Pal Joey (musical) - Productions

Productions

Original Broadway production

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

Pal Joey achieved wider acclaim in the decades after its initial production. Throughout much of the 1940s, the songs from Pal Joey were banned from radio play by ASCAP, preventing them from becoming popular standards; the ban was lifted in the late 1940s. In 1950, the song "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered" became popular and was recorded by various bands and pop singers, including Mel Torme, Doris Day, and Gordon Jenkins and The Harmonicats. Prompted by the song's success, Goddard Lieberson, the producer of Columbia Records, decided to produce a studio cast album of Pal Joey featuring Harold Lang as Joey and Vivienne Segal reprising her role as Vera. Because of the popularity of that recording, composer-producer Jule Styne produced the 1952 revival, in which Lang and Segal starred.

The 1952 revival met with greater success than the original production. It opened on January 3, 1952, and closed on April 18, 1953, after 540 performances. Lang and Segal starred, with Helen Gallagher as Gladys, future Broadway star Elaine Stritch as Melba, and Bob Fosse as the understudy for Joey. Dances and musical numbers were again staged by Robert Alton, and the production was directed by David Alexander. 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 Noël 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. A 1978 revival titled 'Pal Joey '78' starring Clifton Davis as Joey, Lena Horne as Vera, and Josephine Premice as Melba was scrapped due to low ticket sales and critical pans during its tryout tour. 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. This new production also included a song for Joey that was cut prior to the 1940 Broadway premiere, "I'm Talking to My Pal", and also interpolated two Rodgers & Hart songs, which were sung by Joey and Linda: "Are You My Love?" (from the 1936 film Dancing Pirate) and "I Still Believe in You" (from the 1930 musical Simple Simon). 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 when 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.