{"id":2586,"date":"2011-02-26T14:23:54","date_gmt":"2011-02-26T14:23:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thecliffedge.com\/?p=2586"},"modified":"2015-04-20T11:38:33","modified_gmt":"2015-04-20T11:38:33","slug":"sun-records-in-the-west-end-not-your-average-jukebox","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thecliffedge.com\/?p=2586","title":{"rendered":"THEATRE REVIEW: ‘Million Dollar Quartet’"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Ben Goddard, Robert Britton Lyons, Derek Hagen, Michael Malarkey as the ‘MIllion Dollar Quartet’, Gez Gerrard on bass<\/p><\/div>\n

By Ray Bennett<\/p>\n

LONDON \u2013 \u201cMillion Dollar Quartet\u201d is a straightforward jukebox musical but since the music comes from Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins and Jerry Lee Lewis at Sun Records in the 1950s, it\u2019s not your average jukebox.<\/p>\n

Like \u201cSunday in the Park with George\u201d, the stage show is based on a single image and like the Stephen Sondheim classic, it attempts to flesh out how the picture came about. That\u2019s where the comparison ends as it\u2019s not so much a musical as a concert.<\/p>\n

In this case, it\u2019s the famous photo of the four singers at a piano in Sam Phillips\u2019 Memphis recording studio and the book by Colin Escott and Floyd Mutrux reveals something about what was going on in those heady days of rock \u2019n\u2019 roll in its infancy, but not a whole lot.<\/p>\n

There is, however, a whole lotta shakin\u2019 goin\u2019 on as 23 numbers from that time are given full measure by director Eric Schaeffer, who has brought his creative team from Broadway. The show is as slick as Elvis\u2019 hair.<\/p>\n

American Robert Britton Lyons, who originated the role of Carl Perkins on Broadway and has appeared in every production since, joins an otherwise British cast. He has more of the strut and presence of an early rock star than the others although Derek Hagen as Cash, Ben Goddard as Lewis, and Michael Malarkey are all terrific performers.<\/p>\n

Malarkey more resembles Joaquin Phoenix as Johnny Cash in the movie \u201cWalk the Line\u201d than Elvis. He\u2019s a little too compact for the legendary performer although he does catch Presley\u2019s sneer in the right light and his baritone is strong if not an echo of the original in numbers such as \u201cThat\u2019s All Right, Mama,\u201d \u201cPeace In the Valley\u201d and \u201cHound Dog.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hagen looks less like Cash than John C. Reilly playing Dewey Cox but he has Cash\u2019s way with a rhythm guitar and his rich, deep voice is a match for the man in black on songs including \u201cSixteen Tons,\u201d \u201cI Walk the Line\u201d and \u201cRiders In the Sky.\u201d<\/p>\n

Goddard is a little chunky for the skinny Lewis but he has his blond locks and powerful vocal delivery. He probably is a more versatile pianist than Lewis but he pounds out \u201cReal Wild Child,\u201d \u201cGreat Balls of Fire\u201d and \u201cWhole Lotta Shakin\u2019\u201d with tremendous verve.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s Lyons, however, who parades the real stuff of rockabilly. Like Perkins, he\u2019s lean with slicked back hair and he has a mean way with a lead guitar. He conveys the bitterness that Perkins had over Presley winning all the glory for his song \u201cBlue Suede Shoes,\u201d which he performs to kick off the show, but also has the charm of a man whose compositions such as \u201cMatchbox\u201d and \u201cHoney Don\u2019t\u201d became staples for later rock bands. The latter was not in the earlier productions but has been added to the West End show. The program makes a point of thanking Paul McCartney, who now owns the song.<\/p>\n

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Francesa Jackson joins the boys at the piano<\/p><\/div>\n

Francesca Jackson is a welcome feminine presence as a girlfriend of Elvis and she demonstrates genuine flare on \u201cFever\u201d and \u201cI Hear You Knocking.\u201d Gez Gerrard on double bass and Adam Riley on drums remain onstage the whole time and give the music the correct propulsion.<\/p>\n

Lewis and Perkins trade insults throughout the show, which makes a break for Bill Ward as Sam Phillips, who tells what story there is of the four artists and Sun Records before they went on to fame and riches and he just got fabulously wealthy from radio stations and Holiday Inn stock.<\/p>\n

The evening ends with the boys in gleaming jackets as the audience rises irresistibly to the beat of some mightily impressive and infectious rockabilly.<\/p>\n

Venue: Noel Cowerd Theatre, London (running through Oct. 27); Cast: Robert Britton Lyons, Derek Hagen, Ben Goddard, Michael Malarkey, Bill Ward, Francesca Jackson; Book, Original concept and direction: Floyd Mutrux; Book: Colin Escott; Director: Eric Schaeffer; Musical arrangements and supervision: Chuck Mead; Set designer: Derek McLane; Costume designer: Jane Greenwood; Lighting designer: Howell Binkley; Sound designer: Kai Harada<\/p>\n

This review appeared in The Hollywood Reporter.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Ray Bennett LONDON \u2013 \u201cMillion Dollar Quartet\u201d is a straightforward jukebox musical but since the music comes from Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins and Jerry Lee Lewis at Sun Records in the 1950s, it\u2019s not your average jukebox. … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,14,16],"tags":[1450,1443,1445,1449,1447,1448,1446,1451,1444],"class_list":["post-2586","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-music","category-reviews","category-theatre","tag-million-dollar-quartet","tag-ben-goddard","tag-derek-hagen","tag-eric-schaeffer","tag-floyd-mutrux","tag-francesca-jackson","tag-michael-malarkey-colin-escott","tag-noel-cowerd-theatre","tag-robert-britton-lyons"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thecliffedge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2586","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thecliffedge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thecliffedge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thecliffedge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thecliffedge.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2586"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/thecliffedge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2586\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7339,"href":"https:\/\/thecliffedge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2586\/revisions\/7339"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thecliffedge.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2586"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thecliffedge.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2586"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thecliffedge.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2586"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}