"Memphis"- Page 3

[losttheatre12]

Posted: 9/14/14 at 6:19pm

So back to the subject of MEMPHIS...lol...

I have a couple of questions regarding the plot that I didn't quite get answered from watching it that hopefully one of you might be able to help me with. In the musical, Huey is able to buy his mother a house with all the money he is making once he becomes a celebrity in Memphis. After Huey has basically given a big "F You" to the network executives by not wanting to do the show in New York if it can't be integrated, why does his mother then give him those keys back? I think it was happening during several scene changes that showed Huey's decent back into being a nobody so am I right to assume that her giving him the keys back means that she lost the house, too?

ALSO.... what do you all think happened to Huey in the end? I was really surprised that the musical didn't really wrap up the story in a neat little bow- not saying it needed to- but I still left with the question of what happened to Huey once Felicia moved onto someone else?

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 9/15/14 at 5:36am

Sutton, there are at least 10 great performers in New York for every role on and off-Broadway. Assuming 2 are cast (one in the part and one as understudy) in the NYC production, where do you think the others are working?

Obviously, New York has the most major productions at any time, but cities such as Boston, Philly, Chicago, Milwaukee, Seattle and especially Los Angeles have Broadway and Broadway-caliber performers at their best theaters. Hell, I have friends with numerous Broadway credits who haven't left Las Vegas in decades!

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 9/15/14 at 2:42pm

It did win Best Musical and Best Score, but that was an especially weak season for new musicals--the only other musical with an original score that year was The Addams Family. My favorite musicals of that season were actually Everyday Rapture and Sondheim on Sondheim, and neither of them were really musicals in the traditional sense (one was a cabaret and one was a revue). It was not Broadway's finest season.

Actually, I thought American Idiot was the artistic triumph of the season. Saw it three times and honestly, the most recent non-equity touring cast was the best I'd seen.

A 400 seat theatre in Oklahoma is not going to produce as quality of work as a 199 seat theatre in New York. I would say that you can usually rely on some quality of work in New York, but anywhere else you have to try every theatre company out to see which ones are good.

Oof! So wrong. So so so so WRONG. Unless by "some quality of work" you mean to include the bad quality as well as the good. Being a theatre in New York is no guarantee of any quality whatsoever. Ask anyone who has seen numerous shows, both on and off Broadway. Or just simply read reviews. Better yet, go check out the long-running hit play, Perfect Crime, and let us know about the "quality". Someday I'll regale you with my story attending the "Off-Broadway Return of The Fantasticks" (not the official revival that's currently running. It was indeed off-Broadway on Restaurant Row and was devoid of quality as well as talent. Being a theatre company in New York did not automatically rate their quality higher than a Texas elementary school production.

There are also transfers of regional productions to Broadway that are drastically changed for Broadway, yet somehow end up being worse than the original regional production. Jekyll & Hyde and Don't Dress For Dinner immediately come to mind. for J&H, it was the production values, but for Don't Dress for Dinner, it was the fatal change in cast.

Updated On: 9/15/14 at 02:42 PM

[theaternut]

Posted: 9/15/14 at 2:50pm

The J&H tour was always bad.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 9/15/14 at 2:54pm

J&H started as regional production before the two pre-Broadway tours. It was the regional production that received national attention and created the massive buzz around the show. Unfortunately, that hit production was never repeated.

[theaternut]

Posted: 9/15/14 at 2:56pm

True. I thought you were referring solely to the Constantine / Deborah Cox production.

[broadwayguy2]

Posted: 9/15/14 at 2:57pm

Theatre it,
No one is discussing the Revival / Tour, the production being referenced is the world premiere production that eventually evolved into the original. Broadway production. :)

[theaternut]

Posted: 9/15/14 at 2:59pm

I just did. I just discussed it. I might even discuss it some more.

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 9/15/14 at 3:38pm

I would say that you can usually rely on some quality of work in New York...

I don't know who wrote the above originally, but I have never sat through so much lousy theater as I did in Manhattan AND Los Angeles. Good theater, too.

There's just a lot of actors, directors and writers of all skill-levels in those two cities.