Memphis tonight- 10/13/09 (spoilers, I guess)

[adamgreer]

Posted: 10/14/09 at 12:11am

Brantley is going to have a field day with this one. Yikes.

I don't even know where to begin, but I'll start with the two things I liked: Montego Glover's voice and the set design. Glover can't act her way out of a paper bag, but she sings really, really, well. Also, the set design was very effective and nice to look at.

Unfortunately, that's about all that's right with Memphis, and the crux of the problems flow from the show's book and score. The book is riddled with just about every possible cliche one could come up with, and it's entirely predictable. You can see every "twist" coming a mile away:
-Huey gets a chance to sell records at the department store and given an ultimatum. Gee, do you think he's going to make it?
-Huey put on the radio on a "trial basis" and is soon #1. Shocking.
-Huey falls in love with the black singer.
-Said black singer has a disapproving older brother.
-Huey has a disapproving mother, who has a sudden epiphany in act 2, and sings a "black song" about it.
-Felicia has saved for months and months enough money to make just ONE record. Gee, you don't think that ONE record is going to get destroyed by one of the bigots, do you?
-Huey and Felicia encounter bigots in the street who beat them up.
-Felicia and her brother think they can attain more success without Huey and start having secret meetings with producers.
-Huey has a chance to get a national show, but only if he ditches the black dancers. Gee, what do you think he does?
-Huey kisses Felicia on television and screws everything up.

About the only cliche they managed to avoid is having a large black woman come out near the end of act 2 and sing a rousing gospel number.

The whole thing is horribly amateurish and act 2 is even worse than act 1.

With regards to the score, I can't discern one song from another. Every single song in this sloppy score sounds exactly alike. The numbers also do nothing to move the "plot" along and all seemed useless.

Chad Kimball (who will soon have yet another flop to add to his resume) is horribly miscast, and is kind of awful, but a lot of that can be blamed on the book. His voice isn't especially well-suited for the score, either.

The rest of it is all just a mess. A big giant mess. It's bad, but the upsetting thing was that it's not so bad that it becomes a fun train wreck to watch. It's just bad.

Someone asked me if I thought the show was salvageable. My answer was, only if they entirely rewrite the book and score. There is probably a very interesting musical to be made about the life of Huey Calhoun. This isn't it.


Updated On: 10/14/09 at 12:11 AM

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 10/14/09 at 12:13am

Couldn't agree more.

[ljay889]

Posted: 10/14/09 at 12:15am

Yikes is right.

My thoughts: it felt like the entire show (music, lyrics, and book) were written by high school students in a theater arts class. The writing was SO elementary. Embarrassing at times. Especially with lyrics something like "All whites wish they were black on saturday nights." I can't remember the exact lyric. But oy!

Updated On: 10/14/09 at 12:15 AM

[somethingwicked]

Posted: 10/14/09 at 12:16am

I'm sorry to see you didn't enjoy it, adamgreer.

What was the audience reaction like?

[taylorPHENOMENON2]

Posted: 10/14/09 at 12:17am

That was hilarious to read.

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 10/14/09 at 1:24am

My biggest problem, beyond the fact that this isn't a jukebox musical, is that it's B-O-R-I-N-G.

I can take bad, if it's so bad that it's entertaining. But this just wasn't even entertaining.

They could salvage the show with some tunes that people enjoy. This is the one show that actually would be better off using recycled music. Updated On: 10/14/09 at 01:24 AM

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 10/14/09 at 7:52am

I can't believe they haven't tried to cut anything yet (that I've heard of at least, I could be wrong.)

That song that Huey's mom sings in Act Two where she lets loose like (I believe I said) "a poorman's Mary Testa" is really...cringe-worthy.

[Elke]

Posted: 10/14/09 at 8:16am

They have been making changes, according to the Memphis blog.

I saw the show almost three weeks ago and while I realize that it has its flaws, I really did enjoy it. I was also amazed by the loud and supportive audience. Thought it was because of the papered tickets, but the same thing was mentioned in reviews of more recent previews.

How was this at the performance that you saw, adamgreer?
Memphis blog

[adamgreer]

Posted: 10/14/09 at 9:27am

The mezz appeared to be about 80% full. Of course there was a standing ovation at the end, there always is, so that's hardly indicative of anything. The couple to my left fled at intermission. The only people in the mezz who seemed to really love it was this older couple in the very first row, center aisle, who spent the entire finale waving to the cast, singing along with them. I suspect they have some connection to the show, given their behavior.

