Last night MEMPHIS opened Segerstrom Center for the Arts' 2012-13 Broadway Series, and during the finale, local Orange County high school students surprised the cast and audience with a flash mob. Watch their performance below!
On November 5, host Christopher Meloni welcomed celebrities, Broadway greats, philanthropy influencers and the New York elite to celebrate Make Believe on Broadway. The evening showcased Broadway and Hollywood's brightest stars as they unite in a benefit performance on behalf of Only Make Believe, a non-profit that brings the magic of theater to children in hospitals and care facilities. Limited tickets are available for purchase here: http://onlymakebelievegala.com
BroadwayWorld was there for last night's event and we bring you full coverage below!
Tonight, November 5, host Christopher Meloni will welcome celebrities, Broadway greats, philanthropy influencers and the New York elite to celebrate Make Believe on Broadway. The evening will showcase Broadway and Hollywood's brightest stars as they unite in a benefit performance on behalf of Only Make Believe, a non-profit that brings the magic of theater to children in hospitals and care facilities. Limited tickets are available for purchase here: http://onlymakebelievegala.com
The audience had no trouble taking the advice of Tony Award-winning musical "Memphis" in its final moments Tuesday night at the Sacramento Community Center. In a high-spirited finale, the cast sang, "Listen to the beat. Play it, obey it. Love it with your feet. Listen to your soul… let it make you whole." The lyrics embody three hours of soulful music, standout humor, and endearing characters that deliver a wonderful time for audiences. But the musical still fails to satisfy audiences looking to leave emotionally moved and intellectually challenged.
MEMPHIS, the 2010 Tony Award Winner for Best Musical, comes to Community Center Theater from tonight, Oct. 30 - Nov. 4, the first show in the 2012-13 Broadway Sacramento season.
From the underground black dance clubs of 1950s Memphis, Tennessee to Broadway San Jose and the bay area comes a musical that bursts off the stage with explosive dancing, irresistible songs and a thrilling tale of fame and forbidden love. Winner of four 2010 Tony Awards including Best Musical--and loosely based on real-life DJ Dewey Phillips--'Memphis' tells the story of Hey Calhoun, the first DJ to play 'race' music on a white radio station.
On November 5, host Christopher Meloni will welcome celebrities, Broadway greats, philanthropy influencers and the New York elite to celebrate Make Believe on Broadway. The evening will showcase Broadway and Hollywood's brightest stars as they unite in a benefit performance on behalf of Only Make Believe, a non-profit that brings the magic of theater to children in hospitals and care facilities. Limited tickets are available for purchase here: http://onlymakebelievegala.com
Broadway San Jose, A Nederlander Presentation in association with Team San Jose, has announced its 2012-2013 Season, which includes the Bay Area Premiere of the Tony Award Winning MEMPHIS! The season also includes South Bay debuts of ROCK OF AGES, Tony Award-Winning BILLY ELLIOT THE MUSICAL and GREEN DAY'S AMERICAN IDIOT. Also in the season are family favorites CATHY RIGBY as PETER PAN and BLUE MAN GROUP. Broadway San Jose's 2012-2013 Season begins October 23, 2012 at the San Jose Center for the Performing Arts.
Today in 2009, Memphis opened at the Shubert Theatre, where it ran for 1165 performances. Memphis is a musical by David Bryan (music and lyrics) and Joe DiPietro (lyrics and book). It is loosely based on Memphis disc jockey Dewey Phillips, one of the first white DJs to play black music in the 1950s. It was staged during the 2003-04 season at both the North Shore Music Theatre in Beverly, Massachusetts and TheatreWorks in Mountain View, California and opened on Broadway on October 19, 2009. It won the Tony Award for Best Musical, along with three other Tony Awards, at the 2010 Tony Awards.
There are few times that I would ever get up for a standing ovation in the middle of the show, but this showstopper and that sensational voice, had me on my feet!
MEMPHIS, the 2010 Tony® Award Winner for Best Musical, and the show that's currently blowing the roof off Broadway, opens at Marcus Center for the Performing Arts on January 3-8, 2013 for a limited engagement.
Deadline.com reports that a deal is now in place for Belle Pictures and the Mark Gordon Company to head a film adaption of Memphis at Warner Brother's Aclon Entertainment.
The film will be produced by Mark Gordon, Molly Smith and Alcon's Andrew Kosove and Broderick Johnson with a new script by Tony-winner Joe DiPietro.
MEMPHIS, the 2010 Tony® Award Winner for Best Musical, comes to Community Center Theater from Oct. 30 - Nov. 4, the first show in the 2012-13 Broadway Sacramento season.
The Buell Theater is set to welcome the national tour of the Broadway hit MEMPHIS, for a limited engagement. The tour will perform for Denver audiences in October, from tonight, October 10th through the 21st. More information on the national tour of Memphis can be found at www.memphisthemusical.com. For tickets to the tour's stop in Denver, www.denvercenter.org.
George Street Playhouse and Artistic Director David Saint have announced that full casting for their 2012-13 season opener, One Slight Hitch, has been completed. Joining the previously-announced Mark Linn-Baker will be Clea Alsip, Rosie Benton, Lauren Ashley Carter, Scott Drummond, Lizbeth Mackay and Christopher Tocco. Helmed by Joe Grifasi, this tale of matrimonial mayhem will begin performances tonight, October 2 and continue through Sunday, October 28. Opening night, with a dessert reception sponsored by Stage Left and Catherine Lombardi restaurants, will be Friday, October 5.
Back in 2008 Seattle audiences were treated to the pre-Broadway tryout of what would become the 2010 Tony award winner for best musical, "Memphis" by Joe DiPietro and David Bryan. And as amazing as the show was back then, the current production at the 5th Avenue Theatre shows how much better it got since it left us and how good American musical theater can be.
George Street Playhouse and Artistic Director David Saint have announced that full casting for their 2012-13 season opener, One Slight Hitch, has been completed. Joining the previously-announced Mark Linn-Baker will be Clea Alsip, Rosie Benton, Lauren Ashley Carter, Scott Drummond, Lizbeth Mackay and Christopher Tocco. Helmed by Joe Grifasi, this tale of matrimonial mayhem will begin performances Tuesday, October 2 and continue through Sunday, October 28. Opening night, with a dessert reception sponsored by Stage Left and Catherine Lombardi restaurants, will be Friday, October 5.
MEMPHIS, the 2010 Tony® Award Winner for Best Musical, and the show that had its pre-Broadway run at the Silicon Valley's own THEATREWORKS, opens at BROADWAY SAN JOSE performing at the San Jose Center for the Performing Arts on Tuesday, October 23, 2012 for a limited engagement.
The 2010 Tony Award-winning Best Musical MEMPHIS played its final performance on Broadway on August 5, 2012, after 30 previews and 1,166 regular performances. MEMPHIS opened on October 19, 2009 at Broadway's Shubert Theatre (225 W. 44th Street), having begun previews on September 23rd. The tour cast of MEMPHIS, which is currently playing around the country, saluted the Broadway company with a rendition of 'Walking in Memphis.' See it below!
While overly melodramatic and a bit cliched, MEMPHIS--the winner of the 2010 Tony Award for Best Musical now performing at the Pantages Theatre in Hollywood through August 12--is, overall, a rousing, electrically-charged show that rightfully triumphs because of its slick production values and its incredible, top-notch cast. If you want to hear some honest-to-goodness, kick-ass singing, then you must see this show... NOW!