Memphis The Musical is fresh from a smash hit run in Broadway and a 55 city North American tour, and has already garnered multiple awards along the way. Now I’ve seen it I can tell why, it’s a really fun ride with the perfect love story that will have you rooting for them all the way to the last song.
If this wasn’t enough to convince you that it’s the next big thing on the West End, the female lead is played by none other than the ballad-busting Beverley Knight. She has the most powerful, soulful voice, an absolute star in this show, it looks like it was written for her, she is such a natural on stage.
The story follows a beautiful club singer Felicia (Knight) who sings her heart out in rock ‘n’ roll compositions, and the man who falls for her, DJ Huey (Killian Donnelly), a character based on real-life Dewey Phillips from Memphis, and navigates the prejudices of the 1950s music scene to make her big and make her his. Donnelly plays the goofy underdog so well, so likable with massive charisma on stage. I loved watching the two of them together, they have great chemistry and you can see they have lots of fun performing this brilliant musical.
Expect rock ‘n’ roll, blues and gospel all in one, written by Bon Jovi Keyboard player David Bryan, a beautiful representation of the sort of music that was first starting to flourish in the 50s. Really recommend this, get your tickets while you can, it’s a great show!
Memphis The Musical is playing at The Shaftesbury Theatre, 210 Shaftesbury Avenue, London, WC2H 8DP. To book tickets click here or call 02073795399.
Watch the trailer for the show below.
Memphis The Musical.