Bayou City Concert Musicals

When Pal Joey opened on Broadway on Christmas Day 1940, it was like nothing seen before on the Great White Way. With a book by best-selling author John O’Hara (based on his 1939 novel), Pal Joey was the stage equivalent of the film noir, only with a stunningly beautiful score by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart. There were shady characters, seedy settings and double dealing scandals not seen on a musical stage more used to froth. Pal Joey challenged audiences and critics alike. Some, like the legendary Brooks Atkinson, clearly weren’t ready for it. Atkinson famously wrote, “How can you draw sweet water from a foul well?” Still with newcomer Gene Kelly in the lead role, Pal Joey enjoyed a respectable run.

But it was the 1952 revival that sealed Pal Joey’s reputation as one of the masterpieces of American musical theatre. Perhaps because film noir was then in its heydey, audiences were drawn into this tale of the seamier side of life and captivated by the great Rodgers and Hart songs, including “Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered” and “I Could Write a Book.” The 1952 production was a smash, enjoying what was then the longest run of any musical revival in Broadway history. It took home an arm-load of awards: the New York Drama Critics Award for best musical, three Tony Awards and eleven Donaldsons (at the time, a musical theatre honor comparable to the Tony).

Pal Joey has since been revived several times in New York, but it hasn’t been seen in Houston for decades. BAYOU CITY CONCERT MUSICALS is changing all that this September when it presents Pal Joey at the historic Heinen Theatre in Midtown, 3517 Austin at Holman, located on the Houston Community College Central Campus, September 4–7. Join Houston’s fastest growing musical theatre audience as our city’s finest musical theatre talent rediscover this master work.

You won't want to miss Pal Joey, BCCM's 2008 concert musical. So why not get your tickets NOW?!

Thursday, September 4 @ 7:30 p.m.
Friday, September 5 @ 8:00 p.m.
Saturday, September 6 @ 8:00 p.m.
Sunday, September 7 @ 2:00 p.m.
Sunday, September 7 @ 7:30 p.m.

Heinen Theatre
3517 Austin, Houston, TX

Vera (Susan Shofner), Joey (Spencer Plachy) and Gladys Bumps (Haley Dyes)
Photo: Dalton DeHart

Casting is underway for BAYOU CITY CONCERT MUSICALS' September 4–7 production of the Rodgers and Hart classic PAL JOEY. As always, you will see the finest musical theatre talent Houston has to offer. Spencer Plachy will be making his BCCM debut as Joey. Spencer is a graduate of Sam Houston State University and has toured nationally as Curly in Oklahoma. He will come to the role of Joey directly from playing Christian in a Pennsylvania production of Cyrano. Houston favorite Susan Shofner will play Vera, the wealthy Chicago society matron who pays for Joey’s amorous attention. Susan Draper will bring innocence and her beautiful soprano voice to the role of Linda, the girl who loves Joey. Haley Dyes is Gladys Bumps, the night club singer who knows Joey perhaps too well. The supporting cast also includes BCCM veterans Larry Dachslager and Kyle Greer, both last seen on the BCCM stage in Fiorello! Other cast members will be announced soon.

BCCM is delighted to announce that our production of Pal Joey will benefit The River Performing and Visual Arts Center. The River is about inclusion in the world of dance, music, art and drama for students, age 2-19, who have disabilities, chronic illnesses or who are economically disadvantaged. Siblings are welcome too.

“The River focuses on the ability, never the disability,” says Executive Director Sandy Wicoff. “It’s about success. Artistic expression may be as simple as shaking a tambourine to a beat or as complicated as learning an African dance routine. The River serves more than 800 children a year through its Fine Arts Summer Camp, Saturday Morning Program (during the school year), and the Outreach Program that provides classes weekly in hospitals, schools, and community centers. The students perform in recitals at the end of each semester and at the end of each week in summer camp. They shine on stage!” Indeed, they do and BCCM is proud to support them.

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