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Pal Joey

Rodgers & Hart's hit show was decades ahead of its time; the tuneful and sophisticated musical comedy features a likable, scrappy antihero making his way through Chicago in the late 1930s.

More information

Description

  • Full Length Musical
  • Dramatic Comedy
  • 120 minutes

  • Time Period: 1940s / WWII
  • Target Audience: Teen (Age 14 - 18), Adult
  • Set Requirements: Unit Set/Multiple Settings
  • Cautions: Alcohol, Mild Adult Themes
  • Orchestra Size: Large

  • Performance Group:
  • High School/Secondary, College Theatre / Student, Community Theatre, Professional Theatre

  • Accolades:
  • Winner! Three Tony Awards (1952)
    Nominee! Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical (Bob Fosse) (1964)
    Nominee! Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Musical (Joan Copeland) (1977)
    Nominee! Four Tony Awards including Best Revival of a Musical (2009)
    Nominee! Three Drama Desk Awards including Outstanding Revival of a Musical (2009)
The penultimate Rodgers & Hart collaboration introduced the first anti-hero to propel a musical. Joey is an opportunistic cad, but he always seems to land on his feet. He elbows his way into a job at a seedy Chicago nightclub and is soon juggling the affections of a naive chorus girl and a wealthy society dame who just happens to be married. Once Joey has charmed the socialite into setting him up in his own joint, he ditches the chorine and is riding high, playing the big-time operator. When a punk threatens to spill the whole business to the socialite's husband, she decides that she's bored with Joey anyway, dumping him and the club. Having had a taste of his own medicine, you'd think Joey would head back to the sweet kid who really loves him. Wrong. Some things never change, but you know what? He's still on his feet.
REVIEWS:

"The masterpiece of the long collaboration between composer Richard Rodgers and lyricist Lorenz Hart."

Newsweek

"PAL JOEY still bewitches after all these years"

Hollywood Reporter

"PAL JOEY must be everybody's favorite musical."

The Wall Street Journal

"PAL JOEY is a treasure, with Rodgers & Hart in peak form."

The New York Times
Premiere Production:

Pal Joey opened at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre in New York on December 25, 1940, starring Gene Kelly and Vivienne Segal. Though some reviewers criticized the show for not following established musical comedy traditions, most critics raved, including the New York Herald Tribune, which called it “an outstanding musicomedy.” The show ran for 374 performances, a total surpassed in 1952 when a Broadway revival featuring Harold Lang and Vivienne Segal played 542 performances – the longest run of any Rodgers & Hart show.

Characters

  • Casting: 2M, 4F
  • Casting Attributes: Strong Role for Leading Woman (Star Vehicle), Strong Role for Leading Man (Star Vehicle)
  • Chorus Size: Medium

  • JOEY EVANS
    MIKE SPEARS
    GLADYS BUMPS
    ASSISTANT STAGE MANAGER
    THE KID
    TERRY
    TILDA
    VALERIE
    CLAIRE
    DIANE
    JANET
    LINDA ENGLISH
    VERA SIMPSON
    VICTOR
    ERNEST - The Tailor
    STAGE MANAGER
    LOUIS - the tenor
    MELBA SNYDER
    HERMAN - the photographer
    LUDLOW LOWELL
    DEPUTY COMMISSIONER O'BRIEN
    MANAGER

    • Available Material

    Name Price
    Perusal Material Shipped immediately. This is optional. Order Now

    1 x Libretto-Vocal Book
    1 x Piano (Piano Vocal Score)

    		$24.00
    Pre-Production Pack Shipped upon receipt of a signed License Agreement and full payment of all invoices. This is optional.

    1 x Libretto-Vocal Book
    1 x Piano (Piano Vocal Score)

    		$75.00
    Rehearsal Material Shipped a minimum of 3 months before the last performance. This must be hired as a condition of the License to produce this show.

    20 x Libretto-Vocal Books
    2 x Piano (Piano Vocal Score)

    		$550.00 +$135.00/pm
    Orchestral Material Shipped a minimum of 1 month before the last performance. This is optional.

    1 x Piano Conductor Score
    1 x Piano (Piano Vocal Score)
    1 x Reed I (Clarinet, Alto Sax, Flute, Piccolo)
    1 x Reed II (Oboe, English Horn, Alto Sax, Clarinet)
    1 x Reed III (Clarinet, Bass Clarinet, Basset Horn, Tenor Sax)
    1 x Reed IV (Clarinet, Flute, Piccolo, Tenor Sax)
    1 x Reed V (Clarinet, Tenor Sax, Bassoon)
    1 x Horn
    1 x Trumpet I-II
    1 x Trumpet III
    1 x Trombone
    1 x Percussion (Trap Set, Timpani, Bells, Gong, Ratchet, Wood Blocks, Cow Bell, Temple Blocks, Xylophone)
    1 x Violin A (Divisi)
    1 x Violin B (Divisi)
    1 x Violin C (Divisi)
    1 x Cello
    1 x Bass

    		$350.00 +$135.00/pm
    Lib/Vocal Book 10 Pack Shipped with (or after) Rehearsal Material. This is optional.

    10 x Libretto-Vocal Books

    		$50.00 +$50.00/pm

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