As Huey Calhoun in Memphis
“Deejay Huey Calhoun is played with the energy, power, and depth we expect from Walnut Street regular Christopher Sutton. “Memphis” is a story of one artist’s ascendance contrasted with one prophet’s decline. What happens is bittersweet, and Christopher Sutton squeezes out all he can to make Calhoun empathetic when he’s left behind after Felicia’s triumph. Sutton never lets down. So, the Walnut’s “Memphis” takes off because the show’s intrinsic entertainment value as a variety show and study of Calhoun, and its ability to conquer the done-so-often-before via Sprawl, Parker, and Sutton’s performances, puts the mundane at bay and lets song and dance take over. Gloriously! Christopher Sutton is a hurricane as Calhoun. The great thing about Sutton is he is winning enough as an actor to legitimately make the annoying, lovable and palatable. I say “legitimately” because Sutton spares the Walnut audience none of Huey’s obnoxiousness or nerve. He presents it in a way that makes Calhoun’s campaign into a mission. Huey is the good guy who barely sees prejudice, let alone practices it. He is the one who cannot figure out why racial divides exist and are upheld with such venomous, toxic stubbornness, by Delray as much as by his mother and employers. Ensemble work is superbly lively on the Walnut stage. So many numbers depend on the cast blending together to build momentum and express the energy both Huey and the R&B music he espouses exude. Time and time again, the Walnut stage turns into a whirlwind of song and dance that gets your pulse going in the right, most entertaining way.
Then there’s Christopher Sutton. The great thing about Sutton is he’s beyond cliché. He wouldn’t be able to be less than special if he tried. The Walnut has given him many chances to prove that. Whether in two separate productions of “The Buddy Holly Story,” “Elf,” or “I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change” (also by DiPietro), Sutton goes past anything in the book to present a sincere, complete, human being. The man projects authenticity even when he is called upon to be all showman. You never doubt the commitment of Huey Calhoun. Huey can behave the most idiotically or bombastically, and you go along with him, root for his success, and forgive any trespass. Sutton makes the outsized and incredible, proportionate and believable. He can play larger than life, while being rooted in life. In “Elf” and “You’re Perfect,” he goes in the opposite direction and finds the personal and individual in what seems to be ordinary. His Huey grabs you from the moment he arrives on stage. Huey can be as unbearably insufferable as a man can be, and yet, you understand the scope of what makes him tick. Sutton economically provides all you need to know...that Huey has his heart in the right place, both as someone who wants to share music he loves and as someone who is advancing civil rights in the most effective way, by exposing others who are carefully taught to be prejudiced, to a brand of music associated with a culturally verboten group, and making the twain meet. That’s always better than saying, “Be good. Be nice. You must.” Sutton handles the large role by making it intimate. You feel as if you know Huey and are hurt when anything thwarts his progress or when anyone denies his role, or his just deserts, in Felicia’s elevation. Big numbers such as “Hello, My Name is Huey,” “Tear Down the House,” and “Memphis Lives in Me” have their full power and are done in a way that draws you into Huey and helps you understand him and care about him more. In a show that can suffer from the superficial or the shallow, Sutton always finds the depth and the heart and conveys it. From “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum” or the current “Something Rotten!” to romantic leads such as George Novak in “She Loves Me” or Paul in “Carnival,” I could build seasons around Sutton’s talent, and am I glad Bernard Havard, Mark Sylvester, and the people at the Walnut do! In “Memphis” he is joined by a cast that catches and enhances Sutton’s ebullience. Sutton and Sprawl make the romance happen. You see caution and mores fall to affection. It’s quite a tribute to the actors, one of which they should be proud. Douglas Lutz’s band sounded great wailing out David Bryan’s R&B tunes and in matching Sutton’s vitality as Huey.”
Neal Zoren, NealsPaper.net
“Easily commanding the stage, Christopher Sutton endears in his heartfelt portrayal of Huey Calhoun, a stubborn man you want to hug at one point and shake some sense into him the next.”
Pam Harbaugh, Brevard Culture
“The two principal characters, Huey Calhoun and Felicia Farrell, were played by Christopher Sutton and Kimber Sprawl. Both showed tremendous talent, verve, and style in their demanding roles. We had to feel sympathy for the characters, and both artists didn’t disappoint on that score. Both actors made their characters real, sympathetic human beings. Whenever they sang, they gripped the audience by their sheer authority. Both Ms. Sprawl and Mr. Sutton commanded the stage.”
Ralph Malachowski, Out in Jersey
“In the role of Huey Calhoun is Christopher Sutton. Sutton finds a balance between awkward and captivating in his performance. He begins the show as a man who is passionate about music, and follows his heart and his ears to a black dance club where he hears the sweet sounds of the music that move him. The moment he descends the stairs of this club perfectly captures the heart of this character and shows Huey‘s passion for the music and his determination to have it played on the major radio stations for all to hear. Sutton perfectly captures this idea through his physical and facial expressions, and it sets the tone of the rest of the show.”
Theatre Sensation, Philadelphia
“Christopher Sutton as Huey Calhoun displayed boundless energy in his role as a 1951 white disc jockey who discovered black Felicia at the same time he was falling in love with her. It was a forbidden and ill-fated love of course, given that they lived in the 1951 South.”
Inside Vero
“Mr. Sutton is perfectly cast as the slightly crazy, zany DJ.”
Neda Heeter, -PlanetVero.com
“As Calhoun, Christopher Sutton simply nails his character – a simple, Southern man from Memphis whose inner spirit relates to African-Americans and their music. This good ol' boy is a "soul man" at heart, whose makes his commitment to black music into his lifeblood and life's work. His enthusiasm often bursts forth with robust utterances of "hockadoo," a made-up word of spontaneous cheer. The on-stage chemistry between Sutton and Sprawl is palpable and inspiringly lovely because their characters view each other through eyes that see love rather than race. It is, to borrow a word Calhoun uses to describe Farrell, "fantastical." There's nothing like ending an inspiring and successful theater season on a high note. And "Memphis" has perfect pitch, up and down the scale. A rousing "hockadoo" for this "fantasical" show.”
Barbara Yoresh, TC Palm
“Everything about this production screams success! Christopher Sutton is the recipient of multiple awards for acting and is on track for receiving another for his portrayal of Huey Calhoun, a young white boy who falls in love with the rhythm and blues music “from the dark side of town” in Memphis. He has a dream to bring the sound to middle of the radio dial so that everyone can share his experience. He is a whirling dervish as he sings dances and prances across the stage to “the music of my soul. I saw this show on Broadway. You won’t find a better performance than the one that is playing at Walnut Street Theatre right now.”
Judy Cohen, Beyond My Back Yard, Philly
“Christopher Sutton plays Huey Calhoun, the character loosely based on the life of DJ Phillips. Sutton has had previous performances in such shows as “Elf” and Buddy Holly in “The Buddy Holly Story.” Sutton is full of energy and passion and is quite funny in the role, as well.”
Andy Hachadorian, Daily Local News