'Memphis' comes to Chicago
The national tour of the hit 2009 Broadway musical “Memphis” just launched last month in its namesake Tennessee town (naturally) and now comes to Chicago's Cadillac Palace Theatre for a two-week run.
Yet this isn't the first time that “Memphis” has been seen in and around Chicago.
Back in April and May, a high-definition filmed version of the Broadway production of “Memphis” was screened at select movie theaters across the U.S. “Memphis” has also been available to stream online through Netflix since July, and will be on DVD in January.
It would seem counterintuitive to offer audiences so many different platforms for seeing a show that is still running on Broadway and on tour. But according to “Memphis” playwright and co-lyricist Joe DiPietro, the musical's backers are banking on these extra media forays to help increase the public's awareness of the show.
“We're an original show,” DiPietro said during a telephone interview, adding that audiences sometimes mistakenly perceive “Memphis” as a jukebox musical of pre-existing song hits or having something to do with Elvis Presley. “We're not based on a movie or pre-existing property and we have no movie or TV stars in it.”
In today's celebrity-saturated entertainment marketplace, all of these original traits can be listed as drawbacks. Yet “Memphis” has thrived on Broadway and been honored with Tony Awards for its script, score, orchestrations and as the Best Musical of the 2009-10 season.
To create “Memphis,” DiPietro (“I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change,” “All Shook Up”) teamed up with composer David Bryan (an original band member of Bon Jovi). They crafted a show inspired by pioneering 1950s DJs in segregated Memphis who dared to play African-American artists on mainstream radio stations.
These DJs “wanted to share this music they loved and they wanted to push the envelope,” DiPietro said. “And of course this was right at the birth of rock 'n' roll, which really integrated music as it never really had before.”
Though DiPietro had worked with other theater composers before, he felt that “Memphis” needed more of a rock 'n' roll sound. So his agent sent the script out to various rock managers to see if there was any interest from their clients.
“Out of the blue, I got a call saying, ‘Hi Joe, this is David Bryan, the keyboardist from Bon Jovi, and I just read your script for ‘Memphis' and I hear every song in my head and I want to know how I can write the score,'” DiPietro said.
The response caught DiPietro by surprise. “Rock stars don't call me every day,” he said.
The very next day Bryan wrote and submitted the song, “The Music of My Soul,” the first of many numbers for his debut Broadway score.
DiPietro hopes that the largely positive word-of-mouth buzz that has helped “Memphis” run in New York also translates to the touring production. And despite the easy access audiences have to “Memphis” electronically, DiPietro also hopes they will clamor to see the show in person.
“I've heard people who have gone to see ‘Memphis' at the movies and the first thing they say is, ‘I have to see this live.'” DiPietro said. The filmed version “was terrifically shot and edited, but you just can't compare that to the live experience.”
“Memphis”
<b>Location: </b>Cadillac Palace Theatre, 151 W. Randolph St., Chicago, (800) 775-2000 or <a href="http://broadwayinchicago.com">broadwayinchicago.com
</a><b>Showtimes: </b>Tuesday, Nov. 22, through Sunday, Dec. 4: schedule varies, but mostly 7:30 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, 2 and 7:30 p.m. Sunday (no show Thursday, Nov. 24; extra 2 p.m. matinees Friday, Nov. 25, and Wednesday, Nov. 30)
<b>Tickets:</b> $32-$100