Photo Coverage: Street Theatre Company's MEMPHIS THE MUSICAL

Photographer Kenn Stilger and Heavnly Perspective Photography have captured some gorgeous photographic images of Street Theatre Company's production of Memphis the Musical, which opens at Bailey STEM Middle School in Nashville tonight.

Memphis the Musical is a lot like Memphis, the city: You either love it or you hate it. But if you let its sincerely heartfelt story and evocatively written music wend its way into your heart, you'll find your soul. It's easy to see why Memphis won the 2010 Tony Award for Best Musical, its spirit is infectious, its music glorious and, we suspect, its cast is nothing short of wondrous, starring some of Nashville's starriest talents in Street Theatre Company's production: Curtis Reed, Bakari King, DeVon Buchanan, Brian Best, Leon Blandon, Andrew Hosale, Audrey Johnson, Scott Stewart, Meggan Utech, Olivia Broome, Tyler Evick, Jens Jacobson, Brooke Leigh Davis, Tyler Samuel, Jenn Jackson, Phillip Miller, David Ridley, Taylor Chew, Abigail Davis Haggard, Dezziree Harrell, Tramaine Robinson, and Santayana Harris.

The show's homage to Memphis music and "the Memphis Sound" that was created by the talented and inventive individuals who founded the city's recording industry is evocative, perfectly capturing the rhythm of that river city that continues to do battle with the racism and segregation that forms the core of Memphis' plot.

With a book and lyrics by Joe DiPietro and music and lyrics by David Bryan (based upon a concept by George W. George), Memphis is set squarely amid the horrifying realities of the segregated South in the mid-1950s - the scars of which are still evident on the heart of the Bluff City - telling the story of a quirky and "unique" skinny white boy named Huey Calhoun (played at STC by Curtis Reed) who loves rhythm and blues, aka "race music," the music of lower Beale. One night he summons up the courage to cross the color line and enter one of Beale Street's most intriguing dives - Delray's - when he hears the electrifying sounds of the music that emanates from the gorgeous frame of the "special" Felicia Farrell (the aforementioned Lauren Frances Johnson).

Memphis the Musical is about every "musician, artist, promoter or DJ who dares to make a stand," whether that stand is for "the struggle to gain commercial respect and compensation for one's craft...despite the evolution of technology and the seemingly unfettered access to the miracle of music," according to Johnson. "Memphis the Musical tells the story of love through music during a time that seemed simpler yet was sordid with complications of the 1950s racial climate in segregated Memphis."

Cathy Street, STC's founder and artistic director, directs the Tony-winning musical. Street said she chose the racially-charged Memphis the Musical for STC's stage, believing that "the [racial] issues that have been affecting us lately maybe show us that society hasn't come as far as we thought," and productions like this one "help inform and change where we go moving forward."

Performances are March 13-29, with shows Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 5 p.m. Street Theatre Company is now in residence at Bailey STEM Magnet Middle School, 2000 Greenwood Ave, Nashville.

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