Tag: The Orpheum

Give It a Wurl: The Orpheum’s Mighty Wurlitzer Homecoming Event is Thursday

Post author By Julie Ray
Post date November 18, 2020

CREDIT: Orpheum Theatre

Vincent Astor and Tony Thomas will soon be reunited with an old friend, the Orpheum’s Mighty Wurlitzer pipe organ. The instrument has returned from Chicago for the Orpheum’s 92nd birthday, and you can be one of the first to hear this powerful pipe organ at a free homecoming celebration.

“I’ve been playing this Wurlitzer off and on since 1970,” says Astor, who will open the show. “I plan to demonstrate mechanical parts of the instrument that may not be familiar to listeners, like the marimba, xylophone, and glockenspiel.”

Orpheum Theatre

What’d I say? The Wurlitzer returns!

In fact, nearly 10,000 theater organs were built by about three dozen companies between 1910 and 1940. Only a few hundred still exist today and only 38 remain in any semblance of original condition. The Orpheum in Memphis has one of them.

In addition to Astor’s masterful talent that will show off the organ’s unique sounds, Thomas will play silent film scores that should delight fans of nostalgia. Only fitting as the organs were very popular in theaters during the days of silent movies. Rumor has it that the Orpheum plans to return the Wurlitzer to this original purpose during upcoming film offerings.

While you enjoy the plethora of almighty orchestral sounds from the singular instrument, Astor asks you to remember one thing: “There. Period. Are. Period. No. Period. Speakers. Period. It’s a pipe organ.”

Mighty Wurlitzer Homecoming, The Orpheum, 203 S. Main, Thursday, Nov. 19, 7-9 p.m., free.

Tags Memphis, Orpheum Theatre, The Orpheum, wurlitzer

Food & Drink Hungry Memphis

Remembering Bourdain on Bourdain Day

Post author By Susan Ellis
Post date June 25, 2019

On this day, we remember the all-sainted Anthony Bourdain on what would have been his 63rd birthday. He was funny, original, and an all-around truth teller.

Bourdain brought his Guts & Glory tour to Memphis in 2012. We were there. And we eulogized him after his untimely passing last year.

Here’s what we wrote …

From the Flyer’s Jen Clarke:

That’s why Anthony Bourdain was so beloved: He got them [servers, bartenders, chefs], too, and sought to elevate them to the status they deserve. We need food to live. Food is integral to every single culture. Nourishment is an expression of love. Bourdain arrived at the onset of the “foodie” craze with a different perspective and a mission to tell stories beyond what’s on the plate. Knowing those stories made everything taste better.

He was a bard. He was an avatar of so many wise and brilliant restaurant people who, at least in my experience, are the best people.

My review of his Orpheum show:

The nearly full house at Anthony Bourdain’s Guts & Glory show at the Orpheum Friday night was made up of many, many hardcore fans — folks who most certainly know Bourdain’s No Reservations TV show and his books Kitchen Confidential and Medium Raw chapter and verse.

Indeed, the show Bourdain dished out could be viewed as reheated leftovers. Or, it could be seen as something of a greatest hits: chapters from Medium Raw reproduced just about intact, clips from No Reservations, and barbs flung at familiar targets (Paula Deen, vegetarians, Olive Garden, etc.).

But the energy from the crowd was high, and Bourdain met expectations with a sharp, often bawdy approach. Among the highlights: the bit about how to do drugs on television and the one about being a gracious guest (that means eating a poop- and hair-covered warthog’s anus).

In a word, it was fun.

The real unknown of the evening came with the audience and the concluding Q&A session.

He was asked how he learned to write and about the NYC restaurant he left when he became famous. A shout-out was given to Vassar (which he attended briefly), and he promised that he would give Memphis barbecue its proper due when he begins his new show for CNN next year. (No Reservations ends its run on Monday night.)

The show was ended when Bourdain laughed and waved off the last question posed by a super-pumped fan.

The man asked, “Who do I have to fuck to get a drink with Anthony Bourdain?”

Another review of that show, from Memphis Magazine’s Pam Denney:

While it was difficult to scribble in the dark, I did manage to write down a few more things from Bourdain’s show, which, by the way, ran more than two hours:

• Bourdain has little patience for fast food, chain restaurants, and (sorry to say) vegetarians: “Chicken Caesar Carbonara: What the fuck is that?”

