still Believe in You") from the 1930 musical, Simple Simon
Simple Simon (musical)
Simple Simon is a Broadway musical with book by Guy Bolton, and Ed Wynn, lyrics by Lorenz Hart, music by Richard Rodgers, produced by Florenz Ziegfeld, and starring Ed Wynn....
. Both are for Joey and Linda.
Synopsis
Act IIn Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
in the late 1930s, Joey Evans, a second-rate dancer and nightclub MC, a charming "heel" with big plans, schemes to get his dream–his own nightclub–"Chez Joey". He meets young and naive Linda English outside a pet shop, and, impressing her with his grandiose lies, they are romantically attracted ("I Could Write a Book
I Could Write a Book
"I Could Write a Book" is a show tune from the 1940 Rodgers and Hart musical Pal Joey , where it was introduced by Gene Kelly and Leila Ernst.-Notable recordings:*Betty Carter - The Audience with Betty Carter *Harry Connick, Jr...
"). In the nightclub, the older, wealthy but bored married socialite, Vera Simpson comes in with her friends and becomes interested in Joey as the chorus girls are doing a song-and-dance number ("That Terrific Rainbow"). Joey, playing hard-to-get, insults Vera and she walks out. When Vera later returns to the club, Joey, in order to save his job, turns on his charm; they walk out together and start an affair ("What is a Man"). Joey runs into Linda while Vera is buying him expensive new clothing, and Linda becomes distraught. Vera, however, is glowing in the romance ("Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered
Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered
"Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered" is a show tune and popular song from the 1940 Rodgers and Hart musical Pal Joey. The song was introduced by Vivienne Segal in the 1940 Broadway production, and also sung by Miss Segal both on the 1950 hit record and in the 1952 Broadway revival...
"). Joey convinces Vera to set him up in business, but she becomes vulnerable to a blackmail attempt. As his nightclub is ready to open, Joey expresses his disdain for women ("What Do I Care For a Dame").
Act II
"Chez Joey" is about to open, as the chorus rehearses ("The Flower Garden of My Heart"). Melba, an ambitious reporter, interviews Joey, revealing quite a bit of her other glamorous interviews ("Zip"). [In the 2008 revival, Gladys plays a "reporter" in a skit during the floor show at Chez Joey, doing the "Zip" number and going from demure suit-and-hat to the revealing burlesque costume.] Gladys Bumps, a chorus girl who dislikes Joey, conspires with an old flame, Ludlow, to blackmail Vera. [In the 2008 revival, Joey fires Gladys, and to get back at him, she conspires with Mike, the club manager, to blackmail Vera. Mike is forced into the scheme because Gladys threatens to have him fired because he is gay.] Linda overhears the plotting, and tells Vera, who then tells the Police Commissioner, who arrests Gladys and Ludlow. Vera and Linda both agree that Joey is not worth the trouble ("Take Him"). Vera has thrown Joey out and closes "Chez Joey". Although he and Linda meet again, Joey leaves her to follow another, unknown woman.
Principal roles and notable performers
| Character | Description | Notable performers |
|---|---|---|
| Joey Evans | A small-time womanizing MC and dancer/singer who has dreams of opening his own night club | Gene Kelly Gene Kelly Eugene Curran "Gene" Kelly was an American dancer, actor, singer, film director and producer, and choreographer... ; Harold Lang Harold Lang Harold Lang was an American dancer and actor.-Biography:Lang began his professional career as a ballet dancer, making his professional debut with the San Francisco Ballet in 1938 and then going on to perform with the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo two years later and American Ballet Theatre in 1943... ; Bob Fosse Bob Fosse Robert Louis “Bob” Fosse was an American actor, dancer, musical theater choreographer, director, screenwriter, film editor and film director. He won an unprecedented eight Tony Awards for choreography, as well as one for direction... ; Christopher Chadman Christopher Chadman Christopher Chadman was an American dancer and choreographer who was nominated for Tony, Drama Desk, and Outer Critics Circle Awards and was the winner of the Fred Astaire Award for his choreography for the 1992 revival of Guys and Dolls.Born in the Bronx, Chadman studied at the High School of... |
