Review Roundup: West End's MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET

On December 4, 1956, an auspicious twist of fate brought Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, and Elvis Presley together. The place was Sun Records' storefront studio in Memphis. The man who made it happen was Sam Phillips, the "Father of Rock and Roll," who discovered them all. The four young musicians united for the only time in their careers for an impromptu recording that has come to be known as one of the greatest rock jam sessions of all time.

Inspired by the actual event, Million Dollar Quartet features a treasure trove of the greatest rock and roll, gospel, R&B and country hits from these musicians, including such iconic songs as "Blue Suede Shoes," "Fever," "Sixteen Tons," "Who Do You Love?," "Great Balls of Fire," "Riders in the Sky," "I Walk the Line," "Folsom Prison Blues," and "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On." Million Dollar Quartet captures the infectious spirit, freewheeling excitement and thrilling sounds of a singular moment when four of the music industry's most extraordinary talents, all in their creative prime, came together for one of the most memorable nights in music history.

Charles Spencer, Daily Telegraph: No one could claim that this is a great, original or ground-breaking piece of work, but anyone who loves rock and roll is almost certain to have a good time ... All four of the main stars perform instrumental duties with admirable panache as well as singing, and the show creates a giddy rush of pleasure as it rips through a couple of dozen hits in 90 minutes ... Rock and roll may never die, but boy does it make you feel your age.

David Lister, Independent: The mixture of personalities alone was combustible: Elvis had departed Sun and had enjoyed his first year of music and film superstardom, Cash was torn between pop and gospel, Perkins had barely suppressed resentment that his song ‘Blue Suede Shoes' was more associated with Presley than with him, Jerry Lee Lewis, later to have a huge hit with ‘Great Balls of Fire', was a ball of unpredictable energy, rumoured to be a bigamist at 21 ... Ben Goddard's portrayal of Jerry Lee Lewis is a highlight of the evening, a bundle of aggression, sexual and otherwise ... It's frustrating though that this show could and should have been better. The enigmatic character of Sam Phillips is barely explored at all, Elvis' distress at losing his roots and becoming a global commodity is nibbled at but not really addressed. The resentments and frustrations of