Chad Kimball vs. Adam Pascal

Memphis is a show that I hold near and dear to my heart, as it means so much to me and has continued to be a large facet of my life in the last year. I can remember a time when I would see a Broadway show and then afterwards I would talk to people about it and the sidebar would move us from how good the show was to what show we wanted to see next. I don't remember that happening when I saw Memphis back in January; I talked so animatedly about it at dinner that night and swore it was the best musical I had ever seen, and I can say I have seen avast number of shows in the last five or so years, give or take. I kept trying to explain to people what was so special about it and how deeply the show had touched me, that it came down to me bringing people to see the show, which is how I've ended up sitting in the front row four times. The hardest person to get into The Shubert was my mom, because her reaction was "Why do you want to take me to see Memphis for my birthday? Take me to something you haven't seen yet!" and I couldn't answer her with anything other than "I want you to see it, because I want you to understand why it's so special to me and why I love it so much." That was back in July, which was show number three for me, and this past Wednesday was not just show number four, but the second anniversary, and the first time I had finally gotten the chance to meet Chad Kimball. I'm beyond lucky to have seen him during his last week with the show.

 Chad has been with Memphis since it's birth approximately eight years ago, and to put it frankly, he gave life to the character of Huey Calhoun. He took the words on the pages of his script, the lyrics of all his songs, and he brought them to life and gave them a meaning to not only himself but to the thousands of people he has entertained in the audience of The Shubert over the last two years. When I found out a few months ago about Chad leaving the show at the end of this October my heart absolutely broke. In my eyes, Chad is Huey and to see someone else in that role (save for Bryan Fenkart because he's been just as crucial in Memphis' growth) just doesn't seem appropriate to me. Chad's emotions are such a huge part of the foundation of that show, and the connection he has built and maintains with Montego Glover to this day is something that rattles me to my very core every time I see them on stage together.

About a month ago Memphis announced that Adam Pascal would be taking Chad's place as Huey Calhoun. Now for all you Broadway fans out there, when you hear the name Adam Pascal your reaction is probably something similar to the screaming and shouting you do on New Years Eve. Everyone associates him with the hit Broadway musical RENT, but now Broadway fans can also tie him to the  2010 TONY Award Winning Best Musical Memphis. Linking him to Memphis is something that now, I just don't think I can bring myself to do. I'll admit that when I first heard the news I had some mixed emotions about it. The most prominent of the emotions were that Chad was indeed leaving the show, because it never really sinks in until you hear the name of his replacement. On another side of my brain I was fighting with the following: well, he was in RENT, which does say something about his ability to work on stage, but he's not Chad! And now, I can't think of him as anything other than 'just Chad's replacement' because to me, no one can fill those shoes that Chad has worked so hard to break into the heart and soul of this show. 

I'm sure there are a million RENT fans who are ready to come and find me and start throwing things at my head (my best friend is one of them, as she tweeted me "BLASPHEMY" last night), or leave a nasty comment, but hey, I encourage you to voice your opinion because that's what I'm doing. Now, the reason I feel this way is based upon the following...last night Memphis and The Shubert hosted a preview of Adam singing Music Of My Soul and Memphis Lives In Me. Those two songs are ABSOLUTELY CRUCIAL to who Huey Calhoun is, the relationship he builds with Felicia, and the emotions that he wants to try and convey but can't seem to do so in any other outlet except for music. After the preview, Broadway.com uploaded a video of the performance and when I watched it I have to say I was extremely disappointed. 

I don't want anyone mistaking my dislike for Adam based solely upon the fact that I'm a huge fan of Chad's and respect what he's done over the years too. I respect Adam, and his craft as an actor, but the difference I picked up on immediately was that Adam, in my eyes at least, is an actor and Chad is a performer. The difference: an actor will go through the motions of the show he is performing in, and make the audience smile or say "oh hey that's funny," but a performer knows how to and will bring joy, laughter, smiles and tears to the people sitting in the audience. A performer knows how to capture an audience, knows how to steal their hearts and knows just how to bring them from high to low as his character is going from high to low. That's what you get with Chad; you get the emotions of Huey's struggle, and the connection with his leading lady. While I watched the video last night, I didn't see, and more importantly feel the connection that Adam should essentially have with Montego. He sang, but it didn't sound like he meant it, and that's a huge downgrade for me. I know a lot of people will say that the chemistry will take time to build, and well, that may be true, but it will never be on the same plane as the chemistry that Chad has with Montego.

I don't know if I'm ever going to get used to this to be completely honest with you. I'm not one of those people who don't do change but, let's face it, and I think Mamma says it best "change don't come easy," and this isn't something easy for a lot of Memphis and Chad fans to adjust to. As a little closing, I want to leave you guys with two of my favorite videos of Chad performing Memphis Lives In Me and Music Of My Soul. It gives me the chills each and every time, and I hope it brings the same joy to you as it has to me. 

I'd also like to dedicate this post to Chad, who has given us all nothing but thrills the last two years. Here's hoping you have a speedy and enjoyable healing process and that you recoup fully because we're going to miss you on Broadway, and we hope you come back to us at The Shubert real soon! 
Until next time, HOCKADOO!