Memphis (musical)
| Memphis | |
|---|---|
Memphis Poster
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| Music | David Bryan |
| Lyrics | David Bryan Joe DiPietro |
| Book | Joe DiPietro |
| Productions |
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| Awards | |
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 played on Broadway from October 19, 2009 to August 5, 2012. This production won four 2010 Tony Awards, including Best Musical. The show was previously staged at the North Shore Music Theatre in Beverly, Massachusetts and TheatreWorks in Mountain View, California during the 2003-04 season, as well as the 5th Avenue Theatre in Seattle during the 2008-2009 season.
There's a party at Delray's, an underground black Rock and Roll bar in 1950s Memphis ("Underground"). Huey Calhoun, a white man, arrives on the scene. The regulars begin to leave, but Huey convinces them to stay, claiming he is there for the music ("The Music of My Soul"). Later, Huey is about to be fired from his job as a stock boy at a local department store, but he makes a deal with the owner, if he can sell 5 records by playing them over the speakers, he can have a sales job. Huey plays a rock & roll hit ("Scratch My Itch"). He sells 29 records in five minutes, but the store owner fires him anyway, incensed at the type of music being played.
Huey returns to Delray's club, and begins flirting with Felicia, Delray's talented sister, and promises to get her on the radio ("Ain't Nothin' But a Kiss"). Huey then proceeds to apply for DJ jobs at various local white radio stations ("Hello My Name is Huey"). One of the owners, Mr. Simmons, invites him in, saying he'll show him what a 'real' DJ looks like. Huey hijacks the mic, and plays another African-American rock song ("Everybody Wants to be Black on Saturday Night").
Mr. Simmons is about to have Huey thrown out, but then dozens of teenagers start calling in demanding more of Huey and his music ("That's Not Possible"). Mr. Simmons agrees to give him a two-week trial, and if he's successful he'll get hired full-time. After a few days Huey is told to read an advertisement for beer, but he is illiterate. Huey asks Bobby, a friend of Delray's with a janitor position, to tell him what it says. He forgets the exact words almost immediately and begins to improvise, ending with the phrase "Hockadoo!".
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