BWW Reviews: MEMPHIS in Boise, ID

Going to the Morrison Center is an event unto itself. It does not seem to matter what show or event is hosted by the Morrison Center the audience varies in the "importance" to them. You see the audience arriving from jeans all the way up to "the little black dress" with jewels. Some of the fun is trying to figure out what the audience did just before they came to the show.

This performance was the Tony award winning show, MEMPHIS. The first thing you saw was an old radio dial with some steel work above it. This helped to set the mood of the 1950's in Memphis, Tennessee and what/who the show was about; Huey Calhoun, the radio personality. The musical appears to be based loosely on the life of DJ Dewey Phillips.

The mood was captured by the set and the costumes. The costumes were gorgeous and were well designed for dancing. They were all appropriate for the time period and helped establish the era. The set was great; it had two levels, housed the band, and was able to be all the different locations as needed.

The first act set up the story and reminded you how things were in Memphis in the 1950's. The songs were upbeat and get stuck in your head. By the time the second song, I had decided that they could have their own album. Their voices were full and rich, emotion oozing out of every note. Huey Calhoun, portrayed by Joey Elrose, is a very quick talking, fast moving (not all that intelligent) man who finds himself drawn to the "wrong" kind of music (Rock 'n Roll). He becomes one of the first white radio DJs to play it on the radio. He meets Felicia, portrayed by Jasmin Richardson, and falls in love; first with her voice, then with her. That became a problem; mixed racial couples were not accepted, especially in the Deep South. The chemistry between the two actors was strong enough to be felt in the back of the theatre. The end of the act was filled with such strong emotion and action that it pulled a few tears from me.

The second act, however, had a much darker theme. They were still struggling with their relationship and there were more facets to their relationship by this time. Television was becoming popular and Huey had his own show and wanted to take it national. Meantime, Huey had played Felicia's songs on the radio that Delray (her brother, played by RaMond Thomas) produced and she wanted to audition and move up North. Huey would have to decide if he could leave Memphis.

I thought that the acting was superb, the singing was excellent, the set and lighting was exciting and that made it a lovely way to spend an evening. The show was terrific and Los Angeles is very lucky to have them next!

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