The cynical, frank tale of a second-rate Chicago singer and the women who lust after him, Rodgers and Hart's Pal Joey stood in stark contrast to most other Broadway shows of 1940. Watered down by Hollywood in 1957, the show was restored to its original frank, raunchy splendor by the team of New York's Encores! series. The stellar cast performing that concert version (Patti LuPone, Peter Gallagher, Bebe Neuwirth,and Vicki Lewis) rises up to the challenge and takes obvious delight in the witty, brassy songs. LuPone is especially magnificent: in full control of her material ("Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered," "What Is a Man?"), her Vera Simpson is playful and sensual--a sly, sexy dame, as Joey would say. This is classic American musical theater at its best. --Elisabeth Vincentelli