• He says all travelers should follow the “Grandmother Rule: Eat whatever Grandma puts on your plate.”

• Russians drink. A lot. When filming his last show, Bourdain’s hosts drank two to three shots of vodka for breakfast, downed another seven to nine shots with lunch, and finished the day with 14 to 19 more. “It’s true,” he said. “I clocked it.”

• And finally, what would Bourdain request for his last meal? “A super high end, super fresh piece of nigiri.”

And more from the Flyer’s Hannah Sayle:

What’s that saying about breaking a few eggs to make an omelet? Well, to be the candid, shoot-from-the-hip kind of food celebrity Anthony Bourdain is, you have to a break a few eggs to make a few enemies: Paula Deen, Alice Waters, vegetarians — just to name a few.

But for his many devoted followers, Bourdain is greater than the sum of his foot-in-mouth moments and loudly professed enemies. He’s a whip-smart food fanatic, an expert in all things edible, and a fearless eater.

Tags Anthony Bourdain, Guts & Glory tour, The Orpheum

Music Music Features

The International Blues Challenge is Back

Post author By Alex Greene
Post date January 24, 2019

CREDIT: Roger Stephenson

It’s hard to imagine a massive annual music festival, one that brings thousands to Memphis every year, somehow taking place under the very noses of the unsuspecting locals. Yet that’s exactly what happens every January, when the International Blues Challenge (IBC) goes down. The 2019 version starts Tuesday this week in various clubs along Beale Street, Main Street, and Second Street, culminating with the finals at the Orpheum Theatre on Saturday, January 26th.

As Blues Foundation president Barbara Newman notes, “We did an economic impact study and learned that this event brings close to $4 million of fresh tourism money into Memphis every year. And that doesn’t even account for the peripheral stuff that happens when people stay after the event to visit Mississippi or spend extra time in Memphis. Everything takes a big bump up during IBC week. And it’s an otherwise quiet, almost dead time for Memphis. So it’s great that we’re here to energize the city every year.”

Roger Stephenson

Kevin Burt

And, Newman adds, the IBC affects every community that sends artists to compete. “One part of it is discovering that next great musician that’s ready to take a bigger stage. But another part is about offering the blues societies an opportunity to do something engaging in their local communities to keep the blues scene vibrant where they are.”

This year, blues societies worldwide, having staged their own mini-competitions, are sending local winners from as far away as South Korea. And for those who come, the experience can be life-changing.

“Susan Tedeschi was an IBC finalist,” says Newman. “Southern Avenue didn’t even make it into the top three, but they got a label deal. Then they won best emerging artist at the BMAs last year. Danielle Nichole and her brother won in 2008, and she’s up for a Grammy this year. [2018 winner] Kevin Burt went on to record his first CD, and he just got nominated for a Blues Music Award as best emerging artist.”

I tracked Burt down somewhere in his home state of Iowa to ask about the experience of winning best solo performer at the IBCs. “It’s created a lot of opportunities for me that I don’t think I would have been able to create on my own,” he said. “But, win, lose, or draw, I made some contacts, and I knew I was going to go some places that were outside of my reach, just having had the chance to network with people. There’s so much information and there’s so much opportunity, just walking around. The workshops they have, the different panel discussions that they do. It’s almost like getting a new set of keys. It’s a whole lot easier to get through certain doors if somebody gives you a key.”

Burt’s success is also an object lesson in how stylistically diverse contenders can be. One of the standout songs in his prize-winning set was a version of “Eleanor Rigby,” by the Beatles. “As I see it, I get to define my blues,” he says. “If I sing ‘Happy Birthday,’ I’m telling you I really want you to have a happy birthday. That emotional connection is to me what the blues is. There’s too many folks that get caught up in a specific sound.”

Paul Benjamin, who’s been an IBC judge many times over and now orients each year’s incoming judges, agrees. “Originality is important,” he says. “Judges don’t wanna hear ‘Mustang Sally’ or ‘I Got My Mojo Working.’ I go over the criteria with them. It’s broken down into the categories of originality, talent, vocals, and stage presence. Each is weighted, and originality’s weighted by three, whereas talent, vocals, and stage presence are weighted by two.”

