Cabaret Scenes Theatre Review

Memphis says it all – a city with "'lectrifyin', mystifyin', glorifyin' music," where the new blues were born. It's home for Graceland, the Rock 'n' Soul Museum and Beale Street, where W. C. Handy, Muddy Waters, B. B. King, Ruth Brown, Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis worked. This is where Elvis Presley mixed the rockin' rhythm into his blood and where pioneers like DJ Dewey Phillips and Sun Studio helped turn a tradition of Memphis blues and soul around a musical corner and never look back. There is history in this city and a rhythmic heartbeat in its people.Memphis is an exhilarating new rockin' 'n' rollin' couple of hours at Broadway's Shubert Theatre. The amalgam score is by composer/co-lyricist David Bryan, Bon Jovi's founding member and keyboardist. The show has been around for awhile, originally conceived by George W. George, who died before he could see his idea on Broadway. With book and lyrics by Joe DiPietro, the musical is the underbelly of other 1950s rock 'n' roll/race relations shows like Hairspray. In a segregated city where whites wrote the laws and blacks wrote the music, this was the soulful sound that over the years was called race music, R&B, and rock 'n' roll.

The story is about Huey Calhoun, illiterate but impassioned, who falls in love with "Negro" music and a "Negro" woman. Brash and scrappy, he finagles his way into Delray's, a black saloon, to listen to the rollicking songs and there he spots the owner's sister, Felicia, played by Montego Glover. When she takes the microphone, her sweet looks and commanding voice belting "Underground," he is convinced he can make her a star. It's not hard for the audacious hustler to paint for Felicia a dream of getting into the big time.

Felicia falls in love with him but obvious problems lie ahead. While feisty, down-to-earth, and romantic, Felicia knows her place in the early 1950s segregated society. The cocky Huey is confident he can get around the discrimination. The story of their relationship finely interweaves with Huey's determination to get the rock 'n' roll sound played on the local white radio station where currently Perry Como and Patti Page reign. The fact that he is not even a disc jockey deters Huey no more than does his enduring love affair with a black woman. You believe he will do it, and he does, up to a point. While the music gains a broader audience, the couple experiences the pain and horror of society toward their relationship.

There are intriguing secondary characters. Michael McGrath is a disapproving radio station owner. With a compelling "She's My Sister," Felicia's wary brother, Delray (J. Bernard Calloway), tries to caution Huey that the relationship with Felicia is dangerous. Gater (Derrick Baskin), a mute worker at the bar, finds his voice through Felicia and her music and joins high-spirited singer/dancer, Bobby (James Monroe Iglehart), Delray and Huey's critical mother (Cass Morgan) to plead that "Change Don't Come Easy."

Directed by Christopher Ashley, the show leaps to life as soon as the curtain rises on the rockin' Beale Street saloon. The ebullience is radiant and the production polished despite downsides of predictability and some questionable acts. For example, why did Huey go so far as to kiss Felicia on live television? Brash yes, but also streetwise, he had to realize the consequences.

Musically, the show scores high, revealing life that soars to joyous heights and falls to loathsome truths. Chad Kimball's sharp-edged voice echoes his persevering attitude in the driving tunes like "The Music of My Soul," yet he can deliver a heartfelt ballad, "Memphis Lives in Me." Montego Glover is as winning with "Love Will Stand When All Else Falls" as she is with a belt and with the scorching "Colored Woman." The company adds depth to the songs, and Bryan's orchestrations with Daryl Waters intensify his melodies. Sergio Trujillo adds sexy and rhythmic choreography for the dynamite high-kicking and eye-catching dancers. Highlighted by Howell Binkle's lighting, David Gallo's sets and projections spell Memphis and its moods. Costumes by Paul Tazewell are blazing with color and details like a porkpie hat for Huey.

'Lectrifyin' Montego Glover and Chad Kimball's take-no-prisoners portrayal of Huey illuminate the music that make Memphis much more than the "huckadoo" show of the season.

