STAGE TUBE: On This Day 12/25 - PAL JOEY

Welcome to BWW's New Daily ON THIS DAY Series celebrating theatrical birthdays, openings and special events that took place on this day in theatre history!

Today in 1940, Pal Joey opened at Broadway's Ethel Barrymore Theatre. 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. The 2008 revival starred Stockard Channing as Vera, Martha Plimpton as Gladys, Matthew Risch as Joey, Jenny Fellner as Linda, and Robert Clohessy as Mike.

In honor of this special day, we celebrate the show with a performance of 'Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered' by Barbra Streisand.