First Lady Michelle Obama Takes Daughters to Memphis on Broadway

While President Obama fought for landmark healthcare legislation in Washington on March 21, First Lady Michelle Obama and daughters Malia and Sasha escaped to Memphis. The First Lady, her daughters and her mother, Marian Robinson, took their seats at the Sunday matinee of the new musical at the Shubert Theatre to an enthusiastic standing ovation, according to The New York Daily News.

A flurry of picture-taking prompted the Secret Service to warn audience members against snapping photos, one theatergoer told the News.

Memphis follows the fictionalized life story of Huey Calhoun, a young, white radio disc jockey growing up in Memphis in the 1950s. Fueled by the music he hears in the black bars on Beale Street, Huey’s on-air antics and unstoppable enthusiasm for “race records” creates a new white audience for African-American music. Then he falls in love with beautiful black singer Felicia Farrell, and his personal life transcends race lines, too, with grave consequences.

No word yet on what the First Family thought of David Bryan and Joe DiPietro's show, which stars Chad Kimball and Montego Glover. If Memphis won them over (and we have a feeling it did since the First Daughters are musical fans, who enjoyed The Lion King in the West End and have invited the stars of Glee to perform at the White House), they are in luck: the cast album is set for release on March 30.