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<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:Palatino">Hockadoo MEMPHIS rocks
the Palace</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino">Roy Berko</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i style><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Palatino">(Member, American Theatre Critics
Association & Cleveland Critics Circle)</span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style><span style="font-family:Palatino">Bannered
as “The essence of what a Broadway musical should be,” there is no way of
experiencing MEMPHIS, the David Bryan and Jo DiPietro musical, now on stage at
the Palace Theatre, without shouting “Hockadoo!” </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style><span style="font-family:Palatino"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style><span style="font-family:Palatino">Yes,
this is a Hockadoo, “Yay!” and<span style>
</span>“Whoo hoo!” kind of show.<span style>
</span>It’s wonderful!<span style> </span>It bursts
on stage with the <i style>Underground</i> opening
number and keeps on going through the curtain call with explosive dancing,
exciting songs and a tale of forbidden love.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style><span style="font-family:Palatino"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style><span style="font-family:Palatino">The
musical takes us back to the 1950s.<span style>
</span>It’s the segregated South where the mixing of blacks and whites is not
only unacceptable, it’s illegal.<span style>
</span>This is Memphis, Tennessee, where the Klan holds sway, blacks “know
their place,” and “negra” music isn’t sung or appreciated by whites.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style><span style="font-family:Palatino"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino">An eccentric white guy
bursts into a black underground dance club.<span style> </span>He’s out of kilter with both the white and black communities.<span style> </span>He’s a drifter who can’t find his nitch
in life, but somehow perceives the idea of a white radio DJ who plays black
music.<span style> </span>And before he’s through,
many rules of the Memphis culture are altered.<span style> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#262626"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#262626">Though billed as a rock musical, it
really mixes gospel and rhythm and blues with foundational rock music.<span style> </span>Included in the great score are the
dynamic <i style>The Music of My Soul</i>, the
heartfelt <i style>Ain’t Nothing But a Kiss</i>,
and the beautiful <i style>Someday</i>.<span style> </span>It’s the kind of sound that gave birth
to the likes of Elvis.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#262626"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#262626">The production captivates.<span style> </span>To cap it all off, the goings on are
based on actual events which highlight disc jockey, Dewey Phillips, here named
Huey, who burst on the scene by being unafraid, out of kilter with the norm,
and having a vision of what should be.<span style>
</span>He falls in love with a black club singer and brings her first to local
and then to national attention.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#262626"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#262626">MEMPHIS opened on Broadway on
October 19, 2009 and went on to win the Tony Award for Best Musical.<span style> </span>It is still running on Broadway.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#262626"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#262626">The touring production is as good
as the Broadway version.<span style> </span>Felicia
Boswell, as Felicia, Huey’s love interest is dynamic.<span style> </span>She was the cover for the part of Felicia on Broadway and
grabs and holds the audience with her vocal dynamics.<span style> </span>Bryan Fenkart, who was the stand-by for the lead male role
in New York, is nothing short of compelling as Huey.<span style> </span>Both have great singing voices and create clear
characterizations.<span style> </span>There is real
magnetism between the two.<span style> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#262626"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#262626">Quentin Earl Darrington (Delray)
powers his vocals.<span style> </span>He is one
talented singer.<span style> </span>Julie
Johnson (Mama) is delightful.<span style> </span>Her <i style>Change Don’t Come Easy</i> was a show
stopper.<span style> </span>Rhett George wails <i style>Say A Prayer</i>.<span style> </span>The rest of the cast is equally as talented.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#262626"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#262626">The dancers are dynamic and the
chorus sounds blend well.<span style> </span>The band
is tunefully great.<span style> </span>The sets, lights
and costumes all work.</span><span style="font-size:13.0pt;font-family:Helvetica"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:13.0pt;font-family:Helvetica"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i style><span style="font-family:Palatino">CAPSULE JUDGEMENT: MEMPHIS is one of
those special handclapping, cheer inducing, wonderful evenings of theatre.<span style> </span>This is a must see!!</span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino">Tickets for MEMPHIS,
which runs through March 11 at the Palace Theatre, can be ordered by calling
216-241-6000 or going to <a href="http://www.playhousesquare.org/"><span style="color:windowtext;text-decoration:none">www.playhousesquare.org</span></a>.</span></p>