BWW JR: Joe DiPietro Talks MEMPHIS

ROCK N' ROLL WITH A HISTORY LESSON ON BROADWAY

Usually when we think of taking our kids to a Broadway show, we think of the shows that seem child-like....Lion King, Mary Poppins....basically anything Disney. The Tony Award-winning musical Memphis, a show about segregation and prejudice in the deep south during the 1950's and the birth of rock n' roll, might not be the first show that comes to mind. But those of us with older kids (I'm talking over age ten) might want to take a clue from the hundreds of school teachers who have already taken their students to see this blockbuster musical that not only entertains, it educates.

I was lucky enough to see Memphis (my second time) last Thursday night which just happened to be the last night of "Kids Night on Broadway", an annual, week-long event compliments of The Broadway League when kids get to accompany their parents to see a Broadway show for free. And even though the show has pockets of violence, sexual innuendo and bad language, the kids in the audience were definitely getting a history lesson in a way they could never have absorbed in a classroom.

Joe DiPietro, who won a Tony for writing Memphis, says that when he and composer David Bryan started writing the show, they weren't thinking about how kids might react.

"We thought it was a great story...white disc jockeys integrating the radio in the early 50's. A precursor to rock n roll and the civil rights movement. A great American story that I hadn't heard. I thought of it as a show about music. I thought, ‘This just naturally sings. It's a perfect idea for a musical.' That's what attracted me to it. I do actually think the story of race is THE major story of our country....But I wasn't particularly thinking this would be educational, just a really good story that should be told."

It wasn't until Memphis was first performed regionally that Joe and the rest of the Memphis team started to realize how much of a teaching tool the show they had just created could be.

"We went into it not knowing what people were going to take from it. I thought the first thing they would take was the music and what they really took from it was the history lesson. We worked hard to make that happen but it surprised me that it was the history lesson that adults and kids were really intrigued by. But we did realize it early on because teachers would see the show and they started bringing back groups of kids because they saw it as a great educational tool."

A few years later, Memphis was on Broadway. That's when a New York City school teacher who was teaching civil rights to her students wrote Memphis producers an impassioned letter about how much she would love for her kids to see the show but neither her school nor her students' families could afford tickets. Sue Frost and Randy Allen of Junkyard Dog Productions answered the call and created "Inspire Change", a program that allows school groups from low income areas to see the show and even enjoy pre-show workshops and post-show talk-backs with actual Memphis cast members.

"Some of our producers originally got involved [in the production] because of the message. It's so effective and so positive." Says Joe.

"Broadway, unlike many other entertainment mediums, is driven by passionate people. Everyone remembers the first time they saw a Broadway show and the effect it had on them. So we thought, ‘How can we get groups of kids, especially from less affluent populations, in here? We are telling their story. We can do a show we love and sell tickets but also show it to people who can really benefit from it."

But how appropriate is the material? It's certainly not a children's show, and there is an obligation to tell the story in a way that delivers the full impact of what it must have been like to live in racially segregated Memphis in the 1950's.

"When I was writing it we toned some of it down, still staying true to the story but to appeal to as wide an audience as possible. The most explosive word is the N word....we wanted it to be true to the times, to honor the story, but back then the word would have been used much more casually and commonly. We said that the word had to be used at some point so we do it right at the beginning of the play and it never comes back."

So they use the "N" word (twice) and the "F" word (once), but what really makes the play more suitable for older kids rather than the little ones is the visceral experience of seeing live theatre. This show is a step back in time, putting the integration of black and white music into the historical context of the civil rights movement. That means a hard look at the uglier side of humanity, especially during one particularly violent, albeit brief, moment.

"We warn groups about that scene," Joe admits. "It's probably too much for kids under ten."

But for kids old enough to be exposed to the gritty truth behind the historical and moral issues behind Memphis, the show can be an incredible introduction to the power of social change. During the intermission of the performance I attended, I spoke to two extremely mature nine-year-olds who sat by themselves while their mothers took two seats in a different section. They knew that what they were seeing was part of a greater moment in our country's history, and while they had learned all about Martin Luther King Jr. in school, they had never considered what was happening with the music at the time and how meaningful that union between black and white artists became. They probably also never truly imagined a world where two people would be legally prevented from getting married, just because of the color of their skin.

But mostly, the kids I spoke to were just enjoying the show because it's entertaining.

"David [Bryan, the show's composer] and I always say, It's great to deliver a message but you have to entertain first," says Joe.

So no, I won't be taking my seven-year-old to the Shubert Theatre to see Memphis any time soon, but I am hoping that it will still be around in a few years for her. And I'm hoping that Joe DiPietro is right about something:

"I've always thought that art and culture precedes social change by about ten years."

If that's true, then we are definitely getting closer to real Equality in America.