Memphis the Musical in the West End

So on Thursday 30^th July me and Mother travelled to London to see Memphis the Musical (MTM) at the Shaftesbury Theatre. Mother is not the greatest person to travel with as she does have a tendency to sleep during travel which is not exactly exciting for me; so I was with ole Zoe Ball and Jeremy Vine on BBC Radio 2 while she had a snooze. We had a lovely day in London going to a few shops on Oxford Street and mum treat me to a new blazer (thanks Mother). The funniest thing was when we were in Primark (can’t beat it!) at the tills. A lady on the store speaker announces “Can person x please make their way to the exit as your mum is waiting for you”; my mother starts to panic as she thinks the lady on the store speaker has announced “please go to the exits as there is a bomb”. WELL, I am in hysterics at this and cannot stop laughing and cannot walk. This is so funny; Mother is super deaf and miss-hears everything. Anyway what a laugh! Followed by a wine at Leicester Square (I can get three bottles for the price of a large there) and a rushed but enjoyable tea. Then it was off to Shaftesbury Theatre.

 

So we arrive at the Shaftesbury Theatre and this is another theatre I have never visited before; although it has hosted many great hits in the past. This was a gorgeous theatre and the interior décor was to die for; very pretty and grand to say the least. The programme was also divine. As you know I do love a programme and this one is beautiful with big glossy pictures, cast lists and information on how the show was created (a real keeper in my eyes). This leads nicely onto the creative team. David Bryan who is best known as one of the founding members of Bon Jovi and the keyboard player in the band wrote the music and lyrics for Memphis the Musical. It first hit Broadway in 2009 after successful showings from 2003 off-Broadway. It arrived in the West End in 2014 and is sadly due to close late in 2015 (around October I think), as Motown: The Musical is due to start showings in February 2016 at the Shaftesbury (which already sounds exciting). Bryan’s music in the show is immense and I have since bought the original London cast album which I have not stopped playing. With the support from Joe DiPietro who wrote the book and lyrics for the show the original score is addictive. With songs that I can’t stop listening to, including ‘Everybody wants to be black on a Saturday night’, ‘Someday’, ‘Radio’, ‘Memphis lives in me’ and my favourite ‘Steal your rock ‘n’ roll’. As already said the show is due to close in October 2015 which is a great shame and if you can make it go see it before it closes.

 

The show itself is spectacular. It won the WhatsOnStage Award for Best New Musical in 2015 which I believe it truly deserved. It was nominated for 8 2015 Olivier Awards for which it won Best Theatre Choreographer (Sergio Trujillo) and Best Sound Design (Gareth Owen). The dancing routines in Memphis the Musical are pleasing to the eye. I did not know where to look at some points as there was lots going on in some of the routines; which was fab! Everyone was in sync and by the end of the production I was up myself giving it the boogie with Mother. Unfortunately Memphis did not win the Olivier for Best New Musical although it was nominated. The 2015 award was tough competition from Beautiful, Sunny Afternoon and Made in Dagenham. I wish they all could have won as they all have/had their fantastical points. Levels are well utilised in Memphis. The stage is used to its full potential and the big song productions of ‘Steal your rock ‘n’ roll’ and ‘Radio’ are gorgeous. Costume design was great and the 50’s style was evidential. As said previously I love it when you can see the instruments and orchestra on the stage and this was repeated in Memphis the Musical and on some sings a screen was lifted to show them off; which is great for them as they can sometimes be forgotten when so much is going on. There were definitely elements of Hairspray, especially with some of the race and ethnicity storylines. However this does not deter Memphis from being its own huge success; which it definitely is.

 

Beverley Knight’s voice is huge and soulful; giving me a full body of goose pimples. I loved how much she enjoyed being on the stage and portraying Felicia. She appeared so happy with the reaction she received (a full standing ovation which she well deserved). I cannot wait to see Knight portray Grizabella when Lloyd Webber brings back Cats to the London Palladium later this year. The original Huey was portrayed by Killian Donnelly who has now left the production of Memphis and is getting ready for Kinky Boots (I have tickets for this so wait for that post). So I will hopefully be seeing Donnelly even if it’s not in Memphis (however he sings on the London cast album). Donnelly was replaced by the 2010 X-Factor winner Matt Cardle. I was pleasantly impressed with Cardle’s performance. I never really watched him on the X-Factor and felt I would love to go and see him live. Although I am so glad I have eventually seen him live. He gave a great portrayal of Huey, being funny, sincere and cocky near the end. His voice is fantastic and really booms in the auditorium. I really hope this is not the only West End show Cardle will star in. The role of Gladys (Huey’s Mother) is played by Claire Machin and she has a great role within the musical. She is funny and her southern USA accent is fab! Her main song, ‘Change don’t come easy’ is one of my favourites and she really gives it some welly; I found her very impressive. One more mention is the role of Gator (played by Tyrone Huntley). Gator does not speak until the end of Act 1 however when he does break into voice and song, well, you know about it. He is a cute lil thing and his voice is huge. Fab little singer and I think he will soon rise to bigger stardom in the West End. So I urge people to go and see Memphis the Musical before it soon comes to its end. There is a recorded version from the Broadway production which is on sale at the theatre and on the theatre’s shop website (Memphis shop). Although this will not give you the same experience it is still worth seeing. Unfortunately it will not star Knight, Cardle or Donnelly however it will have the fab Broadway cast which I am sure deliver just as good as the West End cast. So only one thing left to say; HOCKADOO!!!