Memphis (musical)
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| Musical dates | |
| Title: | Memphis |
| Original language: | English |
| Music: | David Bryan |
| Book: | Joe DiPietro |
| Lyrics: | David Bryan , Joe DiPietro |
| Original direction: | Christopher Ashley |
| Premiere: | 2002 |
| Place of premiere: | Montain View, California |
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Memphis is a Broadway - Musical by David Bryan (music and lyrics) and Joe DiPietro (writer and text). It's based in part on the story of Memphis- born disc jockey ( DJ ) Dewey Phillips. He was one of the first white DJs to play the " Afro-American music " of the 1950s, known as "black music" on the radio.
The original production of the musical was on Broadway from October 19, 2009 to August 5, 2012. In 2010 she won four Tony Awards , including Best Musical and Best Original Score .
The musical had previously been shown as joint world premieres at the North Shore Music Theater in Beverly, Massachusetts and at TheatreWorks in Mountain View, California in 2003 and 2004 . Another production before jumping to Broadway took place in 2008-09 at the 5th Avenue Theater in Seattle .
Summary
first act
In Delray's , a black rock and roll bar in the basement of Memphis-1950s, is a party place ( Underground ). Huey Calhoun, a white man, enters the scene. When the regulars start to leave the bar, Huey tries to convince them that he came for the music ( The Music of My Soul ). Later, when Huey almost loses his job in a local department store, he makes a deal with the shopkeeper. If he can sell 5 records by playing them over loudspeakers in the shop, he is employed as a seller. Huey plays the rock 'n' roll hit ( Scratch My Itch ) which he brought with him and sells 29 records in five minutes. He's fired anyway because the shopkeeper is outraged by the kind of music he's been selling.
Huey visits Delray’s one more time and starts flirting with Felicia, the talented sister of bar owner Delray. He promises her to play her music on the radio. ( Ain't Nothin 'But a Kiss ). Huey then started applying to local radio stations as a DJ. ( Hello My Name is Huey ). One of the owners, Mr. Simmons, invites him and wants to show him a "real" DJ at work. Huey uses the DJ's break, takes over the microphone and plays another African American rock number ( Everybody Wants to be Black on Saturday Night ).
Mr. Simmons is about to kick Huey out when dozens of teenagers ring the radio station's phones and want more from Huey and his music. ( That's Not Possible ). Mr. Simmons then granted Huey a two-week probationary period. If he succeeds he will be taken on full time. After a few days, Huey has to read a radio ad for beer, but it turns out that he is illiterate. So he asks the caretaker Bobby, who is a friend of Delray, read him the text, which he then repeats. When he forgets the exact wording, he begins to improvise and ends his announcement with the expression "Hockadoo!".
Mr. Simmons is about to fire Huey when the owner of the beer shop calls and demands that all of his future commercials be done by Huey. His beer stocks were sold out in minutes. The radio station is becoming increasingly popular thanks to Huey's creation of the word “Hockadoo!”, Although no one understands what that actually means ... not even Huey himself.
On the radio, he encourages white listeners to attend African American church services. ( Make Me Stronger ). Whatever they do. Meanwhile, Delray has saved enough money to record a record of Felicia's music. Felicia visits Huey to bring him the record. He is overjoyed and promises her to play it on the radio the next day. But Huey's mother takes the plate because of her prejudice against Felicia, and breaks it. Felicia leaves the house heartbroken. Nevertheless, Huey asks her to come to the radio station the next day. ( Colored Women ).
That next day, Huey organizes a band and a group of back-up singers to play live with Felicia. Despite her initial reluctance, Felicia sings very well and becomes a real sensation ( Someday ). Felicia and Huey's relationship begins to grow. But Delray is getting mad at Huey because of it. He warns him of the dangers of a relationship with Felicia, and threatens him to harm him if anything should happen to Felicia ( She's My Sister ). But Huey's popularity continues to grow, with white and black young people adopting each other more and more often ( radio ). But Huey and Felicia have had a secret relationship that has existed since the day she sang on the radio.
Two years later, Huey files an application on the way to Delray's Felicia. She refuses because she believes that the laws in force and the prevailing prejudice would put them both at great disadvantage as a couple. Only if that weren't the case would she marry him. As they kiss, they are watched by a group of white men. The men throw Huey to the ground and hit Felicia with a baton. Huey barely manages to get her to the bar. When Delray hears everything, tries to attack Huey as he had threatened him. But the bartender Gator can just stop him. He saw his father being violated as a child and has not spoken a word since then. He says a prayer for change and carries Felicia to the called ambulance ( Say a Prayer ).
