MEMPHIS to Close on Broadway August 5 — Page 2

I was JUST thinking that Memphis was probably the next show to close. Then I checked Playbill, and the closing notice was posted. Sad to see Memphis close, but congratulations on an excellent run!

This is a show that was INCREDIBLY lucky with the season in which it opened. It would have closed had it opened at any other time. It won many Tonys including Best Musical, simply because there was NOTHING else in competition. Had SCOTTSBORO BOYS transferred in that season immediately from the Vineyard, I think it would have swept, and it would probably still be open, and MEMPHIS would have closed in summer of 2010.
But it didn't, so MEMPHIS got some Tonys and an audience, and word of mouth. They were lucky to run this long, and I say congrats, but good riddance to a mediocre show that is taking up a very desirable theater for new productions.

Updated On: 6/26/12 at 11:27 PM

I still think it is surprising that it didn't recoup, it ran for a long time. The award did save it - perhaps the accountants/producers didn't.

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@jacobsnchz14 - No worries!

bwaydie92 - I agree that Memphis should not have won. After seeing American Idiot on tour a couple months ago (I went three times in one weekend), I really think it should have won. I went into American Idiot expecting to hate it, and I LOVED it. Is it the best thing ever? No. However, it was the best out of that abysmal season. Heck I think The Addams Family should have been nominated over Million Dollar Quartet, and I definitely think The Addams Family is better than Memphis, which doesn't say much. Million Dollar Quartet was seriously one of the most boring shows I have ever seen. I am really surprised Memphis made it this long. I personally do not care for the score or book. There's nothing too original about either. I am glad this show had a nice run though, and I send my best to all involved.

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God, that show was an utter mediocrity - pointless, witless, with a book that made any episode of Gilligan's Island look like Arthur Miller. And the score - one generic, irrelevant pastiche tune after another, all with meaningless, buzzword-packed lyrics.

The only thing sadder than its existence was the fact that so many people actually thought it was good.

I just saw Memphis for the first time this summer and I'm very sad to hear it is closing. It would have been one of my new "see-every-trip" type of shows. I really enjoyed the choreography and the show's examination of civil rights history. I would have loved to take a group of my high school students to see it.

I do have a question about the tour though. There are so many trap doors in the show, I wonder how they account for that on the tour? Please don't tell me the actors simply walk in from the wings instead...............

Updated On: 6/27/12 at 02:53 PM

I called Telecharge so I could get tickets to Memphis the day before it closes, and they said Matilda will be moving into the Shubert Theatre...

"The only thing sadder than its existence was the fact that so many people actually thought it was good."

New-in-town: Hell-bent on trying to convince theatergoers they're wrong 24/7.

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