Jersey Boys and the making of ‘Memphis’
THE ‘NEW’ JERSEY BOYS: Composer David Bryan, left, the keyboardist for the band Bon Jovi, and lyricist Joe DiPietro, right, have their home state in common, but their artistic collaboration on the color-barrier-based musical at the La Jolla Playhouse came about through a circuitous route. Here, they work with pianist Chris Jahnke on a scene from “Memphis,” about how black rhythm and blues music began to reach white listeners on Southern airwaves during the 1950s.
Read more here. (Sean Masterson / For The Times)
FROM THE TOP: Montego Glover, as Felicia, rehearses a scene from “Memphis.” (Sean Masterson / For The Times)
THE ROCKER AND THE PIANIST: Bryan and Jahnke discuss the music. (Sean Masterson / For The Times)
WORKING IT: Tracee Beazer, left, and Jermaine R. Rembert are put through their paces. While grounded in rock, R&B and gospel, the show’s songs are contemporary, not 50s period pieces. The goal is to capture the exhilaration and sense of discovery generated by early rock n roll while also dealing with racial boundaries that were not ready to fall. (Sean Masterson / For The Times)
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HOW IT ALL BEGAN: DiPietro, a fan of early rock, wrote a script and lyrics, then began looking for a composer. I thought, I would love a rock n roll guy to write this, but I know zero rock n roll guys. I gave it to my agent, and it went out into the black hole, or wherever agents send scripts.
Cut to Bryan. (Sean Masterson / For The Times)
TOUGH TALK: Besides being able to make songs flow in a twinkling, Memphis director Christopher Ashley notes, DiPietro and Bryan hang tight when collaborating becomes more knotty. They can talk about the tough stuff, says Ashley, the artistic director at the La Jolla Playhouse. They can say, I really dont like that to each other, and its not, Oh my gosh, he really doesnt like my work. “ (Sean Masterson / For The Times)
