Score one for `Memphis': Bon Jovi keyboardist adds rock touches to DJ musical
By Terry Byrne
Wednesday, September 17, 2003

Inside a rehearsal room adjacent to the North Shore Music Theatre, young actors run through their lines, another group works on some dance moves and a third chats with director Gabriel Barre about the logistics of a particular scene. It looks like a typical rehearsal until the composer sits down at the piano.

That's because this composer, David Bryan, is moonlighting from his regular gig as keyboard player for the rock band Bon Jovi. Now that the band has finished its tour, Bryan is sitting in on rehearsals, writing new songs and tweaking others as he prepares for the world premiere of ``Memphis,'' which opens Tuesday.

``It's not really that much of a stretch musically,'' says Bryan. ``As a classically trained musician, part of my role in the band is to add a broader musical palette. When Jon (Bon Jovi) and Richie (Sambora) came in with `Dead or Alive' (one of the band's biggest hits), they had guitar sounds. I put in the strings, the color and the voicings. I see the emotional content of the lyric and build that into the song. The music has to validate what's being said.''

What's being said in the case of ``Memphis'' comes from the pen of Joe DiPietro, best known for ``I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change.''

``I was originally commissioned to write a show about Dewey Phillips, the Memphis DJ who introduced black music to white audiences, and I loved the character,'' says DiPietro. ``He was a rebel, and in the segregated South what he was doing was dangerous. But he didn't do it for money, he did it for the love of the music, which he wanted to share with the world. It's really about the power of one.''

DiPietro says it was also important to work in a love story as well as the darker elements of danger and heartbreak that were a part of Phillips' life.

``I don't think you can underestimate how completely segregated Memphis was,'' says DiPietro. `` `Hairspray' is more of a cartoon version of the story.''

After sketching out a story and some lyrics, DiPietro sent out his draft to various people who might be interested in composing the score for him.

``I was looking for someone who could give the story a rock 'n' roll feel,'' says DiPietro. ``But when I got a call from David I was completely surprised. I'd never gotten a phone call from a rock star before, and I didn't know if he was dangerous or anything.''

``Are you kidding?'' interrupts Bryan. ``The most dangerous thing we ever did was break into a roller-skating rink.

``When I read the script, I immediately heard every one of these songs, and it was not drug induced,'' Bryan says, laughing.

``He made a demo of `Music of My Soul,' '' says DiPietro, ``and it was perfect. He understood right away that this song defines the lead character'' (renamed Huey Calhoun for the musical).

``The biggest challenge for me was staying true to the characters and writing from their point of view,'' says Bryan. ``One minute I had to tell myself, `OK, now I'm a black teenage girl, now I'm a club owner, now I'm a worried mom.' As long as I can build a memorable melody around the character, I'm set.''

Although the process for getting a musical onstage is usually slow, both DiPietro and Bryan say ``Memphis'' has gone remarkably fast.

``I saw a workshop production of the show last year and fell in love with it,'' says Jon Kimball, NSMT artistic director and executive producer.

``We were shocked,'' says DiPietro, ``because he came up to us at intermission, before he'd even seen the second act, and said he wanted to do a full production in his following season.''

The creative team brought in Barre, and he cast Chad Kimball, a Boston Conservatory grad who starred in the now-legendary production of ``Side Show'' there as well as on Broadway as Milky White in the revival of ``Into the Woods.''

``The show does what musicals can do best,'' says Kimball. ``It captures the joy of music and how it can change lives. Musical theater is all about the emotions passing the intellect and going straight to the heart. That's what `Memphis' does.''



( ``Memphis,'' at North Shore Music Theatre, 62 Dunham Road, Beverly, Tuesday-Oct. 12. Tickets: $26-$63. Call 978-232-7200 or go to www.nsmt.org