Boston Globe article about "Memphis"

With 'Memphis,' Bon Jovi's Bryan takes his career to a new stage
He enters theater by writing songs for rock musical
By Steve Morse, Globe Staff, 9/21/2003

BEVERLY -- Rock 'n' roll is supposed to be an exhausting lifestyle, but David Bryan, keyboardist for stadium performers Bon Jovi, can't believe how hard it is to switch over to working in the theater world.

"I haven't gone to bed before 3 a.m., and I'm up at 8," he says, adding that the mantra of sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll is being replaced by "Can I get a little sleep?"

"This is like a job. I've got to go back to my rock 'n' roll band. It's a lot easier," says Bryan.

In truth, however, he couldn't be happier. Although he played a hugely successful show with Bon Jovi before 47,000 fans at Gillette Stadium this summer, Bryan is exploring a side career in theater and is here to complete writing songs for the world premiere of a rock musical, "Memphis," opening at the North Shore Music Theatre on Tuesday.

It's a story inspired by Dewey Phillips, the Memphis DJ who first started playing African-American "race records" on a white radio station more than 50 years ago. The piece blends a message of desegregation with some high-voltage music.

It is Bryan's job to lend authenticity, and he's done that remarkably well, based on the 20-plus songs he and lyricist Joe DiPietro (author of "I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change") have written. The songs reflect the birth of rock 'n' roll and incorporate blues, rockabilly, gospel, and pop. They bridge the era between Patti Page and Roy Brown, Big Joe Turner and Elvis Presley. And a young, multicultural cast of 22 singers and dancers should ensure that the songs are translated with the utmost energy.

What's more, Bryan's self-proclaimed theater "innocence" is a key factor in the production. "When David talks about playing for 50,000 people in a stadium, that is old hat to him," says DiPietro. "But when he writes music for a scene transition, he's like a kid here. But he's hungry to learn, and it's very refreshing."

During a recent rehearsal, Bryan is a manic blur. He coaches two singers at a piano, advising them on the song "Radio" and its line about how "we know [the music] ignites folks out there." The 41-year-old New Jersey native is eager to help and tells the singers, "If you'd just keep singing that part, you'll be fine." He then sits down to watch director Gabriel Barre work with the rest of the cast, but all the while Bryan is tapping rhythms with his hands and feet. He can't slow down. Then he disappears to another room to transcribe an additional song and get it ready for production.

"David is very involved," says Barre. "For someone essentially new to the process of writing for theater, he's put himself in a great place. He's not intimidated by it, and he's open to listening. . . . And he's not precious about the stuff he's written. We've thrown out a couple of songs, and he's OK with that. He's just a terrific guy to have around -- and at dinner he's got some great stories about his band."

A different gig

Flashback to July 22: Bryan has just finished his set with Bon Jovi at Gillette Stadium and pops into a backstage room to greet several staff members from the North Shore Music Theatre, including associate producer John La Rock and production manager Mike Moore, who oversees all set, prop, and wardrobe departments for "Memphis."

The staffers talk about being awed by Bon Jovi's immense staging, which consists of a mountainous backdrop of scaffolding and video screens that rival anything the Rolling Stones or U2 have toured with. "See what 44 trucks worth of stuff will get you!" Bryan tells them.

Soon, the conversation turns to "Memphis," and Bryan notes that Jon Bon Jovi and the rest of the band will likely be in Beverly on opening night (the official press opening is this coming Thursday). "There will be a train of buses coming from New Jersey," says Bryan, who has written occasional songs for Bon Jovi but mainly helps arrange the tracks.

Interviewed before the Gillette show, Jon Bon Jovi says, "I've just heard bits and pieces of what David is doing. He's been really possessive about it. But I think everyone will come up to see it, because he's been working so hard on it. This is the real deal -- and hopefully it will be really successful and will land in New York someday."

First, though, comes the Beverly premiere. The NSMT group tells Bryan that they've just secured New York actor Chad Kimball for the lead role of Hewey Calhoun and explain how the decision was made not to make "Memphis" strictly a "bio piece" about DJ Phillips, hence the name change to Calhoun.

"It freed us up as writers to make the DJ a composite of some of the other [DJs] at the time," says Bryan. "But these were the guys who took risks, and it's exciting to be telling their story."

Musical development

The original idea for "Memphis" came from Broadway producer George W. George, who contacted DiPietro a few years ago and suggested that Phillips's history would make a good musical. DiPietro wrote some lyrics but needed a collaborator to do the music. A friend passed DiPietro's script to Bryan, who had expressed interest in the theater, and "out of the blue I get a call," DiPietro notes. "And the voice says, `Hi, this is David Bryan of Bon Jovi and I'd like to write your score.' Rock stars don't tend to call me a lot, so at first I said, `What?' "

"In my mind, I heard every song in that musical," says Bryan, who immediately wrote the music for two of the songs, "Steal Your Rock 'n' Roll" and "Music of My Soul," which sealed the deal with DiPietro. And Bryan, it turns out, had wanted to get into theater for a while. A few years before, he wrote another musical, "Sweet Valley High," but it never got mounted.

A staged reading of "Memphis" was held last year at Theaterworks in Palo Alto, Calif. Attending it was NSMT artistic director Jon Kimbell. He loved it and quickly began negotiations to bring it to Beverly. Oddly enough, after its Beverly premiere, it will go to Theaterworks for an official run there, before maybe gearing up for Broadway.

"It's about how music can bring people together and bring races together and cross all boundaries," says Kimbell. "And it seemed to embody what musical theater can do as an art form."

As for Bryan's contribution, Kimbell says, "We're able to look at everything through his eyes, and it's almost a childlike approach. It's been fascinating to see him adapt, because this is so different from the rock world." (Bryan adds that he's only had to arrange music for three voices in Bon Jovi, but for "Memphis" he has arranged for up to 22 voices.)

"But David doesn't grandstand, he doesn't take over, and he's a very real collaborator," says Kimbell. "And that's ultimately the secret of any musical theater piece. It has to be a collaboration."

"I've been with Jon [Bon Jovi] for 26 years, so this is a fun new thing that has been very rewarding," says Bryan. "There aren't a lot of people who take risks on new musicals, so I'm just thankful for the opportunity."

"Memphis'' is at the North Shore Music Theatre from Sept. 23-Oct. 12. Tickets are $26-$63. Call the box office at 978-232-7200 or check the web site nsmt.org for more details.

© Copyright 2003 Globe Newspaper Company.

Thanks Becky.

Teemu

Thank you Becky. I'd love to see the musical. Maybe the music will be published on CD some day that I at least can hear the music.

thanks a million becky

Me too! I hope that it will be enough of a success to hit the road, or at least come to Memphis--that's only about 4 hours from here.

Becky