BWW Interview: Talks with MEMPHIS Star Rhett George - His Exciting Career From Broadway to National Tour!

MM: On behalf of BroadwayWorld, I just have to say how excited we are to have you and this award winning show, MEMPHIS coming to Denver! So you have followed this wonderful show from Broadway to the national tour, what does this show mean to you?

RG: Well, MEMPHIS holds a special place in my heart just because it was my first Broadway show that I’ve been in where we’ve won Best Musical, and that was one of my goals. I was an original company member of Wicked, and it didn’t happen there. I’m sure we were close. So when we won Best Musical, that has been a dream of mine, to be in a musical and have it win a Tony for Best Musical, and that’s what happened. And, you know, I have a lot of memories on the Broadway cast. I made a lot of friends, I learned a lot about myself, and it’s a great show to be in. So to be able to transfer that to the tour and bring my experience from the Broadway cast to the tour and grow on that has been great.

MM: Well, wonderful. How has the tour been for you so far?

RG: The tour has been great. The cities have been excellent. Obviously our first city was
Memphis, and that was I think top 5 as far as the audience goes cuz they were just amazing,
but we’ve been to some great cities – Chicago, Atlanta, and stuff, so they’ve been great. And
I’ve been having a great time performing.

MM: Have you been to Denver before?

RG: Yes. I’ve been to Denver before – in, oh my gosh, 2000 or maybe 1999. I was doing
Fame – The Musical, and we were touring one week, and I went to Denver then. And then I
came back to Denver to see a couple of friends in The Lion King, maybe 2004, so this is my
maybe third or fourth time coming back.

MM: Okay. We have a lot of changes in store for you, then. So you’ve had a new CD come out called ‘The Music Will Save My Life.’ Can you tell us a little more about that?

RG: Okay, yeah. It’s my second CD. I wrote all of the songs myself and then a piano player,
or I should say producer, helped me with the music and did the music with me. I actually recorded the songs in my room in New York City to save money. I bought all the equipment myself and I bought a mic and I had my computer, my MacBook and everything, and we just recorded the vocals in my room. And I just think, for me music has always been a part of my life. I come from a big musical background. So, I always revert to music. If something’s going on, I’ll play a song. You know, I’m always having music…I buy a lot of music. So I wrote a song called ‘The Music Will Save My Life.’ It’s basically like, you know, if I’m not feeling well or..you know, the music will always heal
me. No matter what problem I’m going through. Even in good times it will heal me. So that
was the title track of my album and then I have other songs dealing with relationships and
love and just life.

MM: I firmly believe in that statement, too, that music will save your life. I am a firm believer in that because it’s done it so many times for me, too. Isn’t technology amazing where you no longer need a big studio to go to? You can actually just do it in the comfort of your home and make an amazing CD?

RG: Yes! I mean, I wish…my next step now is to really learn myself how to use the
equipment, because that’s where the producer came in because I had no idea. I mean, I
can buy all the equipment I want but if I don’t take the time to read up on how to work it
then it doesn’t do me any service. But I think it is amazing because my first album I was
like in studios, paying money for studio time, and I cut that literally maybe more than half.
Because I made my own hours if I wanted to stop or wanted to go and work til the wee
hours of the night and record, I could do that because I was in my room. So, yeah, I think
it’s amazing. I think it’s amazing how music has changed and how technology has changed.
How everybody’s pretty much doing it themselves. You no longer need the record label to
do everything for them.

MM: Is there a favorite song that you never tire of singing or rather is there a song that
actually Saves Your Life half the time, or makes you smile?