(Photo: Montego Glover, Chad Kimball, Photo by Joan Marcus)

Elizabeth Ahlfors
Cabaret Scenes
October 22, 2009
www.cabaretscenes.org



	Memphis Shubert Theatre New York, NY
Memphis says it all – a city with "'lectrifyin', mystifyin', glorifyin' music," where the new blues were born. It's home for Graceland, the Rock 'n' Soul Museum and Beale Street, where W. C. Handy, Muddy Waters, B. B. King, Ruth Brown, Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis worked. This is where Elvis Presley mixed the rockin' rhythm into his blood and where pioneers like DJ Dewey Phillips and Sun Studio helped turn a tradition of Memphis blues and soul around a musical corner and never look back. There is history in this city and a rhythmic heartbeat in its people.Memphis is an exhilarating new rockin' 'n' rollin' couple of hours at Broadway's Shubert Theatre. The amalgam score is by composer/co-lyricist David Bryan, Bon Jovi's founding member and keyboardist. The show has been around for awhile, originally conceived by George W. George, who died before he could see his idea on Broadway. With book and lyrics by Joe DiPietro, the musical is the underbelly of other 1950s rock 'n' roll/race relations shows like Hairspray. In a segregated city where whites wrote the laws and blacks wrote the music, this was the soulful sound that over the years was called race music, R&B, and rock 'n' roll. The story is about Huey Calhoun, illiterate but impassioned, who falls in love with "Negro" music and a "Negro" woman. Brash and scrappy, he finagles his way into Delray's, a black saloon, to listen to the rollicking songs and there he spots the owner's sister, Felicia, played by Montego Glover. When she takes the microphone, her sweet looks and commanding voice belting "Underground," he is convinced he can make her a star. It's not hard for the audacious hustler to paint for Felicia a dream of getting into the big time. Felicia falls in love with him but obvious problems lie ahead. While feisty, down-to-earth, and romantic, Felicia knows her place in the early 1950s segregated society. The cocky Huey is confident he can get around the discrimination. The story of their relationship finely interweaves with Huey's determination to get the rock 'n' roll sound played on the local white radio station where currently Perry Como and Patti Page reign. The fact that he is not even a disc jockey deters Huey no more than does his enduring love affair with a black woman. You believe he will do it, and he does, up to a point. While the music gains a broader audience, the couple experiences the pain and horror of society toward their relationship. There are intriguing secondary characters. Michael McGrath is a disapproving radio station owner. With a compelling "She's My Sister," Felicia's wary brother, Delray (J. Bernard Calloway), tries to caution Huey that the relationship with Felicia is dangerous. Gater (Derrick Baskin), a mute worker at the bar, finds his voice through Felicia and her music and joins high-spirited singer/dancer, Bobby (James Monroe Iglehart), Delray and Huey's critical mother (Cass Morgan) to plead that "Change Don't Come Easy." Directed by Christopher Ashley, the show leaps to life as soon as the curtain rises on the rockin' Beale Street saloon. The ebullience is radiant and the production polished despite downsides of predictability and some questionable acts. For example, why did Huey go so far as to kiss Felicia on live television? Brash yes, but also streetwise, he had to realize the consequences. Musically, the show scores high, revealing life that soars to joyous heights and falls to loathsome truths. Chad Kimball's sharp-edged voice echoes his persevering attitude in the driving tunes like "The Music of My Soul," yet he can deliver a heartfelt ballad, "Memphis Lives in Me." Montego Glover is as winning with "Love Will Stand When All Else Falls" as she is with a belt and with the scorching "Colored Woman." The company adds depth to the songs, and Bryan's orchestrations with Daryl Waters intensify his melodies. Sergio Trujillo adds sexy and rhythmic choreography for the dynamite high-kicking and eye-catching dancers. Highlighted by Howell Binkle's lighting, David Gallo's sets and projections spell Memphis and its moods. Costumes by Paul Tazewell are blazing with color and details like a porkpie hat for Huey. 'Lectrifyin' Montego Glover and Chad Kimball's take-no-prisoners portrayal of Huey illuminate the music that make Memphis much more than the "huckadoo" show of the season. (Photo: Montego Glover, Chad Kimball, Photo by Joan Marcus) Elizabeth Ahlfors Cabaret Scenes October 22, 2009 www.cabaretscenes.org

Memphis

Shubert Theatre New York, NY

Shubert Theatre
New York, NY