BWW Preview: The Fox Performing Arts Center in Riverside Will Host the 2010 Tony Best Musical Winner – MEMPHIS

February is Black History Month, and the Fox Performing Arts Center (Fox PAC), in Riverside, will host the rollicking musical MEMPHIS, which addresses the Civil Rights struggle in the 1950's to allow what was then black-oriented music on white radio stations. The show, which won the Tony Award for Best Musical in 2010, features a Tony winning score by Bon Jovi's founding member and keyboardist David Bryan, lyrics by Bryan and Joe DiPietro, and book by Joe DiPietro. MEMPHIS will play three performances at Fox PAC, on Friday and Saturday, February 13th and 14th.

MEMPHIS focuses on the music scene in the 1950's south as Huey Calhoun, a white, illiterate DJ, struggles to introduce musical styles previously enjoyed only by black people to his white radio audience. The character of Huey Calhoun is loosely based on the real-life Dewey Phillips, one of the first white DJs to play black-oriented music.

Calhoun frequents the underground black-owned nightclubs of Memphis, where he soaks up rock and roll music and falls in love with Felicia, a talented singer, whose brother, Delray Farrell (Keith McCoy) owns the Beale Street club. Neither family approves of the relationship, and Huey's racist mother (Pat Sibley) and the worried Delray do their best to break up the romance.

Broadway World recently spoke by email with Pat Sibley, Keith McCoy, and Chuck Caruso (who plays Hank Simmons, Huey's boss at the radio station). Ms. Sibley is playing Huey's mother for the second time, having toured in the role last year. Mr. McCoy, among other roles, played a Civil War Union soldier - a member of the "United States Colored Troops" - in a documentary about the history of Clarksville, Tennessee. Mr. Caruso performed for the Disney Cruise Line and at Tokyo Disneyland. Among other parts, he played the Danny DeVito role in "Hercules," operated puppets, sang in a Disney a cappella group, and hosted a game show in a 1,000 seat theatre, the last of which he calls "totally a dream come true."

The three actors are each enthusiastic about their roles in MEMPHIS. Mr. Caruso says that Hank Simmons, the radio station manager, "makes his decisions on what's best for his pocketbook." Mr. Caruso notes that "even though Huey tries his patience, it's good business to figure out how to tolerate him." He says, "Simmons is a fun role to play because he just shows up, instigates some sort of plot action or moment, and leaves."

Ms. Sibley's character (Huey's mother) starts the performance as an out-and-out racist and, over the course of the show, accepts her son's interracial romance. Ms. Sibley portrays Huey's mother "as a very good person who was guided incorrectly" so that "when her eyes are eventually opened it seems plausible."

Mr. McCoy refers to Delray as "overly protective" of his sister, whom Delray wants to make a star. Mr. McCoy says, "What makes Delray so very enjoyable to portray is the fact that he is a strong, black father figure who loves his sister and friends." He notes, "Delray has the ability to handle authority, responsibility, and encompass being a leader...."

BWW asked why MEMPHIS - the Tony award winner for Best Musical of 2010, winner of numerous other awards, and the recipient of enthusiastic reviews - does not appear to have achieved the name recognition that one would expect for a musical of this caliber. Mr. Caruso and Ms. Sibley both responded that this is "a good question." Ms. Sibley wonders whether people at first worry that they won't be able to relate to the subject matter, but calls MEMPHIS "a great story that takes us all on a ride and on a journey." She admits that she, herself, had qualms, but once she saw the show, she thought, "Wow! This is a really good story!" Mr. McCoy points out that the audiences know about the show's quality - The show ran on Broadway for a respectable three years (30 previews and 1,165 regular performances); it has gone on national tours four times; and it plays regularly in regional theaters. Additionally, MEMPHIS opened last fall in London's West End to favorable reviews. Mr. Caruso adds that the "controversial material" may be a reason that the show has not achieved the publicity of other musicals with comparable runs, but that MEMPHIS "is certainly a hit with the people who see it."

The three actors agree that MEMPHIS is relevant to today's audiences even though the events took place sixty years ago. Ms. Sibley says, "America's story of racial prejudice has come a long way but the challenges are not over." Mr. McCoy says, "Racism is just not as organized as it was many years ago" but that it "continues to plague society today." Mr. Caruso points out that "the events of Ferguson [are]still fresh in our memories." He considers MEMPHIS to be "an important tool to create discussion and make us see what is better about life nowadays, and what we still really need to work on."

MEMPHIS will play three performances at Fox PAC, one on Friday, February 13th at 8:00 p.m. and two on Saturday, February 14th (Valentine's Day), at 2:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. The doors open an hour before the show. Ticket prices range from $38.50 to $90.25, plus fees of up to $19 per ticket. The Fox PAC is located about 120 miles from San Diego, 70 miles from parts of the San Fernando Valley and West LA, 57 miles from Long Beach, 55 miles from Palm Springs, and 45 miles from Anaheim. For tickets and more information, go to http://www.riversidelive.com/ .