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An original musical makes its way to Broadway

By MICHAEL KUCHWARA AP Drama Writer

Joan Marcus AP

In this theater publicity image released by The Hartman Group, Chad Kimball is shown in a scene from the musical "Memphis," playing at Broadway's Shubert Theatre in New York. (AP Photo/The Hartman Group, Joan Marcus)

Joan Marcus AP

In this theater publicity image released by The Hartman Group, Montego Glover is shown in a scene from the musical "Memphis," playing at Broadway's Shubert Theatre in New York. (AP Photo/The Hartman Group, Joan Marcus)

First, it's about the story, says Sue Frost. "I have to be engaged," she says, explaining why she is one of a platoon of producers who have brought something a little more risky than usual to Broadway this season. Their project? "Memphis," an original musical, one not based on a movie, play, television series or cartoon. And there are no stars in the leading roles of an interracial couple caught up in the changing music scene of the early 1950s.

The $10 million plus production has arrived — after a nearly decade-long gestation period — at the Shubert Theatre to mostly enthusiastic reviews, particularly for leads Chad Kimball and Montego Glover who have been with the musical since its beginnings.

"I have to feel that it (the story) is relevant," Frost adds. "I have to feel that no matter what it's about, an audience today is going to take something away from it."

And they seem to be taking away quite a bit, judging by the cheering at the end of each performance — a relief for its many producers, who took on a Broadway show during the current, unsteady economic climate. But much of the money was raised for the musical's out-of-town tryouts before things collapsed last fall.

"It was hard but not as hard as you would think because ... so many people who saw it (out of town) were passionate about it," Frost says. "A lot of the more seasoned (theater) folks said, 'You're coming in. Nobody knows what the economy is going to be. You don't have any stars. Nobody knows what this show is.' It took the passionate people who believe in the show to get us where we are."

Like many show-biz efforts, theatrical or otherwise, "Memphis" began with a phone call.

The caller was George W. George, a veteran Broadway producer of such 1960s hits as "Any Wednesday" and "Dylan," as well as the movie "My Dinner With Andre." He was touching base with Joe DiPietro, one of the creators of the long-running off-Broadway revue "I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change" and other shows.

"George had this idea," DiPietro recalls. "He had been reading about the disc jockeys who were the first white DJs ... to play rhythm 'n' blues for mainstream white audiences in the early 1950s, which really, of course, became the precursor to rock 'n' roll in the mid '50s.

"And how, especially in the South, these guys tended to be the first shock jocks. They were renegades and rebels in what they were doing in a very segregated South. (It was) not only controversial but even somewhat dangerous."

George thought it was a great idea for a musical. So did DiPietro: "Once we had this DJ who essentially was the one white guy hanging out in black clubs, which is what these guys used to do, I thought, 'Let's dramatize it by embodying the music in one singer, an African-American singer with whom he falls in love.'"

The script was written quickly and DiPietro's agent sent it around. DiPietro then got another phone call. According to DiPietro, it went something like this: "Hi Joe. My name is David Bryan. I am the keyboardist for Bon Jovi and I just read your script for 'Memphis' and I see every song in my head and how can I write the score?"

DiPietro asked for a sample. The next day, a CD of a song — "The Music of My Soul" — arrived by FedEx. The tune is still in the musical.

Bryan welcomed the challenge of writing for the theater. His whole world had been writing a pop song "that you wanted to put on the radio. So you've go about three minutes and 30 seconds — which is the Beatles' standard. And it still is."

But Bryan said what appealed to him about the story was that "it wasn't just entertainment for entertainment's sake. It mattered. You're talking racism and about the birth of rock 'n' roll, which I'm interested in."

Now he was faced with writing songs for character and for moving the plot, as well as creating (they share the credit for lyrics) with a seasoned man of the theater.

"You actually can't feel that one is really experienced and one is not," director Christopher Ashley says. "They are such a strong team. ... They are very nondefensive about the material, which is kind of amazing considering how long they have been working on the show. Nothing is set in stone."