| Vera Simpson | A bored rich socialite | Vivienne Segal Vivienne Segal Vivienne Sonia Segal was an American actress and singer.Segal was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She is best remembered for creating the role of Vera Simpson in Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart's Pal Joey and introduced the song "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered"... ; Siân Phillips Siân Phillips Jane Elizabeth Ailwên "Siân" Phillips, CBE, is a Welsh actress.-Early life:Phillips was born in Gwaun-Cae-Gurwen, Neath Port Talbot, Wales, the daughter of Sally , a teacher, and David Phillips, a steelworker-turned-policeman... ; Viveca Lindfors Viveca Lindfors Elsa Viveca Torstensdotter Lindfors , better known under her professional name of Viveca Lindfors, was a Swedish stage and film actress.-Life and career:... ; Joan Copeland Joan Copeland Joan Copeland is an American actress and the younger sister of celebrated playwright Arthur Miller. She began her career appearing in theatre in New York City during the mid 1940s. She moved into television and film during the 1950s while still maintaining an active stage career... ; Donna Murphy Donna Murphy Donna Murphy is an American stage, film, television actress and singer.Murphy has won two Tony Awards for Best Actress in a Musical for her roles in Passion as Fosca and in The King and I as Anna Leonowens... ; Patti LuPone Patti LuPone Patti Ann LuPone is an American singer and actress, known for her Tony Award-winning performances as Eva Perón in the 1979 stage musical Evita and as Madame Rose in the 2008 Broadway revival of Gypsy, and for her Olivier Award-winning performance as Fantine in the original London cast of Les... ; Stockard Channing Stockard Channing Stockard Channing is an American stage, film and television actress. She is known for her portrayal of First Lady Abbey Bartlet in the NBC television series The West Wing; for playing Betty Rizzo in the film Grease; and for her role as Ouisa Kittredge in the play Six Degrees of Separation and its... |
| Linda English | A naive stenographer (in the 2008 revival, a clerk in a men's clothing store) | Leila Ernst; Rita Gardner Rita Gardner Rita Gardner is an American actress and singer.Gardner made her stage debut as Luisa in the original cast of The Fantasticks in 1960. Additional off-Broadway credits include The Cradle Will Rock , To Be Young, Gifted, and Black , Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris , Steel Magnolias... ; Daisy Prince |
| Gladys Bumps | A chorus girl who takes an instant dislike to Joey (in the 2008 revival, they have history) | June Havoc; Helen Gallagher; Vicki Lewis Vicki Lewis Vicki Lewis is an American film, stage, television and voice actress best known for her role as Beth in the NBC sitcom NewsRadio.-Personal life:... ; Martha Plimpton Martha Plimpton Martha Campbell Plimpton is an American actress and singer and former model. Plimpton is a screen, stage and television actress. She first appeared as Jonsy in the feature film River Rats before rising to prominence in the Richard Donner film The Goonies portraying the character Stef... |
| Melba Snyder | An ambitious reporter (does not appear in the 2008 revival) | Elaine Stritch Elaine Stritch Elaine Stritch is an American actress and vocalist. She has appeared in numerous stage plays and musicals, feature films, and many television programs... ; Kay Medford Kay Medford Kay Medford , was an American character actress and comedienne.She was born Margaret Kathleen O'Regan in New York City to James and Mary O'Regan, first-generation Irish-American parents, both of whom had died by the time she was 15 years old... ; Dixie Carter Dixie Carter Dixie Virginia Carter was an American film, television and stage actress, best known for her role as Julia Sugarbaker in the CBS sitcom Designing Women... ; Bebe Neuwirth Bebe Neuwirth Beatrice "Bebe" Neuwirth is an American actress, singer and dancer. She has worked in television and is known for her portrayal of Dr. Lilith Sternin, Dr. Frasier Crane's wife , on both the TV sitcom Cheers , and its spin-off Frasier... |
| Ludlow Lowell | A crooked "artists representative" | Jack Durant; Lionel Stander Lionel Stander Lionel Jay Stander was an American actor in films, radio, theater and television.-Early life and career:Lionel Stander was born in The Bronx, New York, to Russian Jewish immigrants, the first of three children... ; Ned Eisenberg Ned Eisenberg Ned Eisenberg is an American actor known for his recurring role on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit as Roger Kressler.... |
Musical numbers
Act I- "You Mustn't Kick It Around" – Joey Evans, Gladys Bumps, Agnes, The Kid, Chorus Girls and Waiters
- "I Could Write a BookI Could Write a Book"I Could Write a Book" is a show tune from the 1940 Rodgers and Hart musical Pal Joey , where it was introduced by Gene Kelly and Leila Ernst.-Notable recordings:*Betty Carter - The Audience with Betty Carter *Harry Connick, Jr...