For Burt, originality is tied to spontaneity. “I didn’t put together a set list for the IBC. Every experience I had while I was down there helped to shape my set list for the next show. That’s how I’ve always done this. I walk into the room, and I don’t know what I’m gonna do until I’m doing it. There’s something about that nervous energy that helps me connect. There’s a feeling that you get.”

Tags Barbara Newman, Beale Street, International Blues Challenge, Kevin Burt, The Orpheum

News The Fly-By

Orpheum Gets a Makeover

Post author By Chris McCoy
Post date August 23, 2016

Brett Batterson, the new CEO of the Orpheum, got his first taste of the pitfalls of running a century-old theater before he had even officially started the job.

During a performance by Tony Bennett last December, a major blackout hit downtown. “I was new,” said Batterson, who didn’t officially take over for retired long-time CEO Pat Halloran until January. “I was standing in the lobby thinking, ‘Man, there’s no lights in here!’ The emergency generator was from 1982. So we’re replacing that.”

Batterson said the new, state-of-the-art generator is the least glamorous of a program of improvements underway at the historic theater.

“We have four major projects going on right now. We’re renovating the administrative offices, which is a total gutting job; painting the auditorium and the lobbies; replacing the emergency generator, which is nothing exciting, but it is necessary for safety; and then we’re going to start renovating the washrooms in the fall. … The renovation phase we’re in right now began last year, when they removed two rows of seats down on the floor and widened the leg room.”

This is the third major renovation the Orpheum has undergone in the last 30 years, said Facilities Director Richard Reinach. Before the theater’s 1983 rebirth, “the building was in really deplorable condition. The ceiling was coming down, the roof was crumbling, the seats were trashed and broken. The paint was peeling, plaster falling. The carpet was nasty.”

The first renovation re-poured the concrete floors and replaced peeling wallpaper with vinyl paper that still hangs in the auditorium. In 1998, the back wall of the theater was pushed back about 25 feet to create more backstage space.

This time around, the Orpheum brought back Conrad Schmitt Studios, a Wisconsin firm specializing in historic restoration of churches and concert halls that had been involved in the last two renovations, to repaint the ornate detailing in the auditorium.

Now that the scaffolding has come down, the improvements are dramatic. Subtle red highlights call attention to the painstaking detail the original artisans put into the construction of the vaudeville palace in 1928.

“They reapplied all of the gold leaf and applied some silver leaf in more areas to make things pop out more,” Reinach said. “Specifically, people might notice that the lion’s head is now silver, so you can see it a lot better.”

Scaffolding inside the Orpheum as renovation work is underway

Upstairs in the theater’s offices, which once held the headquarters of Malco Theaters, the differences are dramatic.

“The office renovation is something that most people will never see,” Batterson said. “I don’t think they’ve been touched since 1928. People kept adding new rabbit’s nests to try and get more office space, and they painted the walls, but by and large, they were just horrible. There were stains on the carpet that made you think they were attached to body outlines. … There were offices so small you couldn’t open the door without hitting a desk.”

The new office spaces were designed by the Crump Firm. Workmen peeled back layers of plaster, wood, and sheetrock, digging down to the brick bones, where they uncovered a pristine vintage Coca-Cola sign that had been painted onto the wall of a neighboring drug store.

Reinach says it is a major working space improvement. “A lot of the rooms have glass walls. The architect’s idea was to bring a lot more natural light into the offices,” he said.

Plans are in motion to spruce up the lobby next, followed by a major overhaul of the restrooms. “We’re going to be adding more facilities in 2017,” Reinach said. “That’s been one of our biggest complaints — the waiting lines to use the facilities at intermissions. … The women are going to be very thankful.”

Beyond the improvements to the physical facilities, Batterson said he is looking forward to enhancing the Orpheum’s presence in the community with new entertainment and educational programming.

“We’ve got to expand our program to reach audiences we haven’t reached before,” he said. “We want the Orpheum to feel like home to everybody, not just the typical Broadway audience.”

