Memphis the most underrated musical ever! — Page 3

Streaming for free on 17 July. As I recall, those who saw Kimball live on stage early in the run say the Kimball in this filmed version is nothing like how he played the role originally

Memphis July 17 Free Streaming

Binau: ''I always found the dichotomy between this board vs public on 'Memphis' interesting and something that doesn’t happen often. If I recall posts on here we’re predicting the show would close on opening night. Yet it won best musical, was filmed, had a west end run etc''.

Boy, Binau, you've got a really good memory!

''Memphis'' began previews on Sept. 23, 2009 and opened on Oct. 19, 2009. I dug through the BWW board's archives and found these actual postings (and I'll save the authors the embarrassment by NOT identifying them).

* ''I give it 1-2 months of performances'' (9/27/09)

* ''Will it even last that long at this rate?'' (9/27/09)

* ''If it makes it to xmas, it will close in Jan.'' (9/27/09)

* ''I would be shocked if this show did not close shortly after the reviews come out'' (9/27/09)

* ''Eek, poor 'Memphis.' It is sad that the first new musical of the season is going to crash and burn. ... They will all be unemployed within the month.'' (10/14/09)

* ''I see this fading into oblivion'' (10/19/09)

* ''Methinks 'Memphis' might be forgotten [by Tony time].'' (10/19/09)

Another poster predicted neither Chad Kimball nor Montego Glover would get Tony nominations, which they did. As well as Outer Critics and Drama Desk nominations. Glover even tied with Catherine Zeta-Jones (''A Little Night Music'' ) for the win at Outer Critics and Drama Desk.

As for reviews, ''Memphis'' got its share of raves. 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'' went on win Best Musical from the Outer Critics Circle, the Drama Desk Awards and the Tony Awards, where it landed 8 nominations and also won for Book, Score and Orchestrations. It would play nearly 1,200 performances on Broadway. An HDTV version with the original cast, starring Kimball and Montego, was shot, and it became the first Broadway musical to screen in movie theaters while it was still playing on the Great White Way. This version would air on PBS' ''Great Performances'' and get an Emmy. And ''Memphis'' played the West End, getting 9 Olivier Award nominations and winning 2 of them. Plus, it had a U.S. tour.

''Memphis'' has its fans, and it has its haters, especially on this board, but based on its reviews, its run and its awards, it's far from ''the most underrated musical ever!''

Updated On: 7/20/23 at 07:56 AM

dramamama611 said: "I don't understand the glee at proving people wrong. People make statements based on their viewpoint. Very few of us here would put money on these kind of comments. Heck, early any one of them could have been mine, no shame in getting these things wrong. I still don't understand how it won awards/lasted as long as it did.

"

Especially when the statements are from 14 years ago... It's bizarre.

Updated On: 7/17/23 at 05:33 PM

MEMPHIS is the only musical I still want my money refunded for after all these years. Montego gave a nice performance, but that's reaching to try to give the show some kind of compliment. IMHO, it is the most overrated musical on this board.