Get transported to 1950s Memphis, Tenn.
Eddie Urish plays Gordon Grant in the second national tour of Tony Award-winning Broadway show “Memphis.” The show centers on the passionate and hopeful radio disc jockey Huey Calhoun, played by Joey Elrose, and Felicia, an aspiring soul singer, played by Jasmin Richardson, as music brings them together, despite society trying to tear them apart because they aren’t of the same race.
Urish plays seven different characters in “Memphis,” which he describes as a mix of “Hairspray” and “Jersey Boys.” Among his roles, Urish portrays a DJ, the head of a TV station, Grant, a music executive, and Mr. Collins, a department store owner who won’t play music in his store unless they are by white artists. Calhoun works at the store in the record department, and plays “colored” music, and challenges Mr. Collins’ notion of music that he should be playing.
Urish graduated from the Goodman School of Drama of DePaul University in Chicago. He went on to become a professional equity actor, a member of the actors union, but left the business to raise his family. He went back to school, and received an education and a marketing degree.
He became a broadcaster and CBS morning show host for six years in Illinois. With no proper training as a meteorologist, he acted as a weatherman.
“I had not planned on ever doing that, but that was a load of fun…we did sketches, it was very unique in its time.”
Three years ago, he and his wife got divorced, and his mother died of cancer. At the time, he was running the Wildlife Prairie State Park in Illinois. But with both of his daughters grown, and his older daughter being a performer as well, he decided to make a change.
“I loaded up my convertible…I hopped in the car, drove to New York and started auditioning again,” said Urish.
Though he hadn’t performed in 15 years, Urish said it is easier finding a part today than when he started out, because there was a lot of competition.
“When I started as an 18 to 20-year-old, young man, I was one of many other people who looked a lot like me…so I was auditioning against a lot of people” Urish said.
Urish auditioned in New York for the national tour of “Beauty and the Beast.” The show’s producers were also producing “Memphis,” and they offered him a role.
“My storyline is not typical of folks who have been around in the business and have been performing their way up, but I’ve been very fortunate.”
Urish wanted to play the part of Simmons in “Memphis,” but the role had already been casted. Still, he was happy with the outcome.
“It’s exciting; it’s a lot of fun,” said Urish. “It’s ironic because Simmons is the role that that I understudy…and I realized, in reality, I am actually onstage much more than what Simmons is doing what I’m doing.”
Urish previously directed and produced “Metropolis” and was the artistic director for his own theatres, and hopes to direct again.
“I really got back into the acting and performing part of it specifically because I wanted to reconnect with folks so that I could jump back into the directing”, Urish said.
“Memphis” will be touring through June 8 throughout the U.S.
