Make Your Own Thursday Headlines, Orders Your Pal Frankie

 

Courtesy Once Upon a Screen.

Today the spotlight shines on May 29, 1963, when Pal Joey was revived at the New York City Center.

Starring Bob Fosse, Viveca Lindford, and Rita Gardner, the 1963 Pal Joey received a Tony nomination for Fosse. He lost the lead actor in a musical award to Bert Lahr in Foxy, a show that died in 1964. Contrast it with Pal Joey, which was already on its fourth New York life in 1963, and keeps getting resurrected.

When Fosse played Joey in 1961 and 1963, the 1957 Frank Sinatra-Rita Hayworth-Kim Novak movie of Pal Joey was a recent memory. Near the end of Fosse's life, he was interested in making a more faithful film with Al Pacino. Back in 2017, when the clip of him dancing to "Love My Way" went viral, I thought Joey would be the best movie role for Armie Hammer.

"(Fosse) conveys the cynicism of the role, but last night seemed to miss some of the bite and brittleness in the part," Lewis Funke wrote for The New York Times. Funke liked Lindford as an actress and presence -- "(she has) first-rate acting talents, Continental sophistication and sinuous innuendo" -- but not as a singer.

Of all people, Kay Medford was Funke's favorite. Medford, who wound up Tony nominated in 1964 for Funny Girl, played Melba opposite Fosse and company. You remember Melba, right? The reporter who recalled her interview with Gypsy Rose Lee by singing "Zip"? Then again, maybe you don't -- "Zip" was given to Vera (Hayworth) in 1957 and in 2008, to Gladys Bumps (Martha Plimpton). In 2023, "Zip" was returned to "Melvin" (Brooks Ashmanskas). I love the song, but think it works best with a woman.

Courtesy YouTube.

Next week, bring on the girls.