Tags Brett Batterson, The Orpheum

We Recommend We Recommend

The Book of Mormon at the Orpheum

Post author By Chris Davis
Post date March 10, 2016

CREDIT: Joan Marcus

Joan Marcus

The Book of Mormon Company

Canadians and Mormons are practically the same thing, right? That’s why Ryan Bondy, formerly of Canada, was literally born to play Elder Price in The Book of Mormon, Trey Parker and Matt Stone’s relentlessly profane musical. “If you mean we’re really nice, and we like to talk then, yes, we’re exactly alike,” Bondy affirms.

The Book of Mormon is a satirical buddy story in the spirit of the old Bob Hope/Bing Crosby road pictures. It tells the story of two missionaries with conflicting personalities who are sent to Uganda to recruit more Mormons. Their efforts are challenged by famine, disease, and a warlord with an unprintable name.

“Out of all the shows that I’ve done in my career, this is absolutely the most fun I’ve ever had,” Bondy says. “Anybody who’s familiar with Parker and Stone and South Park knows that those guys don’t necessarily write anything that’s not funny. And it’s not just about the humor. There’s so much heart and real character opportunity. This is a reality of what Mormons have to go through in regards to their mission and the reality of their journey and the reality of what was going on in Uganda, a godless place full of poverty, AIDS, and starvation.”

The Book of Mormon opened to rave reviews in 2011. The show picked up 14 Tony nominations and nine wins, including Best Musical. After all this time, and in spite of near-universal praise, Bondy says people still come out to protest the show. “They don’t necessarily do their research as to what The Book of Mormon is really about,” he says. “A good indication should be that the Mormons themselves love the show. Now when they go out on their missions, they’re not allowed to see it. But there are a lot of elders standing outside the show afterwards, handing out books and talking to people. And they have seen it. The Book of Mormon does the very first thing Mormons need — it starts a conversation. So they even take ads out in our programs that say, ‘You’ve seen the play, now read the book.'”

“The Book of Mormon” at the Orpheum Theatre March 15th-20th. $44-$154. orpheum-memphis.com

Tags Ryan Bondy, The book of Mormon, The Orpheum

News News Feature

A Conversation with Bill Maher

Post author By Joshua Cannon
Post date January 21, 2016

Nearly a month out of the door and Bill Maher’s 2016 is in full swing. The politically incorrect comedian just kicked off the 14th season of HBO’s Real Time and is gearing up for a string of stand-up performances that will land at the Orpheum this Saturday, January 23rd. While Maher’s been off air, he’s had time to digest the 2016 election cycle and “rip up my old act,” he told the Flyer. “Two years ago, Donald Trump wasn’t going to be the president, and now he very well may be.”

Bill Maher

Flyer: When was the last time you visited Memphis?

Bill Maher: The last time I was in Memphis may have been way back in the ’90s. I feel like I understand the South better than these commentators on TV who talk about it, because they never go there. I hear a lot of conservatives complain. They say, “Oh, you liberals, you discount the flyover states.” Not me. I seek them out because they are a more enthusiastic crowd. Memphis is a town with a church on every corner, which is good for me.

What is the biggest difference between performing stand-up and hosting Real Time? Is there anything you like more or less about the two?

The people who come to the stand-up show are the real fans. They have to be — they have to pay. The people who come to the studio audience, they’re fans. But they are much more politically correct. And sometimes that pisses me off. I hate political correctness, obviously. I did a show called Politically Incorrect. I’m a liberal, and I love my liberal brethren, but they can just really be fucking annoying about not being able to take a joke.

Can I have an example?

I think Donald Trump is completely wrong about banning Muslims. I think he’s a demagogue. But I’m also really the only liberal who, I think, says we have to be clear-eyed about the fact that it is Islamic terrorism and it is coming from their religion. So, if I say a joke like, “Islam is a religion of peace. There’s a piece of you over there, there’s a piece of you over there,” you know what, you better fucking laugh at that. Every group gets made fun of for something, and it doesn’t ever mean that all of them do it. If I say a joke like, “And then the French surrendered,” everybody laughs, even though the French really only surrendered that one time. If I make a joke about super models throwing up, well, all of them don’t throw up everything they eat. If I make a joke about Asians being bad drivers, well yeah, a lot of them are, but not all of them. And so I’m sorry, but terrorism is mostly Islamic, and they have to own that. Nobody is a protected species. Liberals have to learn to take a joke about everybody. I don’t think there’s any greater cause for a liberal these days than shepherding liberals back to a more sensible liberalism. That includes learning to laugh.

