Chad Kimball Leaves MEMPHIS
Chad Kimball Leaves MEMPHIS
#2Chad Kimball Leaves MEMPHIS
Posted: 7/21/11 at 10:43am
He needs to take a medical leave, but he's not leaving for three full months?
Is this just a nice way to say his contract wasn't renewed?
"You travel alone because other people are only there to remind you how much that hook hurts that we all bit down on. Wait for that one day we can bite free and get back out there in space where we belong, sail back over water, over skies, into space, the hook finally out of our mouths and we wander back out there in space spawning to other planets never to return hurrah to earth and we'll look back and can't even see these lives here anymore. Only the taste of blood to remind us we ever existed. The earth is small. We're gone. We're dead. We're safe."
-John Guare, Landscape of the Body
#2Chad Kimball Leaves MEMPHIS
Posted: 7/21/11 at 10:44amIf that was the case why wouldn't they just say he's chosen not to renew his contract once its up?
Fosse76
Broadway Legend Joined: 3/21/05
#3Chad Kimball Leaves MEMPHIS
Posted: 7/21/11 at 10:59am
This caught my eye:
"...due to nerve damage he's suffered in his neck as a result of performing the demanding role of 'Huey Calhoun' eight nights a week."
Since WHEN has he performed eight shows per week? While I don't know what caused his injury, and that it is perfectly possible to have injured himself as a result of his performance, the implication that the role itself is what lead to such injury is almost laughable.
massofmen
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/10/04
#4Chad Kimball Leaves MEMPHIS
Posted: 7/21/11 at 11:03amoh sweet! now i will go back and understand all of the lines of that character! BEcause hopefully the new huey will have an accent that sounds like the rest of the cast BECAUSE THEY ARE ALL FROM THE EXACT SAME PLACE!!!!!!
#5Chad Kimball Leaves MEMPHIS
Posted: 7/21/11 at 11:05amAC1, I was thinking the same thing. I went to look at the opening date for the show and it was in October. Maybe that has no bearing but I find it interesting that he is leaving at that time.
Just give the world Love. - S. Wonder
#6Chad Kimball Leaves MEMPHIS
Posted: 7/21/11 at 11:06amThis makes absolutely no sense. He's injured now, but doesn't begin his haitus until October 23rd. Why not wait until October 23rd to make such an announcement.
Hey Dottie!
Did your colleagues enjoy the cake even though your cat decided to sit on it? ~GuyfromGermany
Updated On: 7/21/11 at 11:06 AM
NDR
Leading Actor Joined: 11/16/06
#7Chad Kimball Leaves MEMPHIS
Posted: 7/21/11 at 11:36am
I agree. It is a bit strange that he is injured now but is not leaving the show until October.
I wish him all the best though.
Owen22
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/24/11
#8Chad Kimball Leaves MEMPHIS
Posted: 7/21/11 at 11:41amYou know, I haven't seen him but once, early on, and he was less than great in the movie version, but when he started, Chad was on fire. He gave a truly great performance, acting and singing. A complete performance, full of character and we should all remember that.
#9Chad Kimball Leaves MEMPHIS
Posted: 7/21/11 at 11:42amI saw him early on and he was even more annoying than he was in the filmed version.
#10Chad Kimball Leaves MEMPHIS
Posted: 7/21/11 at 11:47am
I saw him early on too, and he was awful then. Lots of screaming, odd inflections, and he played Huey Calhoun like he was mentally retarded.
I don't understand why, if he's injured, he's not leaving for 3 more months. Wouldn't that just make his injury worse? This sounds like (terrible) PR spin to me.
#11Chad Kimball Leaves MEMPHIS
Posted: 7/21/11 at 12:14pmsomething is very odd here. he's injured but will still perform with the show for 3 more months. my guess is he'll still perform only 2 shows a week and they'll have his u/s rotate(there are three Huey u/s - Bryan Fenkart, Justin Patterson, Jamison Scott).
A Chorus Line revival played its final Broadway performance on August 17, 2008. The tour played its final performance on August 21, 2011. A new non-equity tour started in October 2012 played its final performance on March 23, 2013. Another non-equity tour launched on January 20, 2018. The tour ended its US run in Kansas City and then toured throughout Japan August & September 2018.
Owen22
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/24/11
#12Chad Kimball Leaves MEMPHIS
Posted: 7/21/11 at 12:17pm
sorry at being forced to name call but...
you all are just some nasty f*cking bitches
I'm sure you're so proud.
ace33
Stand-by Joined: 8/9/10
#13Chad Kimball Leaves MEMPHIS
Posted: 7/21/11 at 12:18pm
While it is true (and odd) that his contract is up in the sept/oct timeframe, the injury and absence timing is plausible.
He has had this 'nerve' thing for a long time now, since last winter i believe, and it is what has caused his poor attendance (and hence the show assigning him a standby). Nerve injuries are not like a broken foot or strained vocal chords; an example is in pro sports where players can tolerate a nerve injury it but may eventually have to bite the bullet and schedule a time to go on the DL or eventually have surgery during the offseason if it never heals itself.