" – Joey and Linda English - "Chicago" – Dancer and Chorus Girls
- "That Terrific Rainbow" – Gladys, Victor and Girls
- "What is a Man?" – Vera Simpson
- "Happy Hunting Horn" – Joey, Terry, Chorus Girls and Boy Friends
- "Bewitched, Bothered and BewilderedBewitched, Bothered and Bewildered"Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered" is a show tune and popular song from the 1940 Rodgers and Hart musical Pal Joey. The song was introduced by Vivienne Segal in the 1940 Broadway production, and also sung by Miss Segal both on the 1950 hit record and in the 1952 Broadway revival...
" – Vera Simpson - "Pal Joey (What Do I Care For A Dame?)" – Joey
Act II
- "The Flower Garden of My Heart" – Gladys, The Tenor, Specialty Dancer and Ensemble
- "Zip" † – Melba Snyder
- "Plant You Now, Dig You Later" – Ludlow Lowell, Gladys and Ensemble
- "In Our Little Den (of Iniquity)" – Vera and Joey
- "Do It The Hard Way" – Ludlow, Gladys, Dancer and Ensemble
- "I Still Believe In You" † – Linda
- "Take Him" – Vera, Linda and Joey
- "Bewitched, Bothered, Bewildered" (Reprise) – Vera
- "I Still Believe In You" (Reprise) † – Linda
- "I'm Talkin' to My Pal" † – Joey
- "I Could Write A Book" (Reprise) – Joey
† 2008 revival: "Zip" is sung by Gladys; cut songs restored; Linda's reprise added
Original and subsequent productions
In 1940 New York Times review, Brooks AtkinsonBrooks Atkinson
Justin Brooks Atkinson was an American theatre critic. He worked for The New York Times from 1925 to 1960...
wrote: "If it is possible to make an entertaining musical comedy out of an odious story, Pal Joey is it. John O'Hara
John O'Hara
John Henry O'Hara was an American writer. He initially became known for his short stories and later became a best-selling novelist whose works include Appointment in Samarra and BUtterfield 8. He was particularly known for an uncannily accurate ear for dialogue...
has written a joyless book about a sulky assignation. Under George Abbott
George Abbott
George Francis Abbott was an American theater producer and director, playwright, screenwriter, and film director and producer whose career spanned more than nine decades.-Early years:...
's direction some of the best workmen on Broadway have fitted it out with smart embellishments. Pal Joey offers everything but a good time, whether Joey is a punk or a heel is something worth more careful thinking than time permits. Although Pal Joey is expertly done, can you draw sweet water from a foul well?
When he reviewed the 1952 revival, Atkinson called the production "brilliant", writing: "There is no sign of age in the brisk performance that Robert Alton
Robert Alton
Robert Alton was an American dancer and choreographer, a major figure in dance choreography of Broadway and Hollywood musicals from the 1930s through to the early 1950s...
has expertly staged; and the acting is sharp and original... Miss Segal presides over the sordid affairs of an astringent tale with humor, reserve, and charm. It would be hard to improve upon Harold Lang
Harold Lang
Harold Lang was an American dancer and actor.-Biography:Lang began his professional career as a ballet dancer, making his professional debut with the San Francisco Ballet in 1938 and then going on to perform with the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo two years later and American Ballet Theatre in 1943...
's performance as the heel.
In reviewing the 1995 Encores! concert, Vincent Canby
Vincent Canby
Vincent Canby was an American film critic who became the chief film critic for The New York Times in 1969 and reviewed more than 1000 films during his tenure there.-Life and career:...
noted: "Here was a show in which cynicism, sophistication, bogus sentimentality and high spirits were as much the content as the form of an otherwise traditional Broadway musical. The first production [1940] shocked a lot of critics and many theatergoers. There was no question about the quality of the Richard Rodgers
Richard Rodgers
Richard Charles Rodgers was an American composer of music for more than 900 songs and for 43 Broadway musicals. He also composed music for films and television. He is best known for his songwriting partnerships with the lyricists Lorenz Hart and Oscar Hammerstein II...
score and Lorenz Hart
Lorenz Hart
Lorenz "Larry" Milton Hart was the lyricist half of the famed Broadway songwriting team Rodgers and Hart...
lyrics. The disturbance was caused by John O'Hara
John O'Hara
John Henry O'Hara was an American writer. He initially became known for his short stories and later became a best-selling novelist whose works include Appointment in Samarra and BUtterfield 8. He was particularly known for an uncannily accurate ear for dialogue...
