Memphis The Musical Tickets

                                                                                                        Memphis - The Musical Tickets

For people having a taste for musicals, Memphis - the musical offers a whole package of entertainment with its story, lyrics and direction. Based on one of the first white DJs to play black music, Dewey Phillips from 1950’s, Memphis is one of the greatest award winning musicals of all times. David Bryan has directed its music, and the lyrics have been provided by Bryan as well as Joe DiPietro, who is also the author of the book it is based on. It was performed for the first time in 2003-04 at the North Shore Music Theatre at Beverly in Massachusetts as well as at California in Theatre Works in Mountain View. Its Broadway debut was played in October 2009, where it has already been played for more than 500 performances.

The story is based on 1950’s Memphis background, and in the first act, Huey Calhoun, who is a white man, arrives at Delray’s, an African American underground Rock n’ Roll bar while a party is going on. Owing to the great differences in blacks and whites in the society at that time, the guests at the party start leaving, but Huey tries to convince them to stay because he has come only for music. He loses the job at a local store and returns to Delray’s where he flirts with Delray’s sister Felicia who has a good voice, and promises to get her on the radio. Meanwhile, Huey gets a DJ job at Mr. Simmons station where he forcefully plays an African American number Everybody wants to be Black on Saturday Night. This infuriates the owner, but still he gives Huey a two weeks trial owing to the fact that the song received a remarkable response from the audience. Later, Huey gets to read a beer advertisement on the radio, but does not know how to read to gets it read from a friend Bobby, and goes on air. He forgets most of it, and improvises it by ending in a phrase Hockadoo.  Again, he is about to lose the job but is saved as the advertised beer store calls to tell that the advertisement has been a super hit and they would want Huey to do all their ads.

Huey’s popularity gets a hike, and he starts promoting racial harmony in his broadcasts by encouraging people to go to black churches, which is also followed by audience. By that time, Delray manages to get Felicia recorded and Huey invites her to the radio although his mother breaks her recording. Her performance receives immediate popularity, and as she becomes a star, her relationship with Huey strengthens further. Two years later, when Huey proposes Felicia at a party, she refuses although admitting that she loves him too but social constraints are in the way. Afterwards when they kiss each other, a group of white men beats them up when Huey saves Felicia’s life and takes her into the club.

The next act starts when Huey is about to open a TV show, with all African American dancers, and wants Felicia to be her first guest not she refuses. She becomes increasingly popular with time, and wants to go to New York for her career, but Huey refuses as he wanted to stay even after being offered a better career opportunity, as he was not ready to leave his city as well as his passion to play African American music. He tries to keep Felicia also, and out of desperation, kisses her while on air, and consequently loses his job. Delray takes away Felicia to save her career, and after 4 years, Huey is a DJ at a station with exactly one listener. Felicia becomes a celebrity and starts a countrywide tour, and gets engaged to a guy named Bill. She invites Huey to join her on stage one last time, who hesitates fearing not to be recognized, but walks on the stage receiving a huge applause and ends the play, saying “The name is Huey Calhoun, Good night and Hockadoo!”

Memphis was played before Broadway at 5th Avenue Theatre at Seattle and La Jolla Playhouse at San Diego. The Broadway production was directed by Christopher Ashley while Sergio Trujillo choreographed it, and won the Golden Icon Award for Musical in Live Theatre, and Tony Award for Best Musical. It has also won the 2009-10 Drama Desk Awards, and 2010 Outer Critics Awards.

Winning so many awards, and being a play so popular right from its early days, Memphis the musical tickets guarantee its viewers an evening to remember.