To say the show has some flaws is putting it mildly. Some flaws is one bad scene, or one bad song. This show is an entire book of cliches, that as ljay mentioned, reads like something high schoolers wrote for drama class. And the score has not one discernible song.

[Calvin]

Posted: 10/14/09 at 10:42am

The balcony was fairly full, too.

Not much I can add except that Felicia's song in the second act was really just Journey's "Open Arms."

[landryjames2]

Posted: 10/14/09 at 10:44am

Mmmm...I liked the show. I have no compunction about leaving at intermission now at any show where I am being tortured, but I was thoroughly entertained. Did I think it was great theater? No. Would I see it again? Probably not.

But I liked it.
Updated On: 10/14/09 at 10:44 AM

[Elke]

Posted: 10/14/09 at 11:22am

Thanks, adamgreer. Appreciate your comments.

I don't think that this show was put out there as "life changing theatre that will have you leave the theatre with a better understanding of the racial problems in Memphis". No, it's marketed as a fun night out and - for me, thanks to the nice sets, pleasant songs and excellent vocals and choreography - that's what I had. Mission accomplished.

[Dantes]

Posted: 10/14/09 at 2:03pm

Great review Adam, guess i won't be adding this to my list of things to see when i come to NY

[Testing1232]

Posted: 10/14/09 at 3:59pm

<< They have been making changes, according to the Memphis blog. >>

Is one of the changes telling Kimball to stop sounding like Forrest Gump on Xanax?

[yeomansden]

Posted: 10/14/09 at 4:13pm

Haven't seen this (and honestly, didn't intend to even before the posts...just doesn't sound like it would interest me...), but a good friend of mine did. It was almost funny that, while he seemed to enjoy it more than some, his criticisms almost duplicate what everyone else has said.

1.) Kimball's accent is terrible and needs to stop.

2.) The music either doesn't work, or is horribly derivitive - to the point that he walked out of the theater humming "You Can't Stop the Beat". It's never a good sign when people leave humming another show's music...

3.) The plot has been done before, and this adds nothing new to it. He even said specifically that this is Hairspray and Dreamgirls, and they both did it better.

4.) They couldn't get the tone right. It's one thing to play it campy like Hairspray, but if you want to take the issues seriously, you shouldn't leave a show about a violent hate crime feeling like you had a fun and uplifting experience...

[GoodMorningStarshine]

Posted: 10/14/09 at 4:34pm

Despite historical inaccuracies and the fact that this story has been done before, I found the show entertaining. My biggest issue was with Chad Kimball's wardrobe. The way he was dressed in the first act reminded me of a Leprechaun, so much that I mentioned it to my friends during the intermission. Then to top of off, in the second act they put him in a shiny green suit, I seriously almost died! I hope they change that before it opens.

[ljay889]

Posted: 10/14/09 at 4:36pm

But his funky wardrobe is a trademark of his character, and is referenced to and dealt with throughout the show.

[GoodMorningStarshine]

Posted: 10/14/09 at 4:52pm

Funky is one thing, shiny green leprechaun suit is another, it was distracting, any other color would be better. I also didn't know before the show that he played an leprechaun in Finian's Rainbow off-Broadway. Maybe it's him and not the wardrobe. But I did enjoy the show and will probably see it again when it opens.

[HometownGlory]

Posted: 10/14/09 at 5:12pm

My friend and I have taken to calling the show "May-im-fee-uuuuussssuuuuhhhhhhaaahhhh" (complete with upward inflection) in honor of that, uh, incredible accent happening every night at the Shubert.

[adamgreer]

Posted: 10/14/09 at 5:35pm

I had forgotten how awful Chad Kimball's accent is. The costumes didn't bother me so much because he's supposed to be eccentric.

Act 2 is very, very reminiscent of Hairspray, and of course, that's not good, given Hairspray is a far better show.

[Testing1232]

Posted: 10/14/09 at 5:44pm

<>

"Hairspray" on a dark night, or performed by a preschool, would be a better option than "Memphis"-

[iWannaBEaSedaris]

Posted: 10/14/09 at 5:59pm

Eek, poor Memphis. It is sad that the first new musical of the season is going to crash and burn. I hate Ben Brantley on principal, but I kind of can't wait to see him tear the show a new one. Only because maybe then, David Bryan and Joe DiPietro will just STOP!