Chad Kimball — Nominee for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical

Show:
Memphis


Role:
Huey Calhoun, the adorably dim rhythm and blues enthusiast whose passion for “black music” in the segregated South spawns a forbidden romance.

Bio Brief:
Kimball made a splash on Broadway stuck in a cow suit as Milky White in the 2002 Broadway revival of Into the Woods, but soon graduated to less fuzzy roles in songbook tuners like Good Vibrations and Lennon.

Other Honors for this Role:
—Broadway.com Audience Award nomination for Favorite Leading Actor in a Broadway Musical
—Broadway.com Audience Award nomination for Favorite Onstage Pair (with Montego Glover)
—Drama Desk Award nomination for Outstanding Actor in a Musical
—Outer Critics Circle Award nomination for Outstanding Actor in a Musical

Tony History:
This is Kimball’s first Tony Award nomination.

Fun Fact:
Before returning to Broadway in Memphis, Kimball moved to Los Angeles and started a successful clothing line called Obvious Clothing, which has since branched into higher-end chic apparel like hoodies by Lolly Cashmere.

Quotable Quote: 
“[Memphis] is so much work, but as an actor it’s such a joy at the end to see the audience give back to you almost as much as you’ve given to them. It’s really heartwarming. And to be in a new original musical that really works? There’s nothing like it.” —Kimball in a Q&A interview with Broadway.com, 10/12/09