's corrosive book: the sordid adventures of a Chicago nightclub singer and M.C. named Joey Evans. It wasn't until the 1952 revival that Joey was recognized as literature's latest darling, the antihero. In 1995, Pal Joey is a treasure."
2008 production
The New York TimesThe New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
panned the 2008 production, describing it as "in mourning for its own lifelessness", having "no detectable pulse". Todd Haimes, the Artistic Director of the Roundabout Theatre, commented on the "new book by Richard Greenberg that, in my opinion, does a stunning job of enhancing O'Hara's original by more fully integrating the songs with the book and giving even more of a full life to each of his characters." The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
quoted Haimes as saying that he thought "the Greenberg adaptation transformed the original 'flawed book' by enriching the dialogue and sharpening the characters of not only Joey but the women in his life, like the damaged society wife Vera Simpson... and the wronged chanteuse Gladys Bumps.... In other words, there would be a stronger story that might match the well-known songs." According to New York Magazine
New York (magazine)
New York is a weekly magazine principally concerned with the life, culture, politics, and style of New York City. Founded by Milton Glaser and Clay Felker in 1968 as a competitor to The New Yorker, it was brasher and less polite than that magazine, and established itself as a cradle of New...
, "Greenberg... simplified the story and removed much of the old script's gangster gothic.... He made it smarter and sexier, and bleak. Where the movie ended with Novak and Sinatra walking off into the California sunshine, this ends with Joey alone on a dark street corner, wondering—like so many right now—what the hell to do."
Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
wrote: "The Rodgers and Hart songs...are certainly easy on the ear, but what makes the Roundabout revival of their 1940 show so compelling is Richard Greenberg's trenchant adaptation of the original book by John O'Hara
John O'Hara
John Henry O'Hara was an American writer. He initially became known for his short stories and later became a best-selling novelist whose works include Appointment in Samarra and BUtterfield 8. He was particularly known for an uncannily accurate ear for dialogue...
. Erasing the sanitizing stamp of musical-theater coyness, Greenberg brings a fascinating melancholy grubbiness to this cynical story of sordid emotional transactions and opportunistic behavior in late-1930s Chicago. It's a dark show for desperate times...The major discovery is [Martha] Plimpton's heretofore-hidden musicality...even half-talking her [Channing] songs, she puts across the rueful resignation of "What Is a Man?" with elegance... and pours enough bruising self-deprecation into "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered
Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered
"Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered" is a show tune and popular song from the 1940 Rodgers and Hart musical Pal Joey. The song was introduced by Vivienne Segal in the 1940 Broadway production, and also sung by Miss Segal both on the 1950 hit record and in the 1952 Broadway revival...
" to make it work." The New York Post ("a flawed revival") gave the production 2½ stars. The Associated Press wrote: "Richard Greenberg... has given John O'Hara's original book... a new sheen without changing the general outline of the story: punkish song-and-dance man scores big, gets his comeuppance but soldiers on. Greenberg's rewrite is crisp and to the point. There is a hard-boiled briskness to his work, a film-noir sensibility in its punchy dialogue that ricochets lickety-split across the stage. Channing gets across this number [Bewitched], one of the most famous in the Rodgers and Hart canon, in what can be described as her best Rex Harrison My Fair Lady
My Fair Lady
My Fair Lady is a musical based upon George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion and with book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe...
manner. It's half-sung, half-spoken but acted to the fullest, a consummate bit of musical-theater performing.... Plimpton is quite a revelation in the role." Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
, praising the production and specifically Risch, wrote a follow up response to the mixed reviews stating "it's bizarre to see Mantello's staging pejoratively described as "ruthless," "joyless" and "unhappy" -- as if such qualities don't compute in musical theater. One of the controversies of this "Joey" is that its leading man, newcomer Matthew Risch, the understudy who replaced Christian Hoff in the eleventh hour, fails to deliver the requisite dollop of charm to his catting around. Reviewers have compared him with actors they never saw in the role, namely Gene Kelly, or men who have never essayed Joey onstage, including Hugh Jackman, Harry Connick Jr. and, yes, Frank Sinatra, who insisted, among other woeful ideas, that he sing "The Lady Is a Tramp" in the misconceived (and far happier) 1957 film version. A big, toothy movie star might have assured theatergoers that this cad really wasn't what he is -- a cad. Risch, to his credit, offers a tough, uncompromising portrait that allows only two brief moments of moral conscience -- both of which lead Joey to shield his girlfriend Jenny from, well, Joey." adding "Coincidence or not, Risch's Joey is a younger brother of Erwin Schrott's Don Giovanni, seen at the Met Opera earlier this season. When these guys smile, it's the devil's work at play with any woman's affections. If the show offers a pessimistic view of female sexuality, then so be it. Joey and Giovanni, not the women, are the ones going straight to hell." and "In the end, Mantello and Risch's Joey is an easy antihero to understand, if not love."
