Is Chad Kimball ever in MEMPHIS?

[quizking101]

Posted: 7/31/10 at 12:18pm

I always get a Tweet from BROADWAY UNDERSTUDIES saying is going on in the role of Huey in MEMPHIS.

Does he have some sort of agreement where he plays X amount of shows per week, is he ill, or is his attendance really that atrocious?

[wickedfan11]

Posted: 7/31/10 at 12:33pm

I think he is having vocal issues. He sounded terrible at the White House concert a few weeks ago.

[BroadwayBound115]

Posted: 7/31/10 at 12:59pm

I usually get a little disappointed in seeing an actor miss so many performances. But this is one exception, his voice seriously needs a break and I am sure his body needs a break. He is doused in sweat and works so hard, so I hope that he makes a speedy vocal recovery because he really does a great job in that role.

[mikem]

Posted: 7/31/10 at 1:25pm

I believe he had a planned absence for most of last week, and then is/was out (I believe unplanned) yesterday and this afternoon. So he's been out a lot the last couple of weeks, but most of it was scheduled.

I don't know about recently, but his attendance earlier in the run was excellent. If I remember correctly, it was several months before he missed any performance. That being said, there have been vocal trouble comments, and if that is the case, I hope he gets better soon.

Montego is on vacation this week, correct? So both Chad and Montego are out?

[Blockhead24]

Posted: 7/31/10 at 1:40pm

^yes (she's out next week too) and I saw Dan'yelle and Bryan together on Thursday and they were both phenomenal..I enjoyed the show so much more

[Disneyland Magic Man]

Posted: 7/31/10 at 1:48pm

If he's having trouble performing nightly in a Broadway musical, he should go back to the ensemble or become a recording artist.

I'm tired of these excuses of, "oh, he works so hard... he should get a break". Please. Part of being "talented" enough for Broadway IS the 8 show a week stamina. Broadway "stars", real ones, RARELY if EVER miss shows. And I bet you there is SOMEONE in the world who performs the role JUST AS WELL as him and can do it without ruining his voice.

It's just like as much as I loved Laura Bell in LB, she really had no business carrying that show. Her voice couldn't sustain it.

[BroadwayBound115]

Posted: 7/31/10 at 2:00pm

give me a role that is as vocally demanding as Huey. Sustainaing a high D/Eb 8 times a week is no walk in the park, even for a tenor. He deserves a break. It's one role out of his career, its not worth destroying his voice. Let's tell all the other people who have ripped up their voices to go back to the ensemble. Musical theatre is so poorly written nowadays that these singers who try and sing the score simply can't do it. Most singers do not have the stamina to sing music that isn't written to be performed on a regular basis.

[Disneyland Magic Man]

Posted: 7/31/10 at 2:12pm

The role was written that way, I'm sure, because he flaunts that he can do it. Ever seen him in concert pre Memphis? He does that with every song.

Yes, Laura Bell should go back to featured roles. Or, if they're killing their voice, DO SOMETHING ELSE. Julie Andrews has stayed away from a Broadway show since she killed hers. But if she wanted to, someone would cast her in any role that she chose because she's Julie Andrews and miss as many shows as she wanted and sound bad. Some people just have respect for the art form.

[BwayTday]

Posted: 7/31/10 at 2:18pm

Maybe they just need better training.

[TheatreFan4]

Posted: 7/31/10 at 2:20pm

Julie Andrews has stayed away from a Broadway show since she killed hers.

You're kidding right? A DOCTOR killed her voice.

[doombuggy25]

Posted: 7/31/10 at 2:28pm

@BwayTday - Find me ANYONE who can sing Huey more consistently and better than Chad. You'd be hard pressed to do it. His voice is beautifully trained, but he was doing Huey very consistently 8 times a week. It's not just the sustained D at the end, he is onstage for nearly the entire show, and it's not just the singing that's a challenge, he has so many spoken lines as well. That role is a monster, plain and simple.

His track record was so good, the demands of that show just caught up with him. He needs to take a solid vacation and rest.

