Back in April, I booked tickets for some musicals with my birthday money. One of those shows was Memphis. I took a chance booking it as I did not know much about the show except for the fact it was a Tony winning show and that Beverley Knight would be the female lead. I also took a risk in booking for the second night of previews, knowing how much can go wrong in that period. But turned out, it was damn good chance I took and well worth the risk, because Memphis is now one of my most favourite musicals EVER!
The show originally opened on Broadway back in 2009 and won four Tony Awards, including Best Musical, in 2010. The show is loosely based on the story of Radio DJ Dewey Philips, a Memphis DJ who was one of the first white DJs to play black music back in the 1950's. The story revolves around Huey and his rise to fame and his relationship with club singer, Felicia. It deals with powerful themes from 1950's, dealing with a relationship between a white man and black woman, something considered unacceptable at the time, and the consequences of their love. It is a beautiful story with the power to shock as at the end of act 1 (spoilers!), a gang of white men beat up Felicia.
The music was written by Bon Jovi's David Bryan, with lyrics written by David Bryan and Joe DiPietro. It is definitely one of the best musical scores to be written in a long time, with the Broadway soundtrack currently available to buy at the theatre and the West End soundtrack has recently been recorded. My favourite track is Memphis Lives in Me, sung by Huey and Company towards the end of the show. I could quite honestly listen to that song on repeat for hours as it is such a great song, with beautiful lyrics and Killian Donnelly sings such a stunning vocal that really believe his loss but also of his love for Memphis.
The cast is absolutely outstanding. I felt like they had been performing the show for years. It was hard to believe that they were only on the second night of previews! Beverley Knight was absolutely phenomenal in the role of Felicia. I knew she had an amazing voice, but her vocals that night absolutely blew me away. She is most definitely a much welcomed addition to the talented group of West End leading ladies. Killian Donnelly was also outstanding. I had heard many things about him and seen great reviews for him during his run in The Commitments. Killian produced such an amazing performance, that he made me really feel Huey, making me desperately want Huey to come out on top and get the girl!
Every cast member makes that show what is, producing such phenomenal performances. But there is one more person I need to mention and that is, Tyrone Huntley. Throughout the entire first act he does not speak. Then the final scene after Felicia has been beaten, he just suddenly opens his mouth and sings. He absolutely stunned me with his beautiful performance of Say a Prayer, producing a great end to Act 1. He is definitely one to watch in the West End.
Memphis is definitely the best new musical to come to the West End this year. It has already gained the most nominations for a new musical at the What's On Stage Awards and I hope to see it do extremely well at the Oliviers in April. I am going back to see it in January, which is the quickest I have returned to see a show without a cast change. If you haven't seen the show, you must go and see it as it absolutely phenomenal and the best show on the West End! As they say in Memphis, "Hockadoo!"
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