MEMPHIS Wins Drama Desk Award for Best ORIGINAL MUSICAL!
By: Jessica Lewis May. 23, 2010
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MEMPHIS is the winner of the 2010 Drama Desk Award for Best Original Musical.
MEMPHIS takes place in the smoky halls and underground clubs of the segregated 50's, a young white DJ named Huey Calhoun (Chad Kimball) fell in love with everything he shouldn't: rock and roll and an electrifying black singer (Montego Glover). MEMPHIS is an original story about the cultural revolution that erupted when his vision met her voice, and the music changed forever.
Daryl Waters: Orchestrations: Jelly's Last Jam; Street Corner Symphony; Bring in ‘da Noise, Bring in ‘da Funk (Broadway); and Miracle Brothers (Off-Broadway). Dance music arrangements: The Color Purple (Broadway). Music supervision/ arrangements: A Civil War Christmas, Turn of the Century (regional). Music direction: The Seven, The Colored Museum (Off-Broadway/regional). Original music: Noise/Funk (Tony/Grammy nominations), Drowning Crow (Broadway), Blue Door, In Real Life (Off-Broadway), Magnolia, Crowns and The Dreams of Sarah Breedlove (regional). Longtime music director for Eartha Kitt.
David Bryan is a Grammy Award-winning keyboard player and founding member of Bon Jovi. Over the past 26 years, the band has sold more than 130 million records and toured the world, playing to millions of people. Their recent Lost Highway Tour was the #1-grossing tour in the world. David and Joe DiPietro have also co-written the award-winning musical The Toxic Avenger, currently playing at New World Stages. Among his work for charity, David is a national spokesperson for VH1's Save the Music Program.
MEMPHIS features a brand new score with music by Bon Jovi's founding member/keyboardist David Bryan and lyrics by Bryan and Joe DiPietro (I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change), who also pens the musical's book. MEMPHIS is based on a concept by the late George W. George (producer of the Tony nominated Bedroom Farce and the film My Dinner With Andre), with direction by Tony nominee Christopher Ashley (Xanadu) and choreography by Sergio Trujillo (Jersey Boys).
MEMPHIS began previews on Wednesday, September 23rd at the Shubert Theatre following critically-acclaimed and sold-out engagements at La Jolla Playhouse and Seattle's 5th Avenue Theatre. The production opened to critical acclaim on Monday, October 19, 2009.
MEMPHIS stars Chad Kimball (Huey) and Montego Glover (Felicia) with Derrick Baskin (Gator), J. Bernard Calloway (Delray), James Monroe Iglehart (Bobby), Tony nominee Michael McGrath (Mr. Simmons), and Cass Morgan (Mama).
Tickets for MEMPHIS range from $41.50 to $126.50 (including a $1.50 facility fee). The performance schedule is as follows: Tuesday at 7pm, Wednesday - Saturday evenings at 8pm, Wednesdays and Saturdays at 2pm, and Sundays at 3pm. There will be special performance times during previews and holiday weeks. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit www.Telecharge.com, call 212.239.6200 or visit the Shubert Theatre Box Office (225 West 44th Street).
MEMPHIS is produced on Broadway by Junkyard Dog Productions, Barbara and Buddy Freitag and Kenny and Marleen Alhadeff with Latitude Link, Jim and Susan Blair, Demos Bizar Entertainment, Land Line Productions, Apples and Oranges Productions, Dave Copley, Dancap Productions, Inc., Alex and Katya Lukianov, Tony Ponturo, 2 Guys Productions, and Richard Winkler in association with Lauren Doll, Eric and Marci Gardiner, Linda and Bill Potter, Broadway Across America, Jocko Productions, Patty Baker, Dan Frishwasser, Bob Bartner/Scott and Kaylin Union, Loraine Boyle/Chase Mishkin, Remmel T. Dickinson/Memphis Orpheum Group and ShadowCatcher Entertainment/Vijay and Sita Vashee.
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