Memphis Headed to Shubert Theatre for Fall Broadway Bow

The new musical Memphis is headed to Broadway’s Shubert Theatre, according to Variety. This story of the birth of rock 'n' roll in the 1950s is aiming to begin previews on September 23 and open on October 18, directed by Christopher Ashley. A revival of Noel Coward’s Blithe Spirit is currently running at the Shubert, with tickets on sale through July 19.

Memphis features a book and lyrics by the Joe DiPietro and music and lyrics by Bon Jovi band member David Bryan, who collaborated on the off-Broadway musical The Toxic Avenger. 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.

Memphis played a 2008 engagement at La Jolla Playhouse and was produced at Seattle's 5th Avenue Theatre in January 2009 with a cast that included Chad Kimball as Huey and Montego Glover as his love interest. No casting for the Broadway production has been announced.