MEMPHIS to Close on Broadway August 5- Page 2
MEMPHIS to Close on Broadway August 5
Emmaloucbway
Broadway Legend Joined: 10/16/11
#25MEMPHIS to Close on Broadway August 5
Posted: 6/26/12 at 11:22pmI was JUST thinking that Memphis was probably the next show to close. Then I checked Playbill, and the closing notice was posted. Sad to see Memphis close, but congratulations on an excellent run!
jacobsnchz14
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/13/06
#26MEMPHIS to Close on Broadway August 5
Posted: 6/26/12 at 11:23pm@Bwayphreak24 @broadwaydevial Whoops... lol. MAJOR error!
#27MEMPHIS to Close on Broadway August 5
Posted: 6/26/12 at 11:27pm
This is a show that was INCREDIBLY lucky with the season in which it opened. It would have closed had it opened at any other time. It won many Tonys including Best Musical, simply because there was NOTHING else in competition. Had SCOTTSBORO BOYS transferred in that season immediately from the Vineyard, I think it would have swept, and it would probably still be open, and MEMPHIS would have closed in summer of 2010.
But it didn't, so MEMPHIS got some Tonys and an audience, and word of mouth. They were lucky to run this long, and I say congrats, but good riddance to a mediocre show that is taking up a very desirable theater for new productions.
Updated On: 6/26/12 at 11:27 PM
blaxx
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/28/05
#28MEMPHIS to Close on Broadway August 5
Posted: 6/27/12 at 1:29amIt took almost 10 years for another Best Musical Tony winner to close a flop. No surprise here, not even the major award could have saved it.
Listen, I don't take my clothes off for anyone, even if it is "artistic". - JANICE
#29MEMPHIS to Close on Broadway August 5
Posted: 6/27/12 at 1:32amI still think it is surprising that it didn't recoup, it ran for a long time. The award did save it - perhaps the accountants/producers didn't.
"You can't overrate Bernadette Peters. She is such a genius. There's a moment in "Too Many Mornings" and Bernadette doing 'I wore green the last time' - It's a voice that is just already given up - it is so sorrowful. Tragic. You can see from that moment the show is going to be headed into such dark territory and it hinges on this tiny throwaway moment of the voice." - Ben Brantley (2022)
"Bernadette's whole, stunning performance [as Rose in Gypsy] galvanized the actors capable of letting loose with her. Bernadette's Rose did take its rightful place, but too late, and unseen by too many who should have seen it" Arthur Laurents (2009)
"Sondheim's own favorite star performances? [Bernadette] Peters in ''Sunday in the Park,'' Lansbury in ''Sweeney Todd'' and ''obviously, Ethel was thrilling in 'Gypsy.'' Nytimes, 2000
Bwaydide92
Leading Actor Joined: 5/16/12
#30MEMPHIS to Close on Broadway August 5
Posted: 6/27/12 at 3:07amAmerican Idiot opened the same season, and although it wasn't incredible theatre it was at least a good time. Unlike MEMPHIS, which should never have won the Tony. It sucks that people will be unemployed, but I'm glad this show is closing. It was terrible.
#31MEMPHIS to Close on Broadway August 5
Posted: 6/27/12 at 3:24am
@jacobsnchz14 - No worries! 
bwaydie92 - I agree that Memphis should not have won. After seeing American Idiot on tour a couple months ago (I went three times in one weekend), I really think it should have won. I went into American Idiot expecting to hate it, and I LOVED it. Is it the best thing ever? No. However, it was the best out of that abysmal season. Heck I think The Addams Family should have been nominated over Million Dollar Quartet, and I definitely think The Addams Family is better than Memphis, which doesn't say much. Million Dollar Quartet was seriously one of the most boring shows I have ever seen. I am really surprised Memphis made it this long. I personally do not care for the score or book. There's nothing too original about either. I am glad this show had a nice run though, and I send my best to all involved.
"There’s nothing quite like the power and the passion of Broadway music. "
#32MEMPHIS to Close on Broadway August 5
Posted: 6/27/12 at 3:24am
@jacobsnchz14 - No worries!
bwaydie92 - I agree that Memphis should not have won. After seeing American Idiot on tour a couple months ago (I went three times in one weekend), I really think it should have won. I went into American Idiot expecting to hate it, and I LOVED it. Is it the best thing ever? No. However, it was the best out of that abysmal season. Heck I think The Addams Family should have been nominated over Million Dollar Quartet, and I definitely think The Addams Family is better than Memphis, which doesn't say much. Million Dollar Quartet was seriously one of the most boring shows I have ever seen. I am really surprised Memphis made it this long. I personally do not care for the score or book. There's nothing too original about either. I am glad this show had a nice run though, and I send my best to all involved.
"There’s nothing quite like the power and the passion of Broadway music. "
#33MEMPHIS to Close on Broadway August 5
Posted: 6/27/12 at 9:25am
God, that show was an utter mediocrity - pointless, witless, with a book that made any episode of Gilligan's Island look like Arthur Miller. And the score - one generic, irrelevant pastiche tune after another, all with meaningless, buzzword-packed lyrics.
The only thing sadder than its existence was the fact that so many people actually thought it was good.
zamedy
Broadway Star Joined: 6/27/07
#34MEMPHIS to Close on Broadway August 5
Posted: 6/27/12 at 2:40pmI saw the tour last month and absolutely loved it. Just watched the OBC on Netflix and couldn't believe the difference. The tour cast, in my opinion, was/is much better and more enjoyable to watch. So many of the jokes seemed to fall flat in front of the Broadway audience the night of the recording. Wow. My biggest problem was with Huey and his mother. Pardon me for not taking an extra few minutes to find their names.. but the actors playing these parts on tour were amazing. Yes.. amazing. And likeable. And now I understand why everyone kept saying Chad Kimball seemed to almost play Huey as someone in 'special ed.' I had a strong urge to just punch him out halfway through Act One. The touring Huey is much more endearing.
Phantom4ever
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/17/07
#35MEMPHIS to Close on Broadway August 5
Posted: 6/27/12 at 2:53pm
I just saw Memphis for the first time this summer and I'm very sad to hear it is closing. It would have been one of my new "see-every-trip" type of shows. I really enjoyed the choreography and the show's examination of civil rights history. I would have loved to take a group of my high school students to see it.
I do have a question about the tour though. There are so many trap doors in the show, I wonder how they account for that on the tour? Please don't tell me the actors simply walk in from the wings instead...............
Updated On: 6/27/12 at 02:53 PM
zamedy
Broadway Star Joined: 6/27/07
chellylovesrent2
Swing Joined: 7/22/10
#37MEMPHIS to Close on Broadway August 5
Posted: 6/27/12 at 4:57pmI called Telecharge so I could get tickets to Memphis the day before it closes, and they said Matilda will be moving into the Shubert Theatre...
#38MEMPHIS to Close on Broadway August 5
Posted: 6/27/12 at 5:18pm^ YES!!! The Shubert will be perfect!!!
"There’s nothing quite like the power and the passion of Broadway music. "
Mattbrain
Broadway Legend Joined: 11/23/05
#39MEMPHIS to Close on Broadway August 5
Posted: 6/27/12 at 5:24pm
"The only thing sadder than its existence was the fact that so many people actually thought it was good."
New-in-town: Hell-bent on trying to convince theatergoers they're wrong 24/7.
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