Production Info

Previews: December 24, 1940 (1 previews)
Opening December 25, 1940
Closing: November 29, 1941
Length of Run: 374 perf.
Run Type: Open-ended

Location Info

Location: New York, NY

Credits Highlights

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... Staging	George Abbott
... Dance Director	Robert Alton (i)

Cast

... Joey Evans	Gene Kelly
... Mike Spears	Robert J. Mulligan
... Gladys Bumps	June Havoc
... Linda English	Leila Ernst
... Vera Simpson	Vivienne Segal
... Victor	Van Johnson
... The Tenor	Nelson Rae
... Melba Snyder	Jean Casto
... Ludlow Lowell	Jack Durant
... Commisioner O'Brien	James Lane

See full list

Musical Numbers

Act One

Overture .... Orchestra
You Mustn't Kick It Around .... Joey, Gladys, Agnes, Kid, Chorus Girls and Waiters
I Could Write a Book .... Joey and Linda
Chicago .... Michael Moore (Ensemble Member) and Chorus Girls
That Terrific Rainbow .... Gladys, Victor and Girls
Love Is My Friend .... Vera
Happy Hunting Horn .... Joey, Terry, Chorus Girls and Boy Friends
Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered .... Vera
Joey Looks Into the Future .... Joey, Specialty Dancer and Company

Act Two

Entr'acte .... Orchestra
The Flower Garden of My Heart .... Gladys, The Tenor, Specialty Dancer and Ensemble
Zip .... Melba
Plant You Now, Dig You Later .... Ludlow, Gladys and Ensemble
In Our Little Den .... Vera and Joey
Do It the Hard Way .... Ludlow, Gladys, Claire Anderson (Ensemble Member) and Ensemble
Take Him .... Vera, Linda and Joey
Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered (Reprise) .... Vera
I Could Write a Book (Reprise) .... Joey

Additional Musical Numbers Lists

These song lists document any changes that the production went through aside from the opening night song list.

Post-Opening Song List

Trivia & History

While the reviews were not unanimously favorable, many were extremely favorable. One notable exception was the influential Brooks Atkinson in the New York Times, but even his review was far from a pan. Here are excerpts from some of the reviews:

[B]rilliant, sardonic and strikingly original ... one of Rodgers's most winning scores, some of Hart's finest lyrics ... an outstanding triumph of a suddenly awakened theatrical season ... a bitter, satirical and yet strangely realistic account of the flora and fauna of the night clubs, done with such zest and successful relish that it achieves genuine power. — Richard Watts, New York Herald Tribune
Musical comedy took a long step toward maturity ... I am not optimistic by nature, but it seems to me possible that the idea of equipping a song-and-dance production with a few living, three-dimensional figures, talking and behaving like human beings, may no longer strike the boys in the business as merely fantastic ... Mr. Rodgers and Mr. Hart have written some of their best songs. — Wolcott Gibbs, The New Yorker
[T]he best musical comedy in a season of good musical comedies—the best in two or three seasons, for that matter. .. cool, sardonic and a little nasty. But the show has pace and point, most of the funny lines are funny, the cast is good, the dancing is expert. ... Rodgers' best score. ... Hart is in there punching too. I think he is running in a private sweepstakes with Cole Porter to see which can be the wickedest little rascal in the lyric-writing dodge. — John Lardner, Newsweek
[A] bright, novel, gay and tuneful work, made interesting by the rich characterizations of its book. ... Gene Kelly is made for the part. ... The lyrics are brilliant in their reflection of night club life—smokey and blue. — Sidney B. Whipple, New York World Telegram
Probably the best musical show which has hit Broadway this largely indifferent season. — Richard P. Cooke, Wall Street Journal
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. ... Rodgers and Hart have written the score with wit and skill. Robert Alton has directed the dances inventively. ... Some talented performers also act a book that is considerably more dramatic than most. ... [O]ffers everything but a good time. — Brooks Atkinson, New York Times