Memphis won a slew of awards on Broadway, including the Tony Award for best musical. What makes the show special? CG: What I responded to when I saw
the show in New York was the dancing and staging. The movement of this show is still, I think, my favorite part. It’s the part I contribute the least to as a performer – I’m an actor/singer in
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this show – so I can stand back and just be a fan of the motion of the world of Memphis. JR: It’s a simple, original story about a man with an idea to change things in a time when social change was imminent. That’s always an intriguing story in my book. What’s the best part about coming back to Georgia to perform? CG: My family and the Fox Theatre
because that’s where I saw my first Broadway show, the national tour of A Chorus Line. I still can’t believe I get to do what I’m doing in my life. I’m a very lucky man. JR: I enjoy performing at the Fox tremendously, and I can’t wait to get some good Southern cooking. Bret Love is the founder of ecotourism/ conservation site GreenGlobalTravel.com; the national managing editor of INsite magazine; and music editor for Georgia Music Magazine. He freelances for national and international publications and does improv with Jackpie at Relapse Theatre.
Paul Kolnik
an extra on a “Wonderful World of Walt Disney” TV movie shot in Lumpkin when I was a little boy. I’m pretty sure I got paid for that, too. JR: I went to Kennesaw State University and graduated with a theater degree, all the while auditioning all around Atlanta and seeking out any and every performing opportunity I could find. I worked with the Atlanta Opera, the Atlanta Shakespeare Tavern and Theater of the Stars at the Fox. That’s how I broke into the business – pounding the local pavement and getting enough experience under my belt to feel confident pounding the pavement of New York City.