About the work
Pal Joey is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers and lyrics by Lorenz Hart, based on short stories by John O'Hara, who also wrote the book. Its 1940 Broadway premiere broke with the genre's cheerful convention: instead of a likeable hero, the show centres on a scheming cad. With its cynical, adult tone and moral ambivalence, the work is regarded as a forerunner of a more realistic, serious American musical.
Plot
Joey Evans is a charming but unscrupulous master of ceremonies in second-rate Chicago nightclubs who dreams of running his own place. He courts the naive young Linda, only to drop her when the wealthy, bored and married socialite Vera Simpson takes an interest in him. Vera bankrolls his longed-for own club, "Chez Joey", and makes him her lover. But when a blackmail attempt threatens the affair, Vera sees through Joey's self-interest and drops him as coolly as he dropped others – and the operator moves on alone to his next opportunity.
Cultural significance
Pal Joey is considered one of the first adult, disillusioned musicals, anticipating in tone and attitude later works such as Cabaret and Chicago. The song "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered" became a jazz standard and worldwide hit. Initially criticised for its rough anti-hero, the show was hailed as a masterpiece in its 1952 revival, which ran longer than the original. It marks a turning point towards a musical that allowed for unsympathetic characters and moral grey areas.