Review: MEMPHIS THE MUSICAL at Center Stage Productions

I am always excited to get to know theatre troupes new to me, so, imagine my joy and sadness when I went to review MEMPHIS THE MUSICAL with Center Stage Productions in Jonesboro and found out that they are going dark for the unforeseeable future. I am unsure why this is happening, but it is definitely not because of the quality of their work. Honestly, MEMPHIS was my favorite musical last year and my expectations were high, but this troupe grabbed me and the rest of my audience neighbors from the very beginning. I immensely enjoyed every moment that was spent at the ASU Fowler Center on Monday, June 19. Center Stage Productions was an asset to their theatre community and will be missed. 

With music and lyrics by David Bryan and book by Joe DiPietro and Directed by Taylor Heinen, MEMPHIS THE MUSICAL is loosely based off the life of Radio DJ Huey Calhoun, who was the first to play Elvis Presley on the radio. This musical is not about Elvis, but about racial tension, segregation, equality, discrimination, and all the strife that happened during the birth of rock-n-roll. Huey (Bryan Roberts) loves soul music and sneaks to the black side of town to join them at Delray’s, owned by Delray Farrell (Kameron Hampton) where his sister Felicia Ferrell (Jazmin Selvy) sings. Huey falls in love with Felicia and tells her he will put her voice in the middle of the radio dial. How does he do that?  

Huey talks Mr. Simmons (Will Heinen) into letting him help at the station and becomes a popular DJ when he locks the studio door and plays one of his own records. Then, Huey has Felicia sing on the radio, which leads to a secret relationship with her. Trouble happens for Huey and his mother Gladys (Chloe Bowen) due to him putting black music on the white people's radio station. Huey continues pushing the racial line anyway, gets his own tv show, and becomes even more popular. Trouble happens for Felicia and Huey, and Felicia is wanting to move up north where she is accepted more. A producer from New York says he can make Felicia a star and possibly Huey if he changes a few things. Felicia wants to make the move, but Huey does not. I am not spoiling the ending, and if you didn’t catch a performance, sorry about that.  

This cast was simply amazing! Roberts captured the essence of Huey perfectly. He had the mannerisms, the ticks, the voice, the movements, and the passion that is synonymous with Huey. He made the absurdness of trying to infiltrate a black establishment a joy to watch. It was so funny seeing all the different interactions and reactions as he went after what he wanted, which ended up being Felicia. Selvy embraced her inner diva and brought Felicia to life with fervency and sass. Her singing was powerful, and her talent was unmatched. Hampton was commanding as the protective brother. The energy he brought to his character could be felt in the audience. 

A couple of standout performances came from Taijee Bunch as Bobby and Kyle Smith as Gator. This was my second time seeing Taijee as Bobby, and I loved it as much this time as the last. His song “Big Love” was a lot of fun, and he really gets into it. Smith was soulful with Gator’s song “Say a Prayer.” Up until then, Gator is quiet, so when he belts out that moving number, it hits you hard.    

Dancing is a big portion of the show, and the whole cast covered that stage expertly. Guided by Choreographer Quinton Sanders, this production had them hoping and twirling skillfully to the time period of the show. I loved the incorporation of the jump ropes, and when the different races started mixing together, it was emotional. Sanders’ moves and placements accentuated the performance and elevated the show to surpass Bradway World standards.  

Broadway World knows that it takes an army to get a production of this caliber produced. The Crew for MEMPHIS includes: Director-Taylor Heinen; Choreographer-Quinton Sanders; Assistant Choreographers-Destinee Harris & Jamie Taylor; Stage Manager-Haley Reed; Assistant Stage Managers-Kerigan Wilson & Ezekiel Sawyer; Music Director-Anessa Bratten; Sound Design/Operator-Raven Raleigh; Lighting Design-Quinton Sanders; and Spotlight Operators-Cullen Rivers & Mabry Wilson. 

It is questionable when the next Center Stage Productions will be, but CSP Kids will be presenting Seussical Jr in August. For more information, visit their website at https://arkcsp.org/dream. 

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