Review: Paul, Adcock Sizzle in ACCC's MEMPHIS, THE MUSICAL

Melinda Paul and Michael Adcock lead an exhilarating production of the Tony Award-winning Memphis, the Musical - which features an exuberant cast that blends veteran talents like Michael McGee and Susan Walsworth with rising young performers such as Quantavius Rankins and Jordan McCullough, all of whom give their all in bringing the David Bryan-Joe DiPietro work to the stage - running through March 26 at Woodbury's Arts Center of Cannon County.

Directed with quiet authority by Darryl Deason, with spirited choreography by Regina Ward and featuring the musical direction of Robert Hiers, who conducts an eight-member orchestra who figure prominently in the show's success, Memphis, the Musical is like a picture postcard sent from the lobby of The Peabody Hotel (while you devour a barbecue sandwich that may indeed be manna from Heaven and you experience the pulse of a city unfettered by social convention) and you find yourself instantly transported to that place in your heart that means "home."

Audiences can't help but be swept up in the spirit of Memphis - the visceral feeling of Memphis, Tennessee flows throughout the musical as assuredly as the waters of the Mississippi River have buffeted the bluffs of the city for centuries - which focuses on the love affair of songstress Felicia Farrell (the luminous Paul) and aspiring disc jockey Huey Calhoun (the thoroughly committed Adcock) set against the turbulent times of the Civil Rights era, years that tested the city's resolve, challenged popular culture of the time and ultimately resulted in changing the city and the region - the whole damn world - for the better.

Bryan and DiPietro's original take on the subject matter is told through songs that evoke comparisons to popular music of the 1950s and 1960s, yet tell the story of Felicia and Huey from a decidedly contemporary perspective that makes the musical more potent and effective for today's audiences. Somehow, it seems as if Bryan and DiPietro have managed to distill that indefinable something about Memphis that resonates for people who have come to love the city, whether it be by birth, happenstance or the richly layered history of Tennessee's largest city. In fact, we've always maintained that what has set Memphis apart from Nashville, for example, is that Memphis has always been a city while Nashville seems an overgrown small town. It's that sense of an urban mecca that gives Memphis, the Musical much of its heart and the rhythm that permeates the onstage representation.

The musical's obvious affection and abiding respect for the city is evident in the show's penultimate number - "Memphis Lives in Me" - performed by Huey to explain why he chooses to remain in the Jim Crow South rather than escape to the more accepting climes of New York City. Adcock's performance of the song, though imperfect, is filled with a surprising depth of emotion that translates winningly onstage, speaking for the silent of their appreciation for the big-shouldered, smooth-talking Memphis of musical legend and American history.

DiPietro's book conveys the conflicting elements that could be found in any American city of the time, but which were felt more strongly in Southern ones. While the civil rights movement doesn't figure prominently in the plot of Memphis - unsurprisingly, since it was later in the decade before its impact was measurably felt there - the undercurrent of the simmering hostilities among whites and blacks is palpable, certain to make your own thoughts percolate with memories long forgotten.

There are moments of these recovered memories delivered onstage: a white father strikes his daughter hard across the face when he sees her dancing to so-called "race music" coming from her transistor radio and a white man fires a gun amid a group of white teenagers outside a performance by black artists. However, those two particular scenes represent opportunities for dramatic portent and impact upon the audience: Deason stages them with little, if any, conflict, thus robbing the audience of moments in which they might more effectively confront their own biases.

Bryan's score smartly focuses upon music of the show's setting and time period (recalling the musical idiom of the burgeoning rock and roll era, leavened with the soul of rhythm and blues), while utilizing the tried and true formula of the show tune - in which songs move the plot forward and characters express emotion best through song - to create songs that you will remember long after the final curtain has rung down. The aforementioned "Memphis Lives In Me" should be adopted as an anthem for the city, so evocative are the song's melody and heartrending lyrics; "Steal Your Rock and Roll" is a rousing tune guaranteed to send you out of the theater with a decidedly soulful spring in your step; and Felicia's big hit "Someday" (performed with requisite style by Paul and her backup singers) recalls the very best of the "girl singers" who typified that epoch in musical history.

Set amid the stultifying realities of the segregated South - the scars of which are still evident on the heart of the south - Memphis, the Musical tells the story of a recalcitrant and "unique" skinny white boy named Huey Calhoun (Adcock) who loves the music of lower Beale Street, the iconic thoroughfare that even today pays homage to "the Memphis sound." On one fateful night, Huey screws up the courage to cross the color barrier and enter Delray's nightclub, from which the music emanates that draws Huey, like a moth to flame. Mesmerized by the performance of the luminescent Felicia (Paul), it's apparent the two are soon to strike out upon an adventure of noteworthy proportions, fueled by their love of each other, passion for the music that connects them and the certainty that there are forces far beyond their control to challenge them.

The two are destined to fall in love, of course, and while the course of true love never did run smooth, in the Memphis of the mid-20th Century, the romantic challenges encountered by a couple who are of different races more often than not led to heartbreak and tragedy (a gang of white thugs attack Felicia and Huey on a darkened street in a scene that will make your cheeks burn with the embarrassment of what came before you could even imagine such things and for tears to fall from your eyes as you see the scene play out in front of you onstage), although somehow the fictional Huey and Felicia somehow find glimmers of hope and stolen moments of bliss as they walk the fine line of reality and romance in the Jim Crow South, divining a way to live authentically amid the harshness of the world around them.

Paul's portrayal of Felicia is fueled by her own tremendous talents and a stage presence that makes you take notice every time she walks onstage (she's also costumed beautifully throughout, ensuring that you can't take your eyes off her). Paul's star power is equal to Felicia's and she plays her character with a charm that is underscored by a certain diffidence and restraint that helps illuminate her growing relationship with Huey. Her performance of "Someday" sounds as if it could have been played on radio stations of the era, her lovely voice breathing life into the song, while "Love Will Stand When All Else Fails" resonates with excitement and passion.

The role of Huey is a perfect fit for the charming and self-assured Adcock, who allows himself to shed the usual earmarks and shorthand employed by an experienced actor in order to take on the mantle of the fictional character he portrays. Adcock infuses Huey with so much likability - maintaining complete control of his performance in the process - that you identify with him from his very first entrance and, perhaps more importantly, you believe him. Together, Paul and Adcock depict the relationship between Felicia and Huey with great honesty and authenticity which makes their story more compelling and accessible.

They are given able support from the ensemble of actors who portray their Memphis families: Susan Walsworth is effective as Huey's prejudiced mama, whose dramatic arc displays the most forward-thinking movement, giving audiences a portrait of what might be considered progress and acceptance; Michael McGee exudes a sense of paternal concern as Felicia's overbearing and protective older brother, DelRay; Phil Mote is well-cast as the owner of the radio station from which Huey's star shines so brightly; Jordan McCullough sings his heart out as Bobby, the station janitor who emerges as a vocal powerhouse on Huey's subsequent local TV; and Quantavius Rankin very nearly steals the show, as he confidently commands the stage with his amazing presence in the pivotal role of Gator, which gives him a chance to show off his talents to great audience acclaim (his most startling moment comes at the end of the first act).

• Memphis, The Musical. Book and lyrics by Joe DiPietro. Music and lyrics by David Bryan. Based on a concept by George W. George. Directed by Darryl Deason. Musical direction by Robert Hiers. Choreography by Regina Ward. Presented by the Arts Center of Cannon County, Woodbury. Running through March 26; for more information, go to www.artscenterofcc.com. Running time: 2 hours, 45 minutes (with one ten-minute intermission).

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