I read that you think Ted Cruz is “scarier” than Trump.

If I go by what Ted Cruz says, he doesn’t believe in climate change. Neither does Donald Trump, by the way. But I don’t think Ted Cruz would change his mind on that because I think Ted Cruz is bought and controlled by the Tea Party. I do think I could turn Donald Trump around on climate change. I have a secret plan, which is to have Leonardo DiCaprio have dinner with him. Because Trump is huge star fucker, I think he’ll listen to DiCaprio. Ted Cruz, I think, is just owned by the Koch brothers and people like that. There are a lot of things about Donald Trump that are scary, but he’s so above ideology. He’s so beyond politics at this point. He very often takes a position that is a fairly liberal position. He comes out against hedge fund managers. He criticizes going into Iraq. Lots of things where you go, “Wow, that’s not a very conservative position.”

You essentially endorsed Bernie Sanders when he visited Real Time. Do you think he has a real chance at the presidency?

When [Real Time] last left the race at Thanksgiving, I think the viewpoint among liberals was “Yeah, we love Bernie, but he can’t really win.” He’s like the guy you go out with who gives you a lot of orgasms, but he doesn’t have a job. You’re not going to really marry him. But now, it looks like he really could. If he wins those first two primaries, that’s a lot of momentum. There are a lot of states in this country, like Tennessee, where somebody like Bernie Sanders is a nonstarter. Not that I think Hillary Clinton is going to win Tennessee, but Obama flipped a lot of states. I don’t know if any of those places would even consider Bernie Sanders. You have to put that in the mix.

Tags Bill Maher, The Orpheum

Theater Theater Feature

A Recap of the Ostrander Awards

Post author By Chris Davis
Post date September 3, 2015

CREDIT: Don Perry

Sunday, August 30th, was a big night at the Orpheum for The Addams Family director Cecelia Wingate. Not only did her spooky musical lead the pack in Ostrander Awards, she also picked up an Ossie for best supporting actress for her work in Distance, a Voices of the South world premiere. Other big winners included Bad Jews and Vanya, and Sonia, and Masha, and Spike.

Winners in the college division included The Physicists, The Wedding Singer, Good Woman of Setzuan, and Thebes: Contending with Gods & Contemplating Sphinxes.

Sound Design: Gene Elliott — The Woman in Black, New Moon Theatre Company

Lighting: Jeremy Allen Fisher — The Addams Family, Theatre Memphis

Set Design: Jack Yates — The Heiress, Theatre Memphis

Costumes: Paul McCrae — The Addams Family, Theatre Memphis

Props: Bill Short — Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean, New Moon

Hair/Wig/Make-Up: Paul McCrae, Buddy Hart, Caiden Britt, Ellen Inghram and Justin Asher — The Addams Family, Theatre Memphis

Small Ensemble: Bad Jews, The Circuit Playhouse

Large Ensemble: Once on This Island, Hattiloo Theatre

Featured Role/Cameo: Marc Gill — Kiss Me, Kate, Playhouse on the Square

Best Original Script: Mountain View, POTS@TheWorks

Best Production of an Original Script: Distance, Voices of the South

Leading Actress in a Musical: Emily F. Chateau — The Addams Family, Theatre Memphis

Leading Actor in a Musical: Robert Hanford — The Addams Family, Theatre Memphis

Supporting Actress in a Musical: Leah Beth Bolton — Kiss Me, Kate, Playhouse on the Square

Supporting Actor in a Musical: John M. Hemphill and John Maness — Kiss Me, Kate, Playhouse on the Square

Music Direction: Adam Laird — Kiss Me, Kate, Playhouse on the Square

Choreography: Jordan Nichols and Travis Bradley — Kiss Me, Kate, Playhouse on the Square

Don Perry

Sister Myotis

Direction of a Musical: Cecelia Wingate — The Addams Family, Theatre Memphis

Best Musical Production: The Addams Family, Theatre Memphis

Leading Actress in a Drama: Laura Stracko Franks — Bad Jews, The Circuit Playhouse

