Memphis on Great Performances

[Marianne2]

Posted: 2/24/12 at 11:28pm

Did anyone else watch? I had never seen it before that, and I'm glad I did not pay to watch it. Honestly, I thought people were exaggerating their hatred for it. Mostly because I do like some unpopular shows.

I really disliked Chad Kimball. His accent was so awful, I don't even know where he was supposed to be from. I have no idea if that threw off his acting for me or if it was bad too.

The music I was disappointed with as well. It felt choppy all over the show, except for the bigger numbers. The best song was the last one. And I guess it isn't a shock that some of it sort of reminded me of Hairspray. Except Hairspray was better.

[DottieD'Luscia]

Posted: 2/24/12 at 11:33pm

I saw the show both on Broadway and on tour in Philadelphia. Ironically I never saw Chad Kimball as Huey. I prefer Bryan Fenkart in the role. My only complaint about tonight's broadcast was that the sound balance was off. I'm happy that PBS aired this and wish all Broadway shows had such exposure.

[iluvtheatertrash]

Posted: 2/24/12 at 11:47pm

I saw it VERY early in the run and was impressed with Kimball. In fact, he was really the only thing I liked about it. But what I saw tonight -- or what I was able to STOMACH tonight before changing the channel - was dreadful.

I don't know if he got bored or was abducted by aliens, but that... I get it now. I totally understand what everyone on here was saying... Wow.

[bwaylvsong]

Posted: 2/25/12 at 12:18am

Yeah, the sound was AWFUL! And I never thought I would ever say in my life that the orchestra wasn't loud enough!
I saw Kimball play Huey multiple times and have never seen him perform the way he did on screen. He was wonderful live... not so much on tv.

[Tsao5]

Posted: 2/25/12 at 12:20am

SHE was very good. He was very committed to his choice of the character and had a nice voice but so many times he reminded me of Michael Jeter's character in The Green Mile.

Not a great show, but not horrible by any means. Just kinda "there".

[ArtMan]

Posted: 2/25/12 at 8:50am

I could only watch the first act. When Chad sang he was good....but his accent and mannerisms were just odd to me. I'm also glad I never paid to see this and chose other shows during my visits. The rest of the cast were very good, but I cringed every time Chad spoke. Just couldn't keep my interest.

[lsinger2]

Posted: 2/25/12 at 9:05am

I've seen it a few times. This did it no justice. Sound was way OFF and Chad's accent/mannerisms were awful. Go see it with Pascal, more chemistry, and much better. It is a fun show but not amazing theater.

[Jane2]

Posted: 2/25/12 at 9:20am

I didn't like it, and changed the channel after about 30 minutes.

Posted: 2/25/12 at 9:24am

About 20 minutes in, my local station changed the name of the show to "Mediocre Performances."

[whatacharacter]

Posted: 2/25/12 at 9:35am

I couldn't get past how aweful Chad Kimball was!!! When I first turned it on, he was hyperventilating into his mic and I couldn't here MOntego singing. It got no better from that point on. I only lasted about 45 minutes until I couldn't stomach it anymore.

[henrikegerman]

Posted: 2/25/12 at 9:49am

I tried watching this show on netflix instant twice. Both times I got through the first scene and a few minutes into the second. I hated it.

[Marianne2]

Posted: 2/25/12 at 10:12am

^So was this the same as that? I've had it in my queue to watch, but have not done so yet. I think I will delete it now.

I agree with the mannerisms Chad Kimball brought to Huey. Never in my life have I seen a show where I wanted to punch the lead actor. Yes, I don't end up seeing a lot of shows that I end up hating.

[henrikegerman]

Posted: 2/25/12 at 10:27am

^don't know.

[Drunk Chita Rivera]

Posted: 2/25/12 at 10:40am

It was just as awful as I remembered. And Chad was more painful then I remembered. Why does he act drunk the entire time? And why is he trying to be 5 feet tall?

[RippedMan]

Posted: 2/25/12 at 12:25pm

My problem lies with Glover. She's not bad, but what about her voice is so interesting that Kimball's character would stop on the street and come down to see who was singing. Her voice is just a standard Broadway voice. She doesn't have the flavor of Sasha Allen, or the likability of Patina Miller. I hate at the end of the first song where she like "legit" belts the end notes. So underwhelming.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 2/25/12 at 12:45pm

I was underwhelmed with it on B'way, (but my kids liked it). I turned this on last night and while it was still 'introducing' what we were about to see -- I decided not to even tolerate it.


Glad I didn't miss anything!

[SamIAm2]

Posted: 2/25/12 at 12:47pm

I saw it last week on Netflix and also found it to be unwatchable. The lead character was a simpering fool and reminded me of a former US president.

[ClapYo'Hands]

Posted: 2/25/12 at 12:48pm

So, I think Memphis is a perfect musical...just saying...

[fingerlakessinger]

Posted: 2/25/12 at 1:12pm

^And good for you. I really do not like the musical but hell...it has its fans and they have their reasons. No shame in that.

[Jon]

Posted: 2/25/12 at 1:47pm

Chad Kimball seems to be channelling Howard Morris as "Ernest T. Bass" on the Andy Griffith Show.

[ChenoKahn]

Posted: 2/25/12 at 2:28pm

For me Memphis is like Crash it's a fun fluff show that people detest because it didn't deserve Best Picture/ Best Musical. Though I'm guessing the show is better with out Chad Kimball. I think they thought the show was too short so they got him to hold the last syllable of each sentence to add 10 minutes to the show.

Posted: 2/25/12 at 2:38pm

He did sound eerily like George W. Bush at times. I missed the beginning- do they ever explain how the character wound up brain-damaged?

Updated On: 2/25/12 at 02:38 PM

[Patash]

Posted: 2/25/12 at 2:39pm

I disliked the show a lot on Broadway, particularly the overacting of Chad Kimball -- all mechanical mannerisms that were both unreal and done without meaning. But on Great Performances it was even worse. What was merely annoying from front row mezzanine in the theatre became unbearable on the big screen 10 feet from me.

[ChenoKahn]

Posted: 2/25/12 at 3:01pm

Chad sounded like George W. Bushes disabled brother.

[HeyMrMusic]

Posted: 2/25/12 at 3:38pm

I've yet to see the recorded performance (have a copy on Blu-ray), but when I saw it live, I remember watching the American Sign Language interpreters more often than the action onstage. At least they weren't overacting in bizarre accents.