THEATRE REVIEW: Memphis

There is no pressure or anything, but if you win the Tony award for BEST MUSICAL - you probably should be pretty good.

Memphis, which is still doing pretty good on Broadway (80% of capacity), won the Tony in 2010. It had just opened when I was last in New York and was on my list of "To See" shows but I never got around to it.

Memphis isn't necessarily a 'true' story, but was inspired by events of the time. he characters and story of Memphis is a fictional creation meant to embody the people and the spirit of the times. (Well, that is what the program said anyway!)

Set in Memphis in the 1950's, this original musical (not a Jukebox) tells the story of a White DJ who loves Black music and wants to bring it to mainstream America. Along the way he falls in love with a Black girl and the obvious trouble ensues.

The two leads in this touring production (I saw this in Toronto) were both original understudies for the Broadway production and are fantastic. Especially Felicia Boswell. WHAT A VOICE! I saw this production with friends who are music lovers and semi-regular theatre goers in Brisbane / Toronto / New York and decided that she has one of the best voices ever heard. The problem with these sorts of roles and shows is to over-sing, but Felicia obviously has a good singers brain (and a good musical director) and was able to create some pretty incredible sounds.

There are a couple of other standout performances by Rhett George (doesn't say a word until he sings a beautiful song at the end of Act 2) and Will Mann (great voice and for a larger man, this guy has amazing dance skills!)

The amount of sound cues that were missed was disappointing. For a professional touring production, you would think and hope they have those things sorted out. I know it is a touring production so there is no way to control this, but it would have been really good in a smaller venue. much more intimate.

The show is out on DVD and if you are browsing Amazon.com and looking for something to buy - this is worth it. The vocals and music and band are awesome. The sets are simple but very effective and it tells a really interesting story and doesn't have the ending you might be expecting. And the dancing - so slick and super stylized. There was a lot of joy and fun coming from the stage and as an audience member you can't help but pick up on that.

My way of reviewing and summary is slightly different this time round:
NO WAY = 1
PROBABLY NOT = 2
MAYBE = 3
YES = 4
DEFIANTLY = 5

Would I See It Again? YES
Would I Buy The Soundtrack? YES
Would I Buy The DVD? MAYBE
Would I MD this show? DEFIANTLY (but i don't think i am quite right)