I do remember his performances being much stronger towards the beginning of the run, and he was also much healthier looking! I imagine that being a lead-actor isn’t easy and his is role is one of the most physically taxing roles currently on bway. But like many have been saying on these boards "if he can’t handle it, then step aside and let someone else try"... there ya go!
With that said, does that mean hes pretty much done? The show is doing just fine but I cant imagine Memphis is going to run THAT much longer.
Updated On: 7/21/11 at 12:18 PM
CurtainPullDowner
Broadway Legend Joined: 11/4/04
#14Chad Kimball Leaves MEMPHIS
Posted: 7/21/11 at 12:23pmI hope he gets better, I thought he was excellent in the show.
#15Chad Kimball Leaves MEMPHIS
Posted: 7/21/11 at 12:44pmChad your attendance in this thread is better than the last six months in the theatre!
iluvtheatertrash
Broadway Legend Joined: 11/9/04
#16Chad Kimball Leaves MEMPHIS
Posted: 7/21/11 at 1:28pm
I saw it in previews and thought he was extraordinary. In fact, I was hoping he'd win the Tony.
I haven't gone back (and never plan on it), so I can't say what his performance has turned into.
But all of this is extremely strange...
"I know now that theatre saved my life." - Susan Stroman
beautywickedlover
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/28/07
#17Chad Kimball Leaves MEMPHIS
Posted: 7/21/11 at 1:41pmLooks like we may another Karen Olivo situation like in "West Side Story."
#18Chad Kimball Leaves MEMPHIS
Posted: 7/21/11 at 1:52pm
Nothing against him, hope he recovers soon and well, but I'm always surprised to hear that this show is still running AND that it's a hit, how baffling...
I imagine they'll bring in someone like Will Chase or Hunter Foster to replace him.
"Some people can thrive and bloom living life in a living room, that's perfect for some people of one hundred and five. But I at least gotta try, when I think of all the sights that I gotta see, all the places I gotta play, all the things that I gotta be at"
#19Chad Kimball Leaves MEMPHIS
Posted: 7/21/11 at 2:19pm
^Hunter Foster is working on The Hollow at Signature Theatre right now, I doubt he'd go on as Huey.
I thought he was good enough early on in the run, but his voice was too thin to maintain singing high Cs for too long. Montego will be playing Felicia for a while, I'm sure.
dramamama611
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/4/07
#20Chad Kimball Leaves MEMPHIS
Posted: 7/21/11 at 2:41pm
While it does sound odd to announce an injury LOA 3 months in advance, perhaps it has to do with scheduling of surgery. It's possible that HE is refusing to take the "leave" until his contract is up....living up to his responsibilities. Yes, it sounds unlikely - but it could be plausible. Maybe, with the und
I was lukewarm about Memphis, and I really did NOT care for his performance. I don't enjoy characature performances.
If we're not having fun, then why are we doing it?
These are DISCUSSION boards, not mutual admiration boards. Discussion only occurs when we are willing to hear what others are thinking, regardless of whether it is alignment to our own thoughts.
jonartdesigns
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/15/04
#21Chad Kimball Leaves MEMPHIS
Posted: 7/21/11 at 2:46pmHis performance in the filmed version was bizarre, I could see how maintaining that strange posture 8 shows a week could cause damage of some kind.
"Grease," the fourth revival of the season, is the worst show in the history of theater and represents an unparalleled assault on Western civilization and its values. - Michael Reidel
#22Chad Kimball Leaves MEMPHIS
Posted: 7/21/11 at 3:10pmActually, Chad makes Karen Olivo look like Ethel Merman.
"You travel alone because other people are only there to remind you how much that hook hurts that we all bit down on. Wait for that one day we can bite free and get back out there in space where we belong, sail back over water, over skies, into space, the hook finally out of our mouths and we wander back out there in space spawning to other planets never to return hurrah to earth and we'll look back and can't even see these lives here anymore. Only the taste of blood to remind us we ever existed. The earth is small. We're gone. We're dead. We're safe."
-John Guare, Landscape of the Body
N2NFTW
Swing Joined: 6/13/11
#23Chad Kimball Leaves MEMPHIS
Posted: 7/21/11 at 4:31pm
massofmen: If you can understand English, you can understand what he says. I mean, you can also even make the case that black people in the south did talk differently than white people, and since the cast is actually mostly black, you can make the case that his different voice/accent is actually correct.
And if he was THAT bad, Memphis would not be still here.
#24Chad Kimball Leaves MEMPHIS
Posted: 7/21/11 at 4:52pm
Well he IS that bad and MEMPHIS is still here, so there goes your theory.
And I understood him but I know people who didn't and it's not because they're not smart it's because he sounded like a drunk idiot. Character choice or not, it's bizarre and I'm sure whoever takes his place will play the role sober.
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