MEMPHIS Reviews- Page 3

[Testing1232]

Posted: 10/19/09 at 10:08pm

<< So far Garnder is the only who's called out Chad Kimball on an absolutely atrocious performance. >>

Maybe the others left at intermission to watch the rest of "Forrest Gump" at home?

[Testing1232]

Posted: 10/19/09 at 10:13pm

<< Of Chad Kimball: 'His hilarious and ultimately deeply moving performance will be remembered come awards time.'
>>

Broadway has a Razzie?

[blaxx]

Posted: 10/19/09 at 10:13pm

AP - Rave
Backstage - Mixed-to-Positive
NY Times - Mixed -to-Negative
Variety - Mixed-to-Positive
Talkin' Broadway - Positive
AMNY - Mixed-to-Positive
USA Today - Mixed-to-Negative
Theatermania - Mixed-to-Positive

Overall: Meh. Mixed. I found the word clichéd in a few reviews.

[Blockhead24]

Posted: 10/19/09 at 10:16pm

i get people didn't like the show but it really gets old when you constantly attack it...wouldn't your energy be better spent advertising a show you love?

[jagfkb]

Posted: 10/19/09 at 10:17pm

Why do I have a feeling like history is repeating itself: a show doomed from out of town tryouts which gets mixed critical reaction, but positive to rave audience response (save the theatre savy individuals who populate here and ATC), and is opening in October...

Lord please, don't let us relive 2004...

[blaxx]

Posted: 10/19/09 at 10:19pm

but positive to rave audience response (save the theatre savy individuals who populate here and ATC)

I think Memphis is missing this part, as opposed to the evil show, that was already doing a lot better business by the time it opened.

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 10/19/09 at 10:24pm

"hokum-fest" is my new fav word, if it is a word.

I haven't seen MEMPHIS,
does anyone think Glover will get a TONY nod?

[Testing1232]

Posted: 10/19/09 at 10:27pm

<< i get people didn't like the show but it really gets old when you constantly attack it...wouldn't your energy be better spent advertising a show you love?



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

People do that as well--- There's plenty of energy to go around- :))

I think people (myself included) that are just very surprised at the reviews.. I AM happy for the cast, because I really thought the show was going to get panned.

[adamgreer]

Posted: 10/19/09 at 10:30pm

Why do I have a feeling like history is repeating itself: a show doomed from out of town tryouts which gets mixed critical reaction, but positive to rave audience response (save the theatre savy individuals who populate here and ATC), and is opening in October...

Lord please, don't let us relive 2004...

Memphis makes Wicked look like Shakespeare.

[Testing1232]

Posted: 10/19/09 at 10:32pm

<< I haven't seen MEMPHIS,
does anyone think Glover will get a TONY nod?>>

I would say "Yes"--- the book is beyond bad, but she has a great voice, and is the reason to see the show if you are going to buy a ticket.

[blaxx]

Posted: 10/19/09 at 10:41pm

If the show is not open by the time of the nominations, I doubt this would get anything in the acting categories. Especially with all those huge revivals we are getting.

[beautywickedlover]

Posted: 10/19/09 at 10:42pm

I don't mean to sound rude and especially about someone who is in the ensemble, but I don't like the fact that this may boost Danny Tidwell's, from "So You Think You Can Dance," carrer. Everything about him rubs me the wrong way. His dancing was good on that show but it WASN'T incredible. His speaking voice also really gets on my nerves. Whenever he talked he sounded like a rubber duck and helium. He's just very overrrated.
Updated On: 10/19/09 at 10:42 PM

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 10/19/09 at 10:42pm

I think it's way too early to be predicting the Tony nominations, but Glover does have a fantastic voice even if her belting does get tiresome in the show. She can't act though...or at least not in this role. And that should be a major qualifier to be a nominee for Best Leading Actress in a Musical. But then again, the Tonys aren't about artistic excellence anymore. Her voice is the best thing about MEMPHIS but she is hardly deserving of a Tony nod. Me thinks MEMPHIS might be forgotten by time the Tonys roll around in like seven/eight months.
Updated On: 10/19/09 at 10:42 PM

[blaxx]

Posted: 10/19/09 at 10:46pm

Not to mention CJZ, Chenoweth, Neuwirth, etc. it's not the easiest season for a nomination in that category.

[LearnToBounce]

Posted: 10/19/09 at 11:05pm

It's official: if your show is just out to have a good time, John Simon is behind you 100%.

John Simon gives the show 4 Stars out of 4:

"Chad Kimball’s summoning up of Huey is so perfect that not for a moment do you believe that it is only acting. This is a performance hewn out of live flesh and blood. He is enchantingly partnered by the Felicia of Montego Glover, a thrilling singer and commanding actress. However difficult this Felicia is, you root for her every inch of her questionable way.