1952 Broadway revival
| Year | Award Ceremony | Category | Nominee | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1952 | Donaldson Award | Best Musical | ||
| Best Book of a Musical | John O'Hara John O'Hara John Henry O'Hara was an American writer. He initially became known for his short stories and later became a best-selling novelist whose works include Appointment in Samarra and BUtterfield 8. He was particularly known for an uncannily accurate ear for dialogue... |
|||
| Best Leading Performance by an Actress | Vivienne Segal Vivienne Segal Vivienne Sonia Segal was an American actress and singer.Segal was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She is best remembered for creating the role of Vera Simpson in Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart's Pal Joey and introduced the song "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered"... |
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| Best Supporting Performance by an Actress | Helen Gallagher Helen Gallagher Helen Gallagher is an American actress, dancer, singer and makeup artist.-Early years:Born in Brooklyn, she was raised in Scarsdale, New York for several years until the Wall Street crash which heralded the Great Depression, and her family moved to the Bronx. Her parents separated and she was... |
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| Best Dancer in a Musical | Harold Lang Harold Lang Harold Lang was an American dancer and actor.-Biography:Lang began his professional career as a ballet dancer, making his professional debut with the San Francisco Ballet in 1938 and then going on to perform with the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo two years later and American Ballet Theatre in 1943... |
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| Best Director of a Musical | David Alexander | |||
| Best Dance Direction | Robert Alton Robert Alton Robert Alton was an American dancer and choreographer, a major figure in dance choreography of Broadway and Hollywood musicals from the 1930s through to the early 1950s... |
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| Best Original Score | Richard Rogers Richard Rogers Richard George Rogers, Baron Rogers of Riverside CH Kt FRIBA FCSD is a British architect noted for his modernist and functionalist designs.... |
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| Best Lyrics | Lorenz Hart Lorenz Hart Lorenz "Larry" Milton Hart was the lyricist half of the famed Broadway songwriting team Rodgers and Hart... |
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| Best Scenic Design | Oliver Smith Oliver Smith (designer) Oliver Smith was an American scenic designer.Born in Waupun, Wisconsin, Smith attended Penn State, after which he moved to New York City and began to form friendships that blossomed into working relationships with such talents as Leonard Bernstein, Jerome Robbins, Carson McCullers, and Agnes de... |
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| Best Costume Design | Miles White Miles White Miles E. White was a top costume designer of Broadway musicals for 25 years. He is known in the entertainment industry for his well rendered, prolific, imaginative and witty designs. He won recognition, including four Donaldson Awards and two Tony Awards.The Donaldson Award was established in 1944... |
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| New York Drama Critics' Circle Award | Best Musical | |||
| Tony Award Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway... |
Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical This is a list of the winners and nominations of the Tony Award for the Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical. The award, introduced in 1950, was previously named as Best Performance by a Featured or Supporting Actress in a Musical until 1976.... |
Helen Gallagher Helen Gallagher Helen Gallagher is an American actress, dancer, singer and makeup artist.-Early years:Born in Brooklyn, she was raised in Scarsdale, New York for several years until the Wall Street crash which heralded the Great Depression, and her family moved to the Bronx. Her parents separated and she was... |
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| Best Choreography Tony Award for Best Choreography -1940s:* 1947: Agnes de Mille – Brigadoon / Michael Kidd – Finian's Rainbow* 1948: Jerome Robbins – High Button Shoes* 1949: Gower Champion – Lend An Ear-1950s:* 1950: Helen Tamiris – Touch and Go* 1951: Michael Kidd – Guys and Dolls... |
Robert Alton Robert Alton Robert Alton was an American dancer and choreographer, a major figure in dance choreography of Broadway and Hollywood musicals from the 1930s through to the early 1950s... |
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| Best Conductor and Musical Director Tony Award for Best Conductor and Musical Director The Tony Award for Best Conductor and Musical Director was first presented in 1948, and later discontinued after 1964.-1940s:* 1948: Milton Rosenstock – Finian's Rainbow* 1949: Max Meth – As the Girls Go-1950s:... |
Max Meth Max Meth Max Meth was a Broadway musical director and conductor for over 40 years . He came to the United States from Austria... |
