last such show to appear during the war. Most of the score was derived from the Gilbert and Sullivan original; the vocal arrangements and updated lyrics were by Clay Warnick, while the orchestrations and score were adapted by Don Walker. The show also included four original songs by Warnick and Walker—"Big Old River," "Stand Around the Bend," "Old Love and Brand New Love," and "Growing Pains"—written in a pastiche of existing styles. (In the show billing, Walker was credited with the new music, and Warnick and Walker shared credit for the new lyrics.) "Growing Pains," an original duet for Robinson and 8-year-old actor Timothy Grace, was strongly flavored by a Duke Ellington sound, while the Gilbert and Sullivan material was arranged as swing music with a boogie-woogie edge. Robinson interpolated his specialty, a dance on stairs, as a high point of the show. Avon Long, known for playing Sportin' Life in the 1942 Broadway production of Porgy and Bess, provided additional solo dancing, using a full-body movement style contrasting with Robinson's foot-based work. Reception John Chapman of the New York Daily News gave the Broadway production a rave review, saying "It has been too many years since I have seen a musical with the zip, the stomp, and the whoosh of Memphis Bound. … It's good-naured as a puppy, and frequently very smart." Wilella Waldorf of the New York Post was more critical of the book, commenting that though the adaptation of H.M.S. Pinafore was "interesting musically and often very funny," the show as a whole was inconsistent, with "no uniform pattern … set for the travesty." Life magazine's anonymous critic highlighted the contributions of Robinson and H.M.S. Pinafore, noting with amusement that both were 67 years old, but added that when neither were featured onstage, "the show gets very dreary." Bob Francis of Billboard magazine similarly praised the Pinafore segments and the stars over the original elements of the book, commenting: "If two actors could put Memphis over for a smash, it should be Robinson and Long. Unfortunately, the task is too heavy for a two-man job." Critics widely praised Robinson's performance and especially his dancing. During its run, Memphis moved from the Broadway to the Belasco Theatre. It closed on June 23, 1945, after 36 performances, losing money on its original investment. The show was hampered in part due to competition from Hollywood Pinafore, a George S. Kaufman