Stage Write

  From the first soul-soaked moments of “Memphis” it's clear that Jasmin Richardson and her powerful pipes are the heart of the show. The musical, a Broadway Across America production is currently on stage at Clowes Memorial Hall. The show opens in the 1950s as Huey, a naïve white man, stumbles into a Beale Street blues club. He's there for the "race music" which he’s drawn to, despite the racial conflict that’s coming to a boil in his southern city. He decides to promote the controversial music despite the objections of his mother and the heads of the local radio stations. Joey Elrose provides comedic relief with shouts of “Hockadoo” in his goofy portrayal of Huey, but it's Richardson’s performance as club singer Felicia that blows you away. Her renditions of “Someday” and “Colored Woman” are incredible.   I would have loved to have heard even more from her during the show. There are moments that feel like a friendlier version of “West Side Story” and others...