Forum’s “Memphis” recounts story radio DJ introducing the south to R&B

Even though it takes place more than 60 years ago, the director of Forum Theatre’s “Memphis” says the musical’s themes still resonate today.

“It’s a powerful, powerful show with a very strong message,” Kathryn Page Hauptman, Forum’s artistic director, said of the musical that won four Tony Awards in 2010, including best musical, best book and best original score.

“Memphis” opens this weekend and continues through Oct. 13. A touring company of “Memphis” played Century II in a Broadway Theatre League production in 2014, but the Forum version is a premiere by a Wichita company.

The show’s main character, Huey Calhoun, is based on Dewey Phillips, a Memphis disc jockey in the 1950s credited with being the first to play Elvis Presley music on the radio.

“He was great to listen to,” Michael Karraker, who plays Huey, says of Phillips. “His style is very, very, very fast-paced, very Southern-fried, very unique.”

Huey becomes part of an interracial romance with Felicia, the sister of the nightclub owner. In the Forum production, she is played by Anjelica Breathett, who is also the show’s musical director.

Their romance is one of the sea changes in race relations in the South that’s a force in “Memphis.”

“It’s much more than just racial equity and equality. It’s about being true to yourself and true to your soul, the things you believe in and standing up for them,” Hauptman said. “Especially right now with the challenges we’re facing as a country, as a culture, as a society, that’s a message that we can all live by.

“You have to stand up for what you think is right, like Huey did. He changed not only himself but the people around him and created a new reality for them. That’s very powerful today,” she added. “I think it’s very contemporary because it doesn’t show races in a negative way, but in a very positive way. They’re striving to move ahead, to move forward.”

The cast of 25 – about half white and half performers of color – is one of the largest that Forum Theatre has staged. Hauptman said a second story of the stage at Wilke Center in First United Methodist Church will be put into use.

Karraker said “Memphis” nicely balances its message about racial harmony with an entertaining production.

“Just the breadth and depth of this show is really a marathon,” he said.

David Bryan, keyboard player for Bon Jovi, and Joe DiPietro, who wrote “I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change,” wrote the lyrics. Bryan wrote the music and DiPietro was the playwright.

Hauptman said the all-original score fits in well with the music of the time.

“It’s not a copy, not a duplication,” she said. “It takes the style of ‘50s music and makes it its own.”

The end of the production leaves its audiences on a high note, Hauptman said.

“I think they’re going to be exuberant. They’re going to be standing up, clapping and stomping,” she said. “The music is fabulous -- uplifting and hopeful.”

“Memphis” opens the ninth season for Forum Theatre, and Hauptman said it has quickly become one of her favorite productions.

“It’s very well-written, the story is extremely strong,” she said. “It’s an extremely well-written show. It’s been so exciting to work on it.”

‘MEMPHIS’ BY FORUM THEATRE

When: Sept. 26 to Oct. 13; performances at 8 p.m. Thursdays-Saturdays, 2 p.m. Sundays

Where: Wilke Center, First United Methodist Church, 330 N. Broadway

Tickets: $19 for Sept. 26 preview, $23 for Thursday and Sunday and $25 for Friday-Saturday, by calling 316-618-0444