Memphis the Musical at Cineplex

I really like the new concept of showing filmed versions of live entertainment on the big screens at movie theatres such as Cineplex has started doing.  My first experience with this was watching Nixon the Opera, and while I reaffirmed that I am not a fan of Opera, I did appreciate the format of the presentation.

Watching the Broadway musical Memphis at the Cineplex was much more in my bailiwick since I am fervent lover of musicals and watch as many as I can.  As you can imagine, this can get very expensive so we usually get the cheapest seats, going for quantity instead of quality.  There are also so many musicals advertised on Broadway or London West End that may never come to Toronto.  This is why the Cineplex option is so perfect and hopefully will become a more frequent trend.  For the price of $20 I can have the best seat in the house just by showing up early (there was no reserved seating for this show).  The camera closeups capture facial expressions and emotions that I would not be able to see from the back of the house, while the wide angle shots help focus your attention to key points of action.

Memphis is set in the 1950s and revolves around an eccentric character named Huey Calhoun who becomes the first DJ in Memphis to play "black music" on white radio stations.  Huey falls in love with a black singer named Felicia and tries to get her on the radio.  However 1950s Memphis is not ready for an inter-racial relationship and troubles ensue.

The actor who played Huey spoke with an accented stutter-speech that reminded me of Arlo Guthrie singing "Alice's Restaurant", while Rich thought he sounded like George Bush.

The music was written by David Bryan, the keyboardist for Bon Jovi, who also worked on The Toxic Avenger.  The songs reflect the musical styles of the era first introduced by the blacks in southern USA including Rhythm and Blues, Jazz and Rock and Roll.  My favourite songs were the opening number "Underground", "Coloured Women" sung by Felicia lamenting the few opportunities available for her,  and "She's My Sister", a bluesy number sung by Felicia's brother Delray, threatening Huey against hurting his baby sister.

I thoroughly enjoyed watching this musical on screen and didn't really miss not seeing the live actors.  Although Memphis is also playing as part of the current Dancap theatre season, it would have cost over $100 for the same quality of seats that I got at the movies.

This seems like a winning proposition for everyone involved.  Cineplex has a chance to bring in a new type of audience to augment declining movie sales.  The Broadway show gets exposed to a broader audience and will probably profit even more down the line when they sell DVDs of the broadcast.  And musical lovers like me get to more musicals at a reasonable price and get to see the original cast of a Broadway or West-End show.  I would love to see Catherine Zeta Jones and Angela Landsbury in "A Little Night Music".  Next I'll be watching Stephen Sondheim's "Company".  I say, keep the musicals coming!  I'll pass on the operas.