Happy 1-year anniversary to 'Memphis' and hocka-effing-doo!
Last Sept. 23, this show kicked off its first preview at the Shubert, and what a difference a year makes. It's won the Triple Crown of theater awards for Best Musical (The Tony, the Drama Desk and the Outer Critics Circle), and since the Tonys, it's been consistently one of the top 10 highest-grossing shows on Broadway. And if our math is right, that's 30 previews and 387 regular performances so far. To mark the occasion, we sat down with Joe DiPietro, the show's Tony-winning book writer and co-lyricist; he and David Bryan (composer, co-lyricist and co-orchestrator) are now THREE-time Tony winners (they're also among the show's producers).
5 Questions for Joe DiPietro:
1. Congrats on the 1-year anniversary. How's it feel?
Joe DiPietro: 'David Bryan, myself, the producers and the creative team have always believed in 'Memphis.' And in the four out-of-town tryouts, we knew audiences loved this show. They related to it, and always gave it standing ovations. But Broadway is a crapshoot and you never know, but the Tonys gave us that extra spotlight and propelled us to another level. We couldn't be prouder. In many ways, 'Memphis' is an old-fashioned musical. It tells a story that makes people laugh and cry and think. and it's got a great rock 'n' roll score. People fall in love with the characters.
2. What do you remember about Tony night?
DiPietro: 'We literally sat in our seats at 7 o'clock, and the first three competitive Tonys were given, and we won them all (orchestrations, score and book). People ask if we were nervous. We didn't have time to be. It was pretty off-the-charts great. The other moment that got me really verklempt was sitting in Radio City watching Chad and Montego and the entire cast do 'Steal Your Rock 'N' Roll' at the Tonys. That was like a childhood fantasy. Omigod. We've been together through so much, and here we were. And this is funny: Bernadette Peters presented Best Musical, and I've never met her. I'm a huge fan. When she came out onstage, David leaned over to me and said, 'She was in 'The Jerk'!' David and I are big comedy fans, and that's what he knew her from.'
3. There's been talk about Hollywood making a movie out of 'Memphis.' Did you get to meet Zac Efron?
DiPietro: 'I met Zac the second time he came back, this time with his girlfriend, Vanessa Hudgens. They couldn't have been sweeter. Zac said anytime a moment came up in the show that especially affected him, he'd squeeze Vanessa's hand. They were so nice to Chad and Montego. And when Justin Timberlake came, he brought his girlfriend, Jessica Biel, and later they sent gourmet cupcakes to the cast, which was sweet. And David and I got to meet [director] Oliver Stone and his producer at Sardi's, and what they keyed into was the story, the tale of Huey and Felicia, the tale of rock 'n' roll, the early civil rights struggle, all laden and heightened by this great music David wrote. It's not a huge leap to see 'Memphis' as a movie. The characters have arcs. The scenes have a beginning, middle and an end. And two-thirds of the songs are sung in a nightclub, recording studio or TV studio, so no one wonders why someone is breaking into song. I used the model of 'Cabaret,' Bob Fosse's movie of Kander & Ebb. It's probably the best movie musical ever done for the screen. Almost every song is sung in a cabaret.'
4. So what are you and David working on next?
DiPietro: 'A new musical called 'Chasing the Song.' It's about a female songwriter set against the backdrop of the Brill Building in the early 1960s, when publishers hired songwriters to write the hit pop songs of the day. It's not based on Carole King or Ellie Greenwich; it's an original story with original music. The other main character is a woman music publisher. It's very much about how music was made back then and what it means to succeed when you're young. It ends in 1964, when the Beatles came and changed everything. I have a draft of the book and we've got five songs. David's been on tour (with Bon Jovi) and just got married, and I've been out of town opening a few shows, but it's what we're working on now. We have an idea for something else too, but that's probably done the line.' (In a recent interview for Playbill, David hinted this show was about 'Old Hollywood.')
5. What would you like to say to the fans of 'Memphis'?
DiPietro: 'Thank you for being such fans and supporting an original musical on Broadway. Both David and I feel very strongly that first you have to write for yourself. Then you give it to the world and hope they feel the same way, and the fact that fans feel that too, means just about everything to us. We certainly wouldn't be celebrating our one-year anniversary without them. We really appreciate it, and it's quite moving.'
Updated On: 9/24/10 at 09:33 PM