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1963 Broadway revival
| Year | Award Ceremony | Category | Nominee | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1964 | Tony Award Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway... |
Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical The Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical is awarded to the actor who was voted as the best actor in a musical play, whether a new production or a revival... |
Bob Fosse Bob Fosse Robert Louis “Bob” Fosse was an American actor, dancer, musical theater choreographer, director, screenwriter, film editor and film director. He won an unprecedented eight Tony Awards for choreography, as well as one for direction... |
1977 Broadway revival
| Year | Award Ceremony | Category | Nominee | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1977 | Drama Desk Award Drama Desk Award The Drama Desk Awards, which are given annually in a number of categories, are the only major New York theater honors for which productions on Broadway, Off-Broadway, Off-Off-Broadway compete against each other in the same category... |
Outstanding Actress in a Musical Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Musical The Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Musical was first awarded at the 1974-1975 Drama Desk Awards and has been awarded every year since... |
Joan Copeland Joan Copeland Joan Copeland is an American actress and the younger sister of celebrated playwright Arthur Miller. She began her career appearing in theatre in New York City during the mid 1940s. She moved into television and film during the 1950s while still maintaining an active stage career... |
1980 London revival
| Year | Award Ceremony | Category | Nominee | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | Laurence Olivier Award | Best Actor in a Musical | Denis Lawson Denis Lawson Denis Stamper Lawson is a Scottish actor and director. He is known for his roles as John Jarndyce in the BBC's adaptation of Bleak House and as Gordon Urquhart in the film Local Hero, but is best known for playing the part of Wedge Antilles in the original Star Wars trilogy.-Early life:Lawson was... |
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| Best Actress in a Musical | Siân Phillips Siân Phillips Jane Elizabeth Ailwên "Siân" Phillips, CBE, is a Welsh actress.-Early life:Phillips was born in Gwaun-Cae-Gurwen, Neath Port Talbot, Wales, the daughter of Sally , a teacher, and David Phillips, a steelworker-turned-policeman... |
2002 Off-Broadway production
| Year | Award Ceremony | Category | Nominee | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Barrymore Award Barrymore Awards for Excellence in Theater The Barrymore Awards for Excellence in Theater are awards presented by the Theatre Alliance of Greater Philadelphia for Philadelphia-area theater productions. One journalist referred to the award as "Philadelphia’s equivalent of a Tony."... |
Outstanding Leading Actress in a Musical | Christine Andreas Christine Andreas -Biography:BroadwayAndreas was born in Camden, New Jersey. She made her Broadway debut in a 1975 revival of Angel Street. The following year she was cast as Eliza Doolittle in the 20th Anniversary production of My Fair Lady, for which she received the Theatre World Award... |
2008 Broadway revival
| Year | Award Ceremony | Category | Nominee | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Drama Desk Award Drama Desk Award The Drama Desk Awards, which are given annually in a number of categories, are the only major New York theater honors for which productions on Broadway, Off-Broadway, Off-Off-Broadway compete against each other in the same category... |
Outstanding Revival of a Musical Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Revival of a Musical The Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Revival of a Musical was first awarded at the 1994 Drama Desk Awards.-1990s:* 1994: She Loves Me** Carousel** Damn Yankees** My Fair Lady* 1996: The King and I** I Do! I Do!... |
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| Outstanding Actress in a Musical Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Musical The Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Musical was first awarded at the 1974-1975 Drama Desk Awards and has been awarded every year since... |
Stockard Channing Stockard Channing Stockard Channing is an American stage, film and television actress. She is known for her portrayal of First Lady Abbey Bartlet in the NBC television series The West Wing; for playing Betty Rizzo in the film Grease; and for her role as Ouisa Kittredge in the play Six Degrees of Separation and its... |
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| Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical The Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical was first awarded in the 1974-1975 Drama Desk Awards and has subsequently been awarded every year. In the 1993-1994 Drama Desk Awards the award was given under the name of Outstanding Supporting Actress - Musical... |
