Give it Up for the Dancing Cow

All right, I'm sure Chad Kimball has more than moved on from all those killer notices -- and a few articles -- he received back during the 2002 Broadway revival of "Into the Woods" which debuted at the Ahmanson Theatre. He stepped in to the cow suit to play Jack (of Jack 'n the Beanstalk's) beloved cow Milky White when the actresses previously cast couldn't handle the nuances of the suit (apparently it's quite heavy and not so easy to maneuver.)

Well, wearing the cow suit, Kimball stole that show as much as anybody can steal anything from peformers like Laura Benanti, Vanessa Williams etc.

Mr Kimball can, as the sportswriters like to say, "bring it." As we speak, Kimball's got one more week down at the La Jolla Playhouse, playing a maverick DJ who starts playing black music at his not-so-hep Memphis radio station.

The musical is called "Memphis," it's written by Joe DiPietro ("I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change") with music by Bon Jovi keyboardist David Bryan and direction by LJP Artistic Director Christopher Ashley whose lasts how was the Broadway musical "Xanadu."

The musical's got a ton of energy and is worth seeing. There are some problems, and it needs a better second act, but "Memphis" most emphatically does not need a new leading man.

And just because everything seems to be coming up Chad Kimball these days, my mail slot recently coughed up the soundtrack of the Blank Theatre Co.'s production of "Little Fish," a production I reviewed favorably last year.

Among the people on the recording (who were also in the cast) Alice Ripley, Gregory Jbara, Dina Morishita, German Santiago... and, you guessed it, Chad Kimball.

Tickets to "Memphis," should anybody be heading that way, appear to be sold out though the end of the run (Sept. 28) although you can always check for cancellations at (858) 550-1010 or www.lajollaplayhouse.org. The "Little Fish" soundtrack is available on Ghostlight Records. And Mr Kimball's website is www.chadkimball.com.