There are first-rate performances from Derrick Baskin, J. Bernard Calloway, James Monroe Iglehart, Michael McGrath and Cass Morgan. And also from everyone else in a large, uniformly flawless cast."

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601098&sid=a1m2QWzAQ6ic

[beautywickedlover]

Posted: 10/19/09 at 11:06pm

Entertainment Weekly wasn't crazy about it. They gave it a C+.

http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20313744,00.html

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 10/19/09 at 11:34pm

Chad Kimballâ??s summoning up of Huey is so perfect that not for a moment do you believe that it is only acting. This is a performance hewn out of live flesh and blood.

Give me a BREAK. The kind of performance he described is something like Esparza in COMPANY or Clark in PIAZZA or LuPone in GYPSY or Ebersole in GREY GARDENS. Whether or not you liked Kimball's performance is your prerogative but did he seriously think Kimball was that phenomenal?! Sheesh...
Updated On: 10/19/09 at 11:34 PM

[The Distinctive Baritone]

Posted: 10/19/09 at 11:36pm

Well, I think it's pretty safe to say that the show has gotten mixed reviews, overall.

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 10/19/09 at 11:50pm

Now I'm excited to see it!

They put up a Memphis awning outside the theater. I really like their advertising for this show. (and by that I mean the marquee and stuff, as there really isn't any other "advertising" going on.)

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 10/19/09 at 11:57pm

About Glover:
WICKEDrOcKS; "She can't act though..."
John Simon; "a thrilling singer and commanding actress"

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 10/20/09 at 12:08am

It's true though. I mean; her voice is wonderful. But her acting is so incredibly unbelievable (and not unbelievable as in unbelievably good...unbelievable as in I didn't believe her performance for a single second). And I heard people saying as I left that they thought she was "a bad actress but a great singer."

Look, I know I don't hold any clout and that John Simon is infinitely more likely to sway the public to buy tickets to MEMPHIS than me so, honestly, good for MEMPHIS. I would never wish bad reviews on a show. But I'm gonna stand by my comments on it. I mean does anyone else who saw it really think Kimball is giving the kind of performance Simon described? Or that Glover is a "commanding actress"? I did not see either of those things the night I attended.

I wonder (and this isn't meant to be snarky, really) what Brantley would have said about the show.
Updated On: 10/20/09 at 12:08 AM

[somethingwicked]

Posted: 10/20/09 at 12:09am

Newsday is a Rave:

"Broadway has been eerily quiet about new musicals this season. That just changed - in a very big way - with 'Memphis,' arguably the best black musical written by white guys since "Dreamgirls."

The extraordinary show, which crept into town with little fanfare and nonstop talent, tells the high-stakes story of Huey Calhoun, an irrepressible poor-white DJ hipster (Chad Kimball) who popularizes 'race music' in '50s Tennessee in the years before Elvis made it safe for America's children.

Imagine if 'Jersey Boys' had new music to go with its cultural history, or if 'Hairspray' were not a happy cartoon about race relations. 'Memphis' has a passionate, exuberantly believable book by Joe DiPietro (best known, oddly enough, for the light crowd pleaser 'I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change'). The remarkably rich and raucous character-driven songs, by Bon Jovi cofounder David Bryan, lovingly capture the insinuating, earthy authenticity of rhythm and blues, gospel and early rock and roll without sounding derivative..."

http://www.newsday.com/entertainment/theater/theater-review-memphis-the-soul-of-rock-and-roll-1.1530278

Updated On: 10/20/09 at 12:09 AM

[somethingwicked]

Posted: 10/20/09 at 12:12am

The Hollywood Reporter is a Rave:

"Bottom Line: Don't hesitate before booking a ticket to 'Memphis.'

I've never been to Memphis, but I've seen 'Memphis,' the new Broadway musical, and can only hope that the city isn't a disappointment by comparison. This tale of a white DJ in the 1950s desperately enamored of "race music" and a black singer whom he helps rise to stardom comes as an out-of-left-field-surprise: an original musical, not based on a presold property and devoid of stars, that is joyfully entertaining in musical and theatrical terms.

Although its themes are familiar -- 'Dreamgirls' and 'Hairspray' both come to mind -- and it doesn't fully manage to avoid cliched aspects, the show could well turn out to be a surprise hit..."

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/film-reviews/memphis-theater-review-1004023658.story

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 10/20/09 at 12:44am

WICKEDrOCks, I was just comparing how different audiences see different things, There was a time when Simon had some clout and he was a viscious Bitch, but No one besides us diehards read anything he writes now.

"arguably the best black musical written by white guys since DREAMGIRLS"

That opens a can of worms...

[TalkinLoud]

Posted: 10/20/09 at 12:59am

This is going to be a sleeper hit.