Martha Plimpton Martha Plimpton Martha Campbell Plimpton is an American actress and singer and former model. Plimpton is a screen, stage and television actress. She first appeared as Jonsy in the feature film River Rats before rising to prominence in the Richard Donner film The Goonies portraying the character Stef... |
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| Outer Critics Circle Award Outer Critics Circle Award The Outer Critics Circle Awards are presented annually for theatrical achievements both on and Off-Broadway and were begun during the 1949-1950 theater season. The awards are decided upon by theater critics who review for out-of-town newspapers, national publications, and other media outlets... |
Outstanding Revival of a Musical | |||
| Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical | Martha Plimpton Martha Plimpton Martha Campbell Plimpton is an American actress and singer and former model. Plimpton is a screen, stage and television actress. She first appeared as Jonsy in the feature film River Rats before rising to prominence in the Richard Donner film The Goonies portraying the character Stef... |
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| Tony Award Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway... |
Best Revival of a Musical Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical The Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical has been awarded since 1994. Before that time, both plays and musicals were considered together for the Tony Award for Best Revival.... |
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| Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical | Stockard Channing Stockard Channing Stockard Channing is an American stage, film and television actress. She is known for her portrayal of First Lady Abbey Bartlet in the NBC television series The West Wing; for playing Betty Rizzo in the film Grease; and for her role as Ouisa Kittredge in the play Six Degrees of Separation and its... |
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| Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical This is a list of the winners and nominations of the Tony Award for the Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical. The award, introduced in 1950, was previously named as Best Performance by a Featured or Supporting Actress in a Musical until 1976.... |
Martha Plimpton Martha Plimpton Martha Campbell Plimpton is an American actress and singer and former model. Plimpton is a screen, stage and television actress. She first appeared as Jonsy in the feature film River Rats before rising to prominence in the Richard Donner film The Goonies portraying the character Stef... |
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| Best Scenic Design | Scott Pask Scott Pask Scott Pask is an American scenic designer. He has worked primarily on stage productions in the United States, on Broadway and Off-Broadway, and in regional theatre, as well as in the United Kingdom... |
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Recordings
The 1950 studio cast recording starring Vivienne Segal and Harold LangHarold Lang
Harold Lang was an American dancer and actor.-Biography:Lang began his professional career as a ballet dancer, making his professional debut with the San Francisco Ballet in 1938 and then going on to perform with the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo two years later and American Ballet Theatre in 1943...
was released by Columbia on February 12, 1951.
A partial cast recording of the 1952 Broadway revival was released in January 1952 by Capitol Records. It featured Helen Gallagher, Elaine Stritch and others from the revival cast, but starred non-cast members Jane Froman
Jane Froman
Jane Froman was an American singer and actress. During her thirty-year career, Froman performed on stage, radio and television despite chronic injuries that she sustained from a 1943 plane crash...
and Dick Beavers as Vera and Joey, in place of Segal and Lang.
A 1980 London Revival Cast recording was released on the TER Label/JAY Records, starring Denis Lawson
Denis Lawson
Denis Stamper Lawson is a Scottish actor and director. He is known for his roles as John Jarndyce in the BBC's adaptation of Bleak House and as Gordon Urquhart in the film Local Hero, but is best known for playing the part of Wedge Antilles in the original Star Wars trilogy.-Early life:Lawson was...
and Siân Phillips
Siân Phillips
Jane Elizabeth Ailwên "Siân" Phillips, CBE, is a Welsh actress.-Early life:Phillips was born in Gwaun-Cae-Gurwen, Neath Port Talbot, Wales, the daughter of Sally , a teacher, and David Phillips, a steelworker-turned-policeman...
.
A cast recording of the 1995 concert, starring Patti LuPone
Patti LuPone
Patti Ann LuPone is an American singer and actress, known for her Tony Award-winning performances as Eva Perón in the 1979 stage musical Evita and as Madame Rose in the 2008 Broadway revival of Gypsy, and for her Olivier Award-winning performance as Fantine in the original London cast of Les...
and Peter Gallagher
Peter Gallagher
Peter Killian Gallagher is an American actor, musician and writer. Since 1980, Gallagher has played many roles in numerous Hollywood films. He starred as Sandy Cohen in the television drama series The O.C. from 2003 to 2007...
, was released October 12, 1995 by DRG (ASIN: B000000PL1).