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 musical comedy drawing on exactly the same Gilbert and Sullivan material. However, Kaufman's version, which opened exactly a week after "Memphis", was a much more pronounced critical failure. "The Nightingale, The Moon and I," one of the numbers closely based on the Gilbert and Sullivan originals, was recorded in the 1990s for the compilation album "Life's a Funny Present".