[Wayman_Wong]

Posted: 7/31/10 at 2:29pm

The role was not written that way, at least not the D at the end of 'Memphis Lives in Me.' That's something that Chad did, and the creators loved it so much, they incorporated it. In any event, Chad's helped co-create the character of Huey, and in the four out-of-town tryouts of 'Memphis,' he had never missed a performance (over the past 6 years, except once). Obviously, doing it 8 times a week on Broadway is tough, and it's not just vocally a workout; I'm told that Chad's been having back problems. He did have a few scheduled performances off last week, but he returned last weekend (contrary to a report on Broadway Understudies that said Brad Bass was doing all last weekend). As DoomBuggy25 says, the role is a monster. The character of Huey is rarely ever off-stage, except to make lightning-quick costume changes. If anyone here thinks they can play Huey 8 times a week and never miss, go ahead, and we'll watch.

Updated On: 7/31/10 at 02:29 PM

[mikem]

Posted: 7/31/10 at 2:44pm

Also, Memphis's first preview was Sept 23. It's not like he did 3 shows and started calling out. He's been performing for 10 months now, and maybe the role is catching up with him.

Although I'm sorry to hear about the back problems, I'm not surprised to hear about them with him hunched over all the time. That kind of unnatural positioning can take its toll over time.

[tazber]

Posted: 7/31/10 at 3:08pm

I agree with Disneyand Magic Man. If you can't handle the role you shouldn't have the role.

Not just for Chad, for all performers. And Huey is certainly not the "hardest" role ever wrtitten.

That being said, I saw him and he sounded fine (didn't try for the high note in Memphis Lives In Me, which was fine btw).

[broadwaylover6]

Posted: 7/31/10 at 3:57pm

I have it on very good authority that Chad is injured, so I would hope that the show must go on mentality could be given a break. As Wayman said, Chad injured his back a few weeks ago and re-injured it a this week. If you have seen the show then you would know that Chad's role is very physical. Chad slides to the floor several times and has to pick up and carry Felicia, I would hope that most would not expect him to risk permanent injury to his back just to placate the "show must go on" mentality

[Magnolia]

Posted: 7/31/10 at 4:06pm

I agree with everything Wayman Wong said. The role of Huey is extremely demanded- Chad is rarely off stage. There are times where he is literally drenched in sweat . If anyone thinks they can do any better, go ahead- we'll watch and judge !

BTW if you read this article Chad did shortly before Tonys it states Chad only does six shows a week so that must be in his contract

http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=386330

[Elke]

Posted: 7/31/10 at 4:23pm

Regarding that Daily Herald article: they probably meant six *nights* a week. Because as far as I know, Chad does not have an alternate, so he is doing all 8 shows.

[justafan2]

Posted: 7/31/10 at 4:23pm

I saw Memphis last Sunday and Chad performed. Very grueling role---he was amazing. If he was having vocal issues, I didn't really notice. (of course I never saw him before, so I can't compare)

[Dollypop]

Posted: 7/31/10 at 4:34pm

I think Broadway composers should understand the human voice better and write for it accordingly. Performers like Ethel Merman, Mary Martin, Carol Channing, John Raitt and Alfred Drake hardly ever missed performances because they were singing the music of Irving Berlin, Cole Porter, Jerry Herman, Rodgers & Hammerstein and Forrest & Wright: composers who understood the vocal condition and wrote music that human beings could sing. Most of the time there was little or no amplification, and the singing carried beautifully over the orchestra pits.

Today's composers are used to writing for studios where their songs are recoded once and then live forever on CD's. They aren't concerned with a performer singing them 8 times a week and possibly harming their voices as a result.

[broadwaylover6]

Posted: 7/31/10 at 4:53pm

That article is incorrect Chad is contracted to do all 8 shows and usually does...

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 7/31/10 at 5:01pm

Ditto what Dollypop said. The score for WICKED is a nightmare and Stephen Schwartz is a masochist for the songs he wrote for Elphaba. Most of those women burn out their voices in 3-6 months. Composers are now writing bland pop songs with crazy money notes that are designed for live singing 8 times a week.

[BroadwayBound115]

Posted: 7/31/10 at 5:08pm

Thank you Dollypop!! I am glad someone has the same thinking I do!!

[Katurian2]

Posted: 7/31/10 at 5:34pm

Well, it seems that Bryan is doing exactly what Chad does because he was in this afternoon again and hit all the highs perfectly. Having seen Chad, I actually preferred Bryan... he brought more youth to the role and I really enjoyed that.

[Dollypop]

Posted: 7/31/10 at 5:41pm

Isn't that special?

[Katurian2]

Posted: 7/31/10 at 5:47pm

The way people are fawning over Chad's 'uniqueness' in this thread, apparently so.