PAL JOEY Revival, any news? — Page 2

Folks, stop worrying about the women's roles. There are loads of women who can play Vera.

It's the man.
It's the man.
It's the man.
It's the man.
It's the man.
It's the man.

The whole show revolves around finding a brilliant, dazzling, charismatic tap AND ballet dancer who can sing and act.

There has been exactly one that I can think of.

And that was Gene Kelly.

This show is called "Pal JOEY" and not "Joey's Gals."

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Now you're getting it....

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They could also advertise Harvey Fierstein, that doesn't mean he's right for the part.

THE GUY HAS TO BE A SUPERB DANCER.

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This is a subject close to my heart.

The problem is not so much who plays Joey as what to do with the book. Christopher Chadman danced it beautifully but lacked the edge. Clifton Davis was great in the Lena Horne revival. Peter Gallagher was exciting but if that had been a full production, he couldn't have danced it.

The original John O'Hara stories are perfect, but the musical has never had a book that worked.

Nevertheless, I look forward to seeing it again.

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Christian Hoff CAN dance and, if not good enough, has the ability to be taught. His current and past roles did not require it. Keep your eyes on him in JB. He has the most movement and enthusium out of all of them and sometimes seems that he's holding back. He's got a whole lot of talent and a "good looker" also.

I love you folks for your enthusiasm but you must MUST look at this casting thing in the harsh light of day. "He can dance" is like saying "he can sing opera." Or "he can probably perform surgery". The average Broadway performer can sing and dance a little. An extraordinary performer can sing and dance alot. Like Greg Hines. Like Hinton Battle. Like Sutton Foster. A superstar who can sing, act and dance with the calibre of Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire comes along once every generation.

"Pal Joey" wasn't written for Gene Kelly, but I would bet that within ten minutes of meeting him, Robert Alton was already building all the dances around him, realizing he was probably working with the greatest dancer he would ever cast in a show. George Abbott must have been over the moon to see this kid, who had only been in two shows as a chorus boy and one play, could not only dance but had the acting chops to make a little **** like Joey Evans, if not loveable, at least someone you couldn't take your eyes off of. Rodgers and Hart probably wrote extra numbers into the show because the kid could dance and act and sing as well as Fred Astaire and Ray Bolger.

All told, the management of the show must have been bewitched by this young man. And they all realized they were in the presence of a superstar in the making. I am bothered and bewildered that people on this board keep suggesting singers who can move well or singers who can dance a little to play a role that was, let's face it, created by one of the gods of our business.

Go find the next Gene Kelly. Until you do, we have no show....

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His one other Broadway credit was as the 2nd pinbal boy in Tommy in 1993. If he was a dancer on the level of Gene Kelly, he would have been in something else on Broadway in the intervening 10 years.

So I went to his home page and looked at his credits and low and behold, he played George M Cohan in a proguction of George M at the Lawrence Welk Dinner Theatre in Branson, Missouri.

So he must be able to dance, but he has never since seen fit or has never been cast in a role that required him to dance up to that level again in his career. Not once.

Clearly, he is not promoting himself as a dancer of the calibre required to carry a huge dancing role like Joey Evans.

Oh, and I LOVED him in Jersey Boys. He deserved every accolade he recieved.

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Not prioritizing dance in "Pal Joey" is like (and I appologize in advance for this) like doing "Porgy and Bess" with a caucasian cast.

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THESE are much better suggestions than Hugh Jackman or Christian Hoff. Especially Racey.

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