'Memphis' Lives in Us: The Official Love Thread

Just saw Memphis. Count me as a fan.

Seen it twice! Absolutely LOVE this show, especially Chad's performance!

BroadwayTourist, how nice to hear from a visitor from Memphis. Did you know that pet favorites from your city - the Memphis Peabody Hotel Ducks - came for the opening? I assume these cute mallards were flown in by plane, and didn't have to fly in alone. ('I just flew in, and boy, are my wings tired!')

I've never been to Tennessee, but 'Memphis Lives in Me' makes me wanna go. I just love this song, and have already been wearing down that track on my cast CD. I went back to the show over the weekend, and Chad just nailed that high note (a D flat!). ... I first saw 'Memphis' years ago in the S.F. Bay Area, and was knocked out by Chad and Montego back then. (Anyone else see it before it reached NYC?) It touches me that they've stuck with these characters, and that the show had believed enough in them (instead of replacing them with 'stars').

For fans of 'Memphis': What's your favorite moment in the show? And what makes this show so special to you? The cast? The music? Dancing? Story?

Meantime, happy holidays and Hockadoo!



YouTube: Chad Kimball: 'Memphis Lives in Me'

Updated On: 12/22/09 at 12:20 AM

I saw this last night. I absolutely loved it. Very predictable for sure, but just a delight. Great singing and loved the dancing.

Count me in as a Memphis fan. I've seen it three times now and it just keeps getting better and better. The cast's energy is fantastic, it's such a joy to see them on that stage.

By the way, has anyone seen any of the understudies for the main characters? I'm not sure whether Chad Kimball's understudy has gone on yet, but I did hear that Montego Glover's understudy played Felicia at least once or twice.

Or any of the other characters? I saw John Jellison as Mr. Simmons last month. I honestly wasn't crazy about his performance, but he still did a fine job.

You guys are lucky to be in NY and see the show as many times as you want!

Correct me if I'm wrong, does Chad have 2 understudy?

Chad's never missed a 'Memphis' in New York so far. And out of the various incarnations of this show, he says he's only missed one out of town (possibly in La Jolla): for stubbing his toe! And I believe they had to cancel that performance. Chad's got two understudies on Broadway: Brad Bass and Bryan Fenkart.

Montego's missed only two shows in New York. Her understudies are Tracee Beazer and Dan'yelle Williamson. Blockhead24, who did you see? Glad to hear she was great.

I saw Dan'yelle

Elke, you win, hands down. You are much farther away than I am!

froggy2 -- LMAO at your "head-scratcher" and "he's not all that large" quote!!

I honestly love understudies and have obviously seen the show before so I didn't really mind at all, but I had my family with me there that night so I was kind of concerned that the song came off a bit dirtier than they'd intended... still, definitely entertaining!

Saw Rhett as Bobby this afternoon and thought he was wonderful. The rest of the cast was excellent as usual (it was my fourth time seeing the show). Great energy. A fun afternoon out.

Roma Torre on NY1 News' 'OnStage' today offered her yearend wrapup, and it included: 'Cheers to Chad Kimball and Montego Glover, who rocked 'Memphis'!

Also, earlier in the show, there was a critics/reporters' roundtable that discussed the Broadway season so far. Beth Stevens of Broadway.com picked 'Memphis' as one of her personal highlights, saying 'it's really shown that it could grow and find an audience on Broadway and that's great.' Patrick Pacheco, a contributor to 'OnStage,' added, 'I loved the originality of 'Memphis.'

And speaking of Chad, he's interviewed at BroadwayStars.com about his 'star-making turn.' See why Chad finds the critical/audience response so 'surreal' ...

In case there are any out-of-town visitors, 'Memphis' has an unusual holiday schedule: It was dark Christmas Eve and Christmas, and will be dark New Year's Eve and New Year's. To make up for it, 'Memphis' will perform this Sunday (Dec. 27) and next (Jan. 3) at 7 p.m. and Monday (Dec. 28 ) at 8 p.m.


BroadwayStars: Scroll down to 'From Memphis to Broadway'

Updated On: 12/27/09 at 11:22 AM