Innovation demands risk takers, some of whom go unheralded. One of Rock and Roll's heroes was Dewey Phillips, a hillbilly from Tennessee who in the 1950's fell in love with the black music and played it on the radio. With Phillips as the inspiration, Joe DiPietro (I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change) created a book and lyrics to go with the music and lyrics written by David Bryan of Bon-Jovi to develop Memphis, an exciting new musical.
The Phillips character has morphed into Huey Calhoun, a high school dropout who can't read or write but uses his passion to promote rock and roll that is the "music of his soul." Played with spirit and boundless energy by Chad Kimball (All Shook Up), Calhoun dares to cross the racial divide. The blacks dislike him for taking their music, and the whites hate him for being with the blacks.
The musical includes a second plot line involving a love interest in the character of Felicia, a beautiful black singer (Montego Glover). Glover is an excellent singer who gets to perform the best music in the show. The songs are rousing, tuneful and memorable.
Despite the upbeat music and spirited dancing, there's a dark side to Memphis. Through Felicia and Huey's hidden love affair, the writers show the hatred and racial intolerance of the day. There's some harsh language, but no scene is more distressing and somber than when Huey and Felicia are attacked in the streets by a bunch of white men who hold him down while they brutalize her.
The first act is terrific with exciting music and energetic dancing. It's funny, especially as the white DJs play records of the popular singers of the time (Patti Page, Roy Rogers, etc.), and Bryan's music is reminiscent of theirs. The second act is less enjoyable, opening with Huey's TV show as his outrageous behavior gets more outlandish. Although he's scouted by a national TV channel, the network ultimately hires Dick Clark.
Kimball is frenetic, like an overgrown puppy with his blundering ways. However, when he sings, his voice is so good, the audience forgets his antic behavior. Glover can really belt out a song, and at times, she sounds like Beyonce. She also has good comic delivery.
There are some well-drawn peripheral characters, including Gator (Derrick Baskin), who hasn't spoken since he saw his daddy lynched by the whites, and Bobby (James Monroe Iglehart), a large black man who first appears doing menial work but later astounds and delights the audience with his singing and agile dancing.
Farrell's brother Delray (J. Bernard Calloway) and Dewey's mama (Cass Morgan) epitomize the racial divide. Although they later come together, society is much slower to accept interracial couples.
Memphis may prove to be one of the musical hits of the new Broadway season with its bittersweet love story, humor, quirky leading man and great score. It's costly to mount a new original musical. DiPietro and Bryan took a risk, but this one may pay off.
