Off the charts, totally off the charts. Memphis, a brand new musical about racial problems in the 50s, opened last night at the Shubert theater and in my opinion it will be the biggest hit on Broadway this year or in any other year since the Jersey Boys hit the stage back in 2005.
It is truly overwhelming. Great sets, great costumes. Super music and arrangements from the pens of Joe DiPetro and keyboardist David Bryan who was a founding member of Bon Jovi and choreography by Sergio Trujillo (Jersey Boys) that never seems to stop. To top all that off, 2 new stars are born. Chad Kimball plays a white disc jockey trying to integrate black people into his world of radio and is absolutely terrific. He meets an incredibly talented Montego Glover and their interracial love affair and fallout between the two runs thru the musical. She is quite frankly incredible as she belts out great song after great song.
The supporting cast, including Michael McGrath as the station manager and the marvelous Cass Morgan as Chad’s Mama are all constantly and consistently entertaining The Dancers in Memphis never stop and, while I don’t ever condone an audience standing up at the end of a show, the night I was there, the entire audience, my heavens including me, shot to their feet. You don’t see that very often.
Now there will be some people who think Memphis is sort of a Hairspray in reverse with the 50’s racial plot and such but please don’t let that bother you. Memphis is a musical you have to see even if you have to bribe somebody to get tickets.
Sarah Palin dominate the airwaves, making fun of President Obama’s use of the teleprompter, than using the palm of her hand as a cheat sheet for a Tea Party political talk, made me want to eat chocolate pudding! You just have to laugh at what politics are about today. My son told me that he is taking “Boot Camp” cooking classes to relieve stress. ...
Hey! Who’s this guy in my seat on the train? Never seen him before. I’ve seen everyone else…from the kindle readers to the guy whose wristwatch beeps every morning at 6:30am for no apparent reason. I even know that he won’t turn it off…it just beeps for a minute and re-sets. What’s up with that?
With Valentines’ Day around the corner, I thought it might be apropos to offer a run-down of the biochemical changes that occur when we’re in love. Or, stated otherwise, what’s the formula for Love Potion Number Nine?
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