Leading Actor in a Drama: Devin Altizer — Tribes, The Circuit Playhouse

Supporting Actress in a Drama: Cecelia Wingate — Distance, Voices of the South

Supporting Actor in a Drama: Johnathan Williams — King Hedley II, Hattiloo Theatre

Direction of a Drama: Irene Crist — Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, Playhouse on the Square

Best Production of a Drama: Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, Playhouse on the Square

Special Award: Ed Finney, Isaac Middleton, and McCheyne Post — Original Music & Musicians — Mountain View POTS@TheWorks

The Gypsy Award: Kim Sanders

The Behind the Scenes Award: Andrew Clarkson and The Jeniam Foundation

Janie McCrary Putting it Together Award: Ekundayo Bandele

The Larry Riley Rising Star Award: Chelsea Robinson

The Eugart Yerian Lifetime Achievement Award: Karin Barile, Playhouse on the Square

Tags Ostrander Awards 2015, Sister Myotis, The Orpheum

We Recommend We Recommend

Ostrander Exposé

Post author By Chris Davis
Post date August 27, 2015

What would the annual theater awards be without a little drama?

Item: Sister Myotis, Memphis’ beloved queen of evangelitainment, is hosting the Ostrander Awards again. It’s the God-fearing prayer warrior’s sixth time presiding over a yearly bacchanal honoring the best of the best of Memphis theater. But did you know her long-standing association with the event belies a deep and abiding mistrust of thespians?

In a frank 2009 interview, Myotis, the lead deaconess at Good Tidings Apostolic Holiness Christian Fellowship of Saints Church, told the Memphis Flyer that you never know what to expect when dealing with theater people. She’d read “them Jackie Collins books about showbiz types that will lay with anybody that’ll give them a starring role.” She even carried a stun gun in her purse in case she was propositioned by some modern-day whore of Babylon looking to trade bodily fluids for the opportunity to perform in her church’s famous Living Christmas Tree pageant. You’ve been warned.

Sister Myotis

Item: This year’s best-musical nominees are ecumenically distributed among Playhouse on the Square, Theatre Memphis, and the Hattiloo with nods going to Assassins, Kiss Me, Kate, Mary Poppins, The Addams Family, and Once On This Island. Best-play nominees include All My Sons, Distance, Seminar, The Heiress, and Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, at Germantown Community Theatre, Theatre South, Circuit Playhouse, Theatre Memphis, and Playhouse on the Square, respectively. This year’s recipient of the Eugart Yerian Award for lifetime achievement: Playhouse on the Square’s Karin Barile.

Item: No nominations for Theatre Memphis’ pitch-perfect production of Rapture, Blister, Burn? Scandalous.

Tags Ostrander Awards, Sister Myotis, The Orpheum

We Recommend We Recommend

Young Frankenstein at the Orpheum

Post author By Chris Davis
Post date August 13, 2015

Young Frankenstein is Mel Brooks’ parodic masterpiece. Not only does it give Mary Shelley’s gothic horror story a proper send-up, it’s a visual treat, nailing the moody black-and-white tone of Universal Studios’ classic, 1930s horror films. This week’s opportunity to catch Young Frankenstein on the Orpheum’s enormous screen seemed like a perfect excuse to interview the film’s namesake character, Dr. Frederick Frankenstein.

Memphis Flyer: Not so long ago you described your grandfather’s unorthodox scientific research as “doo doo.” Would you care to elaborate on that?

Dr. Frederick Frankenstein: I’m a scientist, not a philosopher …

Yes, but can you tell us a little bit about your work?

A few short weeks ago, coming from a background, believe me, as conservative and traditionally grounded in scientific fact as any of you, I began an experiment in, incredible as it may sound, the reanimation of dead tissue.

That sounds ethically questionable.

From that fateful day when stinking bits of slime first crawled from the sea and shouted to the cold stars, “I am man,” our greatest dread has been the knowledge of our mortality.

And that sounds like philosophy.

But tonight, we shall hurl the gauntlet of science into the frightful face of death itself. Tonight, we shall ascend into the heavens. We shall mock the earthquake. We shall command the thunders and penetrate into the very womb of impervious nature herself.

That … I don’t even know what that sounds like.

Tags Mel Brooks, The Orpheum, Young Frankenstein