THEATER REVIEW ‘Memphis – The Musical’
Produced by: The John W. Engeman Theater - Northport - Reviewed by: Jeb Ladouceur
When Richard Dolce and Kevin O’Neill decided to produce ‘Memphis – The Musical’ at Northport’s swanky Engeman Theater, the first question they must have asked themselves is: “But who do we get to play the renegade radio personality ‘Huey Calhoun?’” It’s a logical question, too, because a company can probably cast eleven of the production’s twelve featured roles with relative ease, but until you’ve nailed down the central character (based on real-life Memphis disc jockey Dewey Phillips) you’ve got only ten percent of ‘Memphis’ ready to go. That’s how essential Carson Higgins is as ‘Huey’ in this non-stop tour de force.
The obvious answer to the dilemma is: “Let’s find someone who’s already interpreted the part successfully.” Because, face it, ‘Memphis – The Musical’ is at its heart a one-man show … one that ‘Huey Calhoun’ makes-or-breaks, much as does the radio celebrity character he depicts in this slam-bang, rock and roll musical. Dolce and O’Neill are lucky to have found their ‘Huey’ in the person of Carson Higgins, who played the Memphis radio personality during the energetic show’s Ivoryton Playhouse run in Connecticut.
Throughout most of the play, actor Higgins portrays a worn-to-a-frazzle 1950s DJ to near-perfection, and the only element that’s missing in Joe Depietro’s Tony winning book is the ‘Payola’ stigma that defined the industry throughout those years.
Fact is that virtually all DJs took the illegal payoffs during the early days of the recording industry’s phenomenal growth, and it is to Director Igor Goldin’s credit that ‘Memphis’ captures the feel of the not-so-secret skeleton in the record industry’s closet.
If that sounds like a first-hand observation … it is!
All of us who worked in Music Radio at the height of the Payola scandal accepted payoffs (thinly disguised as ‘bonuses’) from record companies to play their tunes. And the bribes weren’t confined to on-air personalities … employees from station managers to janitors were on the take.
‘Memphis,’ however, has a much more important story to tell. It involves the manner in which ‘art and courage’ will overcome ‘opportunism and bigotry’ every time. When Huey Calhoun decides that he’s destined to be the first White disc jockey to play Black music on the air, he does so over the objections of his friends, his associates, and the prevailing wisdom of his employers at the time.
Not that there’s anything wrong with Patti Page’s ‘How Much Is That Doggie In the Window?’ … the number must be significant, why else would Joe Depietro have included the cute tune in his Tony-winning book? What’s significant is that pioneering disc jockey Calhoun, recognizes the time has come for change in the vanilla musical menu being fed to America’s casual listeners. Even in the Deep South … especially in the Deep South!
Of course, the rest is history … just check today’s pop charts.
This musical (running thru May 8) could have been ruined by the addition of an unnecessary interracial love angle, had the issue been left to a lesser Director than Goldin to address. But as things work out, tackling the 1950s ‘no-no’ somehow works … and we overlook inclusion of the matter in the bright light of 2016 diversity.
Instrumental in all of the goings on are the versatile Breanna Bartley (Huey’s love interest, Felicia), C. Mingo Long (her big-voiced brother, Delray), and the highly talented Jarred Bedgood, (who makes his New York debut a stellar one as Gator).
Kathryn Markey plays an often-conflicted Gladys convincingly, and empathetic Arthur L. Ross, Bobby, provides much-needed comic relief, keeping this long play from becoming tiresome. At any rate, when the curtain falls, you’ll understand why ‘Memphis’ was nominated for eight Tony Awards on Broadway … and won in no fewer than four categories!
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Award-winning writer, Jeb Ladouceur is the author of eleven novels, and his theater and book reviews appear in several major L.I. publications. His newest book, THE GHOSTWRITERS, explores the bizarre relationship between the late Harper Lee and Truman Capote. Ladouceur’s website is www.JebsBooks.com