Carver High School and Memorial High School collaborate on joint production of Memphis, the Musical

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In a rare collaboration, two Houston-area high schools across town from each other are joining forces to present the only high-school performance of Memphis, the Musical, in the nation.

Students from G.W. Carver High School in Aldine ISD and Memorial High School in Spring Branch ISD have been hard at work since this summer rehearsing and building sets for the show. Half of the cast is from Carver, and half is from Memorial.

The show will be performed at the Memorial High School Performing Arts Center, 935 Echo Lane, Friday, September 5 (for school groups only), Saturday, September 6 at 7 p.m., and Sunday, September 7 at 2:30p.m. Tickets are $15. Tickets can be purchased online or at the door. Group discounts are available.

Memphis, the Musical tells the story of the birth of rock and roll in the 1950s from the segregated R&B clubs and radio stations of Memphis, Tennessee. In this fictional story, a young white disc jockey, Huey Calhoun, falls in love with a beautiful African-American singer, Felicia Farrell. Calhoun and Ferrell challenge prevailing cultural and racial norms with their risky love affair and their attempt to bring her music out of the underground and into the homes of all Americans through radio, and later, television.

Carver Director Roshunda Jones and Memorial Director Nicole Morgan, who work together on the Texas Thespian Festival each year, have discussed collaborating on a show for years. Last year at the Festival, Jones mentioned that Memphis would be the perfect musical and Morgan agreed. It is also a great choice because of the demographics of both schools.

“The process has been educational for everyone. The students are learning more than just songs and lines; they are learning about history,” Jones said. “They are going to get to see the progression of not only how racism played out, but also how radio became popular, then transitioned into television, and how people could make it or break it based on that. Both Carver and Memorial want to thank our administration for their support during this process.”

Joint productions in high schools are rare and difficult to schedule. Some of the challenges included dividing up the workload among the four directors involved, transportation between the schools for rehearsals; rehearsing when students who have work and travel conflicts; and long rehearsals throughout late July and early August that were required to prepare the show before school started.

Cast members from Carver High School and Memorial High School rehearse on a joint production of Memphis, The Musical.

Jabari Collins (Carver’s Technical Director and Memphis Choreographer) said the show required extensive dancing and he had to teach the students the 50’s dance style. It was challenging at first but in the end very rewarding!

Sariah Felix, a Carver junior who plays the lead role of Felicia Farrell, says the show is “amazing.” “It has so much meaning behind it, so much passion from the ensemble and the main characters. It is a very powerful story.”

Students from both schools have enjoyed working together and getting to know each other during their long summer rehearsals. “All these kids are really cool, incredibly talented and welcoming,” said Memorial senior Nathan Morgan, who plays the lead role of DJ Huey Calhoun. “It is a learning experience, and we can only hope our interactions are reflected on stage.”

Kiera Prusmack, the Carver student choreographer, noted that collaborating with another school “is very different because we’ve never combined with another school before.” But she said, “It’s refreshing to work with another school. I love the Memorial kids. I just really enjoy it.”

Neither director has ever heard of high schools coming together to produce a show together like this. Moreover, this production of “Memphis, the Musical,” will be the only high school production of the show in the country, and one of the few non-Broadway productions.

“Theatre Rights Worldwide, which owns the rights to Memphis, the Musical, originally had licensed the show to schools and community and regional theaters across the U.S., but pulled nearly all of those licenses when they extended the national Broadway tour but they let us license it, to see how it looks on a high school stage, and because it is such a unique joint effort and both schools have been very successful in theater in their own right,” Jones said.”

The show is directed by Jones (Carver), Collins (Carver), Morgan (Memorial) and Jay Matthews (Memorial)

For more information, please contact Roshunda Jones at 281-591-8585 or Nicole Morgan at 713-251-2535.