Memphis, on Broadway via the La Jolla Playhouse and Seattle's 5th Avenue Theater, is a very fictionalized account of the roots of rock 'n roll as it emerged from unknown black boppers in "underground" clubs of the 50s along Memphis' Beale Street (there are no basement clubs, but storefront ones).
Radical, white deejay Huey Calhoun is determined to take "race music" from storefront clubs to the mainstream and make it the white rage. Of course, there are obstacles such as falling in love, Calhoun's ignorance-is-bliss attitude toward racial boundaries, racist violence, and his swelling head as he becomes a celebrity. In the end, most are overcome.
The role dominates the musical and is given an exuberant, sometimes over-the-top but nonetheless star-making turn by Chad Kimball (Lennon, and various roles in the short-lived Good Vibrations, and the Into the Woods revival), who soars along a path that segues from an unknown with rebel exuberance to an arrogant, foolhardy and reckless celebrity.
Directing is Tony nom Christopher Ashley (Xanadu), who could have trimmed the show by a good 20 minutes. Joe DiPietro (I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change) book is based on various incidents during that segregated era (for instance, pioneering Memphis deejay, Dewey Phillips); however, not all the ground-breaking ones took place in Memphis or Tennessee. The city wasn't exactly the Baltimore of Hairspray! So you might call the show fiction loosely based on semi-fact.
However, the original score by Bon Jovi founding member David Bryan, with three especially outstanding numbers: "Memphis Lives in Me," "Everybody Wants to Be Black On a Saturday Night" and "Colored Woman," is a scintillating combo of gospel, soul, R&B, and Carl Perkins-era rock 'n roll.
Memphis is vibrantly performed by stunning and golden-voiced Montego Glover (as the black singer Calhoun pushes into the big time), booming J. Bernard Calloway, James Monroe Iglehart, and, in a showstopping featured role, Cass Morgan as Kimball's bigoted mom. Tony and Drama Desk nom Michael McGrath is also featured but not in a role that showcases his amazing range of talent.
If the music doesn't grab you and whip you around the room, Sergio Trujillo (Jersey Boys) pulls out all the stops with the passionate and quite sensuous dancing of his incredible 17+ ensemble. You won't have to look too closely to spot what might seem like a familiar face. If you think it's Debbie Allen, it's okay. However, it's her daughter Vivian Nixon, who's the spitting image of Mom and just as dexterous and talented.
