Shreveport Little Theatre’s Summer Musical, Memphis, was a fun and high-energy ride for 2 hours and 20 minutes Sunday afternoon.

I’d never seen it and didn’t know much about this 2011 award-winning Broadway musical, set in the 1950s in the Tennessee town that gave birth to rock ‘n’ roll and rhythm and blues, true “soul” music.

Memphis begins when Huey Calhoun walks into a Beale Street club and is “different” than everyone else there, “different” meaning “much, MUCH whiter.” Huey becomes a deejay, plays a record from the club’s star (the fetching Felicia) on the “white” radio station, and here we go. Love, good music and dancing, and a culture beginning to change for the better follows

Perry Como makes an appearance, which sort of wraps up the ”white” side of things. But I’ll see you a Perry Como and raise you a Ray Charles. That’s sort of how Memphis goes, only with a talented, energetic, well-coached, and having-fun ensemble thrown in.

Highlights:

Well, Dillon Dixon as Gator was my favorite. He’s one of the SLT newcomers, which speaks well for the future of this special venue. His solo is dramatic for a couple of reasons, one being that…well, he hasn’t said a word in years.

Delray Farrell’s effort on “She’s My Sister” was powerful, and his character has some of the musical’s best lines; Delray, the Beale Street club owner and big brother/protector of Felicia, is played by Donnovan Roe. Serdalyer Darden as Bobby was funny in his nervous-in-front-of-a-TV-audience performance of “Big Love.”

Gotta have a gospel choir performance at some point; this one hit the mark. As did “Everybody Wants To Be Black On A Saturday Night,” if for nothing else than song title along. (The trio of Tre Gay, Marcus Thomas and Christopher Mason nailed it. Wish I could have heard them better, and also the leads on some of the full-cast numbers; production might have to go with mics on the principals at least?)

This the kind of moving entertainment you expect when Laura Beeman Nugent directs and Adam Philley handles the music. Designated Writers gives it a strong four baseball gloves out of five.

Eight Dates Remain: July 19, 20, 21, 26, 27, 28 at 7:30 p.m. and July 22 and 29 at 2 p.m.

If you don’t see it, you’ll be singing the blues. So go. When it’s over, stick around and encourage these actors to keep getting on stage; they have a lot to offer, and they left it all out there in a demanding musical.

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