The Raleigh Little Theatre (RLT)’s 2016/17 season will begin with its adult series next month, featuring “Memphis” as its first production.
This is the first time the show, which won a Tony in 2010 for Best Musical, will be produced locally. RLT’s artistic director, Patrick Torres, is set to direct.
‘Memphis’ is inspired by true events, and tells of a white radio DJ who was one of the first to play music by black artists, and a black club singer who become involved in segregated Memphis in the 1950s.
Torres said he found it exciting to mount this particular show because its issues are still relevant, and because he now has the opportunity to work with actors from all over the country who have never worked at RLT, and who are exceptionally talented. The RTL has been producing plays for 80 years, and none of the upcoming shows for the 2016/2017 adult season have ever been done here before.
‘Memphis’ opens at RLT on August 19 and runs through September 4 at the Sutton Theater. Those who do not have the opportunity to see the play can watch excerpts, one on August 20 at the Packapalooza community festival, and the other on September 3, at the African American Cultural Festival of Raleigh & Wake County.
Organizations such as these can work with poster printing companies to create attractive placards that announce upcoming productions.
