Is Chad Kimball ever in MEMPHIS?- Page 3

[Roscoe]

Posted: 8/2/10 at 4:49pm

I think it is worth pointing out that the role of Huey is ridiculous, lowbrow and vulgar at least in part because Kimball has chosen to play the role that way.

[Kalimba]

Posted: 8/2/10 at 4:51pm

And that vulgarity comes across loud and clear on the cast recording.

[ace33]

Posted: 8/10/10 at 11:51pm

In July, Chad had the white house performance than had a scheduled vacation for a week.

Regarding the difficulty of the role, i think its more physically demanding than it is vocally, and if anything they needed to write in a few more quick breaks where he could get himself a towel to wipe himself down... any 'broadway star' would get exhaused with what he has to perform... and judging by the shirtless scene, the dude is in shape.

Note: I have seen the show 4 diffrent times in the past few months and he was in every one of them.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 8/11/10 at 12:11am

Well, it's not like Kimball made all those choices on his own. The director AND the lead producers all have a say in the way things are portrayed, not to mention the writers.

[Heymjo]

Posted: 8/13/10 at 12:03am

I wish Kimball had missed tonight's performance! I saw Memphis and absolutely detested his character. There was nothing appealing about this character. He had ZERO chemistry with Glover. He sang well, but I didn't know if the sleaze was in the character or if he was just really drunk. He moved around the stage as if he had to go to the bathroom or as if someone had stuck a stick in an inappropriate place. It really ruined the show for me. I never felt anything for him and never bought into the romance. Sorry!

[Holbee]

Posted: 8/13/10 at 2:59am

Chad Kimball is brilliant in the role, I'm sorry.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 8/13/10 at 6:26am

I'm with Heymjo -- I found him grating, lacking warmth and totally did NOT buy his attraction to Glover.

I didn't think too many of the performers had much going on as actors.

To be honest, the only thing I really enjoyed about MEMPHIS was the choreography. But my 10 year old son thought it was great. (And he's usually pretty picky!)

[classicalprose]

Posted: 8/13/10 at 1:34pm

I find his chemistry with Montego one of the things that makes the show interesting and worthwhile. I've seen the show without him and without both of them and in both cases, the chemistry was nowhere near the same.

[TheatreFan4]

Posted: 8/13/10 at 1:46pm

He had ZERO chemistry with Glover

Huh? If anything that is the one thing they do have...

[shrekster224]

Posted: 8/13/10 at 4:40pm

I also think Chad is amazing in the role. My friend has seen both Chad and Bryan Fenkart in the role and said they were both great, so I really want to see an understudy go on. Brad Bass is apparently great, also.

And btw, Montego and Chad's chemistry is what makes the show believable!

[dramamama611]

Posted: 8/13/10 at 7:26pm

But that's part of my point: I didn't find the story plausible at all. There was no reason for them to fall in love....they just did.

I can't say I hated or even disliked Memphis -- but I sure didn't like it a lot either.

[BroadwayBound115]

Posted: 8/14/10 at 11:30am

What do you mean there was no reason for them to fall in love?? The reason is, when he goes down underground and sees her and she's beautiful, he is struck. Isn't that how love starts for all of us? We either find the person incredibly attractive or they have an amazing personality, in some cases, even both. I think that's grounds enough to fall in love. its a pretty shallow reason, I'll admit, but the character of Huey is pretty shallow in general.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 8/14/10 at 11:44am

and SHE falls in love with him because??? He promises to put her on the radio?

Attraction and love are not the same thing.

[mikem]

Posted: 8/14/10 at 1:12pm

I often find it hard to swallow the "across a crowded room" love-at-first-sight thing in a musical, but it's an extremely common setup. I'm not sure that the book of Memphis gives us a good reason for Huey to be so taken with Felicia (or the reverse), but Memphis is in plenty of good company. I don't really buy Tony and Maria in West Side Story, Laurey and Curly in Oklahoma, etc, etc, either.

[BroadwayBound115]

Posted: 8/14/10 at 1:52pm

She falls in love with him because she thinks that he will fulfill her dreams. She is young and naive and when some guy comes to her and says he is going to get her on the radio and he continues to pursue it, why wouldn't she be taken?? She doesn't know any better.

[BwayTday]

Posted: 8/14/10 at 1:55pm

Well she wouldn't sing "Colored Woman" if it was that. I mean, come on, they fall in love because they fall in love.

[BroadwayBound115]

Posted: 8/14/10 at 2:04pm

Who was that directed towards, BwayTday?

I think "Colored Woman" is a turning point in her character. She realizes that she has been a fool to listen to Huey, but at the same time, he still says he will get her on the radio and she is dreaming that it will happen. It's a huge conflict for her. Does she choose the boy who will help a black girl make her way in the white world? Or does this black girl try and make it on her own in a white world, without his help?

[Kalimba]

Posted: 8/14/10 at 3:05pm

I see that both Felicia and Huey are opportunists. Felicia would do anything to get her song played on the radio. Huey saw how vulnerable Felicia was and took advantage of it. He wanted a piece, plain and simple.

[Heymjo]

Posted: 8/14/10 at 6:05pm

I think the reason we buy "falling in love at first sight" in West Side Story, Oklahoma and dozens of other shows, but not in "Memphis," is because in the other shows, the story line focuses on their love and its consequences and the characters are decent people whom we root for. In "Memphis," the guy is a sleaze who cannot rise above his own selfishness. Hence, when the opportunity arises for him to go North with her, he chooses Memphis and his own popularity instead of this "great love." He could easily have gone with her and made a life for them where an interracial marriage was more likely to be accepted, but he chose himself over her. All of these characters are cardboard cliches, as is the story. Things happen just because the authors tell us they did. No struggle in his rise to popularity??? Unlikely! That's why this play never deserved a Tony or the apparent popularity it has received. The only redeeming qualities lie in the music and the production numbers. I really detested Kimball's character and felt like I needed a shower after spending two plus hours with him.