Broadway musical ‘Memphis’ focuses on the story of a white DJ who doesn’t abide by the racial boundaries in music of 1950s segregated Memphis, Tennessee. The musical is coming to Athens Tuesday night.
Turn up the dial! A tour of the Broadway musical Memphis will “tear down the house” Tuesday night as it closes out the main series of the Performing Arts and Concert Series.
Set in 1950s Memphis, Tennessee, Memphis tells the story of Huey Calhoun, a white radio DJ whose love of music doesn’t abide by the traditional racial boundaries. He meets Felicia Farrell, a black club singer who is ready for her big break and whom Huey falls in love with. Huey is determined to make her a star despite the racist culture of the segregated 1950s South.
Memphis will be performed at the Templeton-Blackburn Alumni Memorial Auditorium on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.
Memphis is inspired by actual events — loosely based on Memphis DJ Dewey Phillips, one of the first white DJs to play black music in the 1950s.
The original Broadway musical won the 2010 Tony Award for Best Musical, Best Original Score, Best Book of a Musical and Best Orchestrations.
Some of the more popular songs from the musical are “The Music of My Soul,” in which Huey expresses his love for music, and “Someday,” the first song Felicia records.
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David Bryan, who wrote the music for the show, is the keyboardist and a founding member of Bon Jovi.
“It’s high energy, a lot of action, really good music,” said Andrew Holzaepfel, senior associate director of the Campus Involvement Center. “I think people will really enjoy it.”
Holzaepfel said the musical ranked equally well with subscribers, community members and students who took the series’ survey about potential incoming acts.
“I wonder if it’s the music being rock ‘n’ roll and it having a lot of acting and dealing with the issue of diversity,” Holzaepfel said. “Maybe the title just resonated with everybody.”
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