Fenk Fans Blog!

Have you guys checked out the fan page for Bryan Fenkart yet? If you haven't I'll give you two good reasons: 
1. I admin/run/maintain the page(s) with my friend Heather (@HezPixie)
2. You can get all sorts of cool updates, videos, articles, and more regarding Bryan and the rest of the tour. 

That's all you need to know. So if you guys have a tumblr, and who doesn't these days, GO FOLLOW! You won't regret it. And while you're at it check out fuckyeahchadkimball.tumblr.com as well. Because we all love Chad just as much =]

Bryan Sweeps the Nation!

Bloggers you're getting two updates from me today because I'm too proud of my friend and too excited to keep my emotions to myself! I need to know, are any of you out there planning on checking out the Memphis National Tour? It's continuing to tour through the end of 2011 and through the summer of 2012. If you haven't made plans to see this incredible show yet, I'm going to give you one more reason why you should and his name is Bryan Fenkart! 

I'm proud to say he's my friend, and so happy for him that he's doing such phenomenal things right now! The tour kicked off in early October in, where else, but at The Orpheum in Memphis, TN and is finishing it's third stop in Tulsa, OK today. For every city that the tour stops in, Bryan and his counterpart, the stellar Felicia Boswell are sweeping the city up in the whirlwind that Memphis is creating. Both of them have a set of pipes are, oh my, incredible, and will blow you away in your seats. 


They've appeared on shows such as Good Day Tulsa, Great Day Green Country in Tulsa, and Good Day Houston to name a few, and it seems that on each stop they make Bryan is doing more than just promoting Memphis as a whole. Not only does he do each show the justice of allowing them a little extra glimpse into who Huey Calhoun is, but he also gives them a taste of his original songwriting skills by performing from his soon to be released second album Simple & Grey. 


If you guys don't know by now, I'm INCREDIBLY excited for the release of this album, I can't even tell you. I've heard songs performed acoustically at some of Bryan's gigs over the summer and they're stellar so we're all in for a real treat when the album drops in January! Now, I'm about to make this post come full circle..ready for it? Okay! If  you go see Memphis on tour in a city near you (and that's my shameless plus ladies and gents) you can purchase Bryan's new album, yes I said purchase, at the Memphis merch stand after, or before if you're like me, the show! See, you can see him do his thing as Huey on stage with Felicia, and then you can go home with his new album and indulge in some stellar tunes! You can bet I'll be picking mine up when I see the show in January when I make my way up to Hartford. So, now that I've given you all something to chew over this evening, I hope you decide to see the show, and then bring Bryan's CD home with you! 

Until next time, have a wonderful Sunday evening and enjoy the rest of your week! =]
P.S. If you'd like to see some of the videos and or articles on Bryan and his performances, head over to fenkfans.tumblr.com or twitter.com/fenkfansblog

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! 

Memphis The Musical Celebrates Two Years!

HOCKA-TWO! 

Last night I had the incredible pleasure of attending the second anniversary performance of Memphis: The Musical. Not only have I now seen this show four times, which is the most I've ever indulged in any musical by far, but I've also spent all four performances enjoying it from the front row of the theater. It would take me more than one post to truly get down to the nitty gritty about how much this show means to me, but it's touched not just my heart but brought out emotions deep down that I didn't think could possibly exist. And not only have I been lucky enough to fall in love with this magnificent show, but I've shared the experience with people close to me. In January I went with my younger brother as a Christmas present from my parents, in April I took one of my closest friends Samson to see it, and it was his first Broadway show ever. In July I took my mother for her birthday, and my aunt joined us as well, and last night I took my friend Matt, who fell in love with Memphis at his first time seeing the show. 

I've made wonderful friendships through this show; I've had the pleasure of building a wonderful relationship with Bryan Fenkart, who is now leading the National Tour company as their leading man, Huey. I ran into James Monroe Igleheart on a whim in July after seeing Baby It's You and then going to hang out by the Memphis stage door for a little bit, Betsy Struxness who is uber talented in every sense of the word, and last night I was extremely lucky to have met Chad Kimball plus his wonderful family. I have to give massive thanks to Raellen for helping to make this happen because without her I don't think Matt and I would have made it to the anniversary show let alone had the chance to meet Chad. 

The fact that this is Chad's last week with the show before he takes some time off to recoup made seeing the anniversary performance that much more special for me. I'm blessed to have had the opportunity to meet and talk to such a talented and genuine individual. I truly feel that the show will not be the same without him, but that's a different subject for a different time. 

Chad was nice enough to indulge me with a photo, as well as an autograph to add to my Memphis collection. And as stated before, his family was hanging out with us at the stage door as well, and I was able to get a quick shot of Chad and his absolutely adorable nephew William, who saw his Uncle Chad in the show for the first time last night. He was all decked out in his Huey gear; checkered tie and Memphis fedora! Chad, if you happen to see this somewhere, thank you again. It was an absolute pleasure meeting you and getting to see the show on such a monumental night. Thank you for sharing your talent, emotions and passion and for allowing me to see a little bit of your soul each time I sat in the audience!

Chad and I outside after the theater.

Chad and his nephew William, decked out in his Huey gear!