Second act
Some time has passed and Huey has started a new TV show, a rock & roll music show with black dancers ( Crazy Little Huey ). Felicia was supposed to be the first guest on today's show. But she's afraid that people might think she has a relationship with Huey. That's why Bobby has to step in for Felicia after she first had some stage fright ( Big Love ). The relationship with Huey grows and gradually her popularity in Memphis continues to grow.
Felicia tries to convince Huey to move to New York. Because of the more tolerant society there, she no longer believes that she has to live in secret. Huey loves living in Memphis, however, and is so happy that he insists on staying in Memphis ( Love Will Stand When All Else Falls ). Then a talent agency discovers the TV show with Huey and Felicia and wants to bring them both to New York. For this, Huey would first have to assert himself against the planned presenter Dick Clark for the planned national TV show. They weigh up their decision ( Stand Up ) and are even supported by Huey's mother, who has put down her prejudices by visiting a black church choir ( Change Don't Come Easy ).
Huey receives news that if he only doesn't employ black dancers, he can get the national TV show. Then he refuses, and in the middle of the live broadcast begins to take off his suit and put on a strip ( Tear Down the House ). Felicia tells Huey that she will go to New York anyway because it is her big dream. In an act of desperation, Huey kisses her in front of the cameras and confesses his love to her in order to convince her otherwise ( Love Will Stand / Ain't Nothin 'But a Kiss ). The broadcast is then interrupted. He is fired on the grounds that no one wants to see his show after this incident. In addition, he is no longer the only white person who plays this music. To protect Felicia’s career from all this, Delray decides to take Felicia out of here for now.
Huey leaves the station thinking about his relationship with Memphis from the point of view of the unemployed. But there is still no reason for him to leave Memphis ( Memphis Lives in Me ). After four years, Huey has another job with a small radio station (he jokes about it on the show and says that he only has “exactly one listener”). Felicia, who is about to start a national tour, visits him on the station. She tells Huey about her fiancé Bill, but also tells Huey that she would like to be on stage with him one last time. He refuses because he is suddenly afraid that no one would remember him anyway. The show begins, and only in the middle of the song does Huey come on stage and sing with Felicia to thunderous applause. He ends the song with an exclamation: “The name is Huey Calhoun. Goodnight and HOCKADOO! " ("My name is Huey Calhoun. Good night and HOCKADOO!") - ( Steal Your Rock and Roll ).
Track list
- Act I.
- Underground - Delray, Felicia and Company
- The Music of My Soul - Huey, Felicia and Company
- Scratch My Itch - Wailin 'Joe and Company
- Ain't Nothin 'But a Kiss - Felicia and Huey
- Hello, My Name is Huey - Huey, and Company
- That's Not Possible - Huey, and Company
- Everybody Wants to Be Black on a Saturday Night - Company
- Make Me Stronger - Huey, Mama, Felicia and Company
- Colored Woman - Felicia
- Someday - Felicia and Company
- She's My Sister - Delray and Huey
- Radio - Huey and Company
- Say a Prayer - Gator and Company
- Act II
- Crazy Little Huey - Huey and Company
- Big Love - Bobby
- Love Will Stand When All Else Falls - Felicia and Company
- Stand Up - Delray, Felicia, Huey, Gator, Bobby and Company
- Change Don't Come Easy - Mama, Delray, Gator and Bobby
- Tear Down the House - Huey and Company
- Love Will Stand / Ain't Nothin 'But a Kiss (Reprise) - Felicia and Huey
- Memphis Lives in Me - Huey and Company
- Steal Your Rock 'n' Roll - Huey, Felicia and Company
actor
Cast of the English language productions of Memphis
| character | Original Broadway cast | Last Broadway line-up | First "National Tour" | Original West End cast | Last West End line-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Huey Calhoun | Chad Kimball | Adam Pascal | Bryan Fenkart | Killian Donnelly | Matt Cardle |
| Alternative cast Huey | Jon Robyns | Tim Newman | |||
| Felicia Farrell | Montego Glover | Felicia Boswell | Beverley Knight | Rachel John | |
| Delray | J. Bernard Calloway | Quentin Earl Darrington | Rolan Bell | ||
| Gator | Derrick Baskin | Rhett George | Tyrone Huntley | ||
| Bobby | James Monroe Iglehart | Want man | Jason Pennycooke | ||
| Mama / Gladys | Cass Morgan | Nancy Opel | Julie Johnson | Claire Machin | |
| Mr. Simmons | Michael McGrath | John Jellison | William Parry | Mark Roper | |
Web links
- Official website with a link to request the performance rights
- Memphis in the Internet Broadway Database
- [1] Instagram website with lots of photos from the 2015 West End production
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c Memphis Music. In: ibdb.com. Internet Broadway Database , accessed February 21, 2014 .
- ^ Full cast announced for Memphis at Shaftesbury. on whatsonstage.com.
- ↑ memphisthemusical.com ( Memento of the original from November 13, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
