Broadway’s “Memphis” 10 Years Later... — Page 2

''Memphis'' never gets much love on this message board. Even when it was in previews in 2009, there were posts here that bashed it and predicted its early demise. But ''Memphis'' got the last laugh. In a season of nearly a dozen new musicals, this crowd-pleasing hit would outlast them all, running for nearly 1,200 performances (almost 3 years). Compare that to its fellow Tony nominees for Best Musical, which each ran for roughly a year: ''American Idiot'' (448 performances); ''Fela!'' (497), and ''Million Dollar Quartet'' (523).

Plus, ''Memphis'' had its share of rave reviews. Michael Kuchwara of the Associated Press: "The exhilarating new musical shaking the Shubert Theatre is the very essence of what a Broadway musical should be." John Simon of Bloomberg News: "I guarantee you a rambunctious good time, highlighted by rousing music and singing, spectacular dancing, and a witty, moving story.''

''Memphis'' won the Best Musical triple crown from the Outer Critics Circle, the Drama Desk and the Tonys. It was also the rare Broadway musical to be shot on HDTV and shown in national movie theaters while the show was still running in New York. After this filmed live version of ''Memphis'' aired on PBS' ''Great Performances,'' it won an Emmy. And when the show played in London, it was a hit that picked up a couple of Olivier Awards.

A decade later, the ''Memphis'' legacy lives on, on today's Broadway. Chad Kimball, its Tony- and Drama Desk-nominated star, is enjoying a long run in ''Come From Away,'' directed by Tony winner Christopher Ashley (who directed ''Memphis'' ). James Monroe Iglehart, who played Bobby in ''Memphis,'' would go on to win the Tony as the Genie in ''Aladdin''; he's been a recent guest performer at ''Freestyle Love Supreme.'' And Derrick Baskin, who played Gator in ''Memphis,'' is starring in ''Ain't Too Proud''; this Temptations musical won a choreography Tony for Sergio Trujillo, who did the dynamic dances for ''Memphis.'' Hockadoo, indeed!

Updated On: 10/20/19 at 01:32 AM

I couldn't agree more. ''Memphis'' had an amazing cast that sang the hell out of Joe DiPietro and David Bryan's fun and infectious pop/blues/rock score. For me, it was always such joy to see Chad Kimball and Montego Glover lead the rollicking, incredible closing number, ''Steal Your Rock n Roll.'' The audience ate it up. Chad also knocked it out of the park, belting ''Memphis Lives in Me'' (especially earlier in the run), and Montego ''killed'' with ''Colored Woman.'' Montego tied with Catherine Zeta-Jones for Best Actress in a Musical at the Outer Critics AND the Drama Desks, but she should've won those awards (and the Tony) outright. (See Zeta-Jones' lackluster rendition of ''Send in the Clowns'' at the 2010 Tonys. ) What a shame Broadway hasn't delivered Montego another starring role since to showcase her terrific talents.

Updated On: 10/20/19 at 02:05 AM

aj88 said: "I definitely didn’t care for MEMPHIS at all. I have to agree with the many others that felt it benefitted from being a nominee in a weak year.

Going even further than that, I honestly can’t think of another year where the show actually could’ve won...at least going back over the last 30 years. Perhaps maybe it would’ve had a shot over CONTACG or JEROME ROBBINS BROADWAY but I just feel like I would’ve ranked it an easy third behind Fela and American Idiot...I really didn’t like Million Dollar Quartet.

Frankly, I would’ve given my vote to the not nominated EVERYDAY RAPTURE.

Back to MEMPHIS: My experience with it is later from the run when Chad Kimball seemed way more hammy and Montego Glover seemed more vocally tired. I think the score was mostly bland and forgettable while some moments just stood out as oddly written.

Steal Your Rock and Roll is fine I guess but it was just done to death and then the ending with Kimball addressing the audience before the button was like a direct ripoff of DREAMGIRLS.

Plus...the whole “white savior” complex doesn’t do it any more favors.

Ugh, I am glad this show has mostly faded into obscurity but I’m sure it’ll still get produced fairly often."

Would the white savior thing still hold up, considering he ends up as a nobody because of his actions and specifically doesn't get the girl, who ends up becoming a decent star in her own right due to her continued hard work?

It never held up. Thank you for bringing that up.

Memphis won Tonys, it ran for years, and people loved it. 90% of shows never have any of that.

For the record, Huey Calhoun, the protagonist of ''Memphis,'' was loosely based on a real-life rock 'n' roll pioneer: Dewey Phillips. He was one of the first white deejays to play black music in the 1950s. He featured lots of R&B, boogie-woogie and jazz. Phillips also championed white artists, and was the first one to play a young Elvis Presley's debut record, ''That's All Right''/''Blue Moon of Kentucky.'' According to Wikipedia, his on-air persona was ''a speed-crazed hillbilly with a frantic delivery and entertaining sense of humor.'' For nearly a decade, throughout the '50s, Dewey was the leading radio personality in Memphis; 100,000 listeners tuned in to his shows, and he received 3,000 letters a week. Like Huey in ''Memphis,'' Dewey also hosted an afternoon TV program where he played records and clowned around. A heavy drinker and drug user, he fell upon hard times toward the end of his career, working at smaller stations and seldom for very long. ''Memphis'' pays tribute to this colorful deejay who loved rock 'n' roll with all his soul.

Here's a short video about ''Memphis'' and Dewey Phillips' legacy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O52ns69cIcw

Updated On: 10/20/19 at 11:25 PM

I haven't watched the recording in quite some time so please correct me if anything I bring up in the show is incorrect. Spoilers ahead, of course.



I did not see the show on Broadway, but rather the National Tour with Bryan Fenkart and Felicia Boswell. I remember these 2 performances being some of the BEST I had ever seen. Fenkhart was a drastically different portrayal than Kimbal's. Came off much more sincere, realistic (as could be with the book), and more passionate. Kimball from the recording seemed a little more all over the place to me. Besides that point, I'm not sure how Huey is a white savior considering he gets nothing he really wants in the end, the black woman made a choice completely on her own and what was best for her, became successful, and Huey was left with nothing for what we know. I don't see the show being that problematic other than the fact that its a show about race written by white people. Imo, everyone should just have that in the back of their head when seeing/watching the show. The score is also just pure fun and was electric to see live. I also saw this show 7-8 years ago so a lot of my thought process here is from that timeline. May watch this show again soon. I remember loving this show though

It was an abysmal Broadway season that was right in the throes of the Great Recession (man, even looking at the Tony nominees that year is depressing). Memphis was an anodyne crowd pleaser with a score derivative enough of recognizable tunes that it hit a nostalgic sweet spot for audiences and a sappy inoffensive message of tolerance no one could really argue against.

It lucked out. It's producible across markets (and gets produced). But you can say that about a lot of mediocre shows.

And, although they flopped, Addams Family and American Idiot have ended up having a ton of staying power. Arguably more than Memphis. (I would probably also argue that American Idiot ended up being more indicative of the trends of new musical theater than given credit for, especially when compared to the paint-by-numbers Memphis).

Updated On: 10/21/19 at 05:27 PM

Updated On: 10/22/19 at 09:45 PM