Chad Kimball and Montego Glover Reprise Leading Roles for Broadway's Memphis
Chad Kimball and Montego Glover will star in the previously announced new musical Memphis, starting performances at the Shubert Theatre on September 23 and opening October 19. Directed by Christopher Ashley, the show features a book and lyrics by Joe DiPietro with music and lyrics by David Bryan of rock band Bon Jovi, as well as choreography by Sergio Trujillo.
Broadway.com recently caught up with the leads at a photo shoot for the show's advertising campaign. Click on for exclusive photos and video from the session.
Kimball and Glover originated the roles of Huey Calhoun and Felicia Farrell, respectively, during the show’s debut at La Jolla Playhouse in 2008, reprising the parts for Seattle’s Fifth Avenue Theatre production in January 2009. Memphis also features Derrick Baskin (Gator), J. Bernard Calloway (Delray Jones), James Monroe Iglehart (Bobby), Tony nominee Michael McGrath (Mr. Simmons) and Cass Morgan (Gladys Calhoun), as well as Jennifer Allen, Brad Bass, Tracee Beazer, Kevin Covert, Hillary Elk, Dionne Figgins, Rhett George, John Jellison, Sydney Morton, Vivian Nixon, John Eric Parker, Jermaine R. Rembert, LaQuet Sharnell, Ephraim Sykes, Cary Tedder, Danny Tidwell, Daniel J. Watts, Katie Webber, Charlie Williams and Dan’yelle Williamson.
With a score that mixes gospel, rhythm and blues, and early rock 'n' roll stylings with a contemporary sensibility, the show 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 a beautiful black singer, and his personal life transcends the race line, too, with grave consequences.
Kimball has appeared on Broadway in Lennon, Into the Woods, The Civil War and Good Vibrations. Off-Broadway, he has been seen it Finian’s Rainbow, My Life with Albertine and Godspell. Regional credits include Sweeney Todd (Signature), Baby (Papermill Playhouse), and Chess and Little Fish (The Blank Theatre).
Glover made her Broadway debut in The Color Purple. Regional credits include Ragtime, Dreamgirls, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Aida and Once on this Island. Her television credits include Law and Order, Guiding Light and Wonderful World of Disney.
Baskin’s Broadway credits include The Little Mermaid and The Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. Regional credits include Aida (North Shore Music Theater), Smokey Joe’s Café (Pioneer Playhouse) and Ragtime (Weston Playhouse).
Calloway makes his Broadway debut with Memphis. Most recently, he appeared in The Public Theater’s The Good Negro. Film credits include The Taking of Pelham 123.
Iglehard has been seen on Broadway in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. He recently appeared in the New York City Center Summer Encores! production of The Wiz. Regional credits include It Ain’t Nothing but the Blues (Theatreworks) and Sweeney Todd (Foothill Musical Theatre). Iglehart is also a member of the hip-hop improve group Freestyle Love Supreme, alongside Broadway’s Christopher Jackson and Lin-Manuel Miranda.
McGrath’s Broadway credits include Spamalot, Is He Dead, Wonderful Town, Little Me, Swinging on a Star, The Goodbye Girl and My Favorite Year. Off-Broadway he has been seen in The Cocoanuts, The Butter and Egg Man, Game Show, Louisiana Purchase and Forbidden Broadway. His numerous screen appearances include The Martin Short Show, Changing Lanes, The Interpreter, Ira and Abby and Whatever Works.
Morgan has appeared on Broadway in Mary Poppins, Ring of Fire, Beauty and the Beast, Capeman, The Human Comedy, Hair and Pump Boys and Dinettes. Off-Broadway includes The Immigrant, Violet, Floyd Collins, Inside Out, Merrily We Roll Along and La Boheme.
Memphis played a limited, sold-out engagement last year at La Jolla Playhouse from August 19 through September 28, 2008. It received San Diego’s Craig Noel Award for Outstanding New Musical of 2008 and one for Kimball. The show also played an engagement at Seattle’s 5th Avenue Theatre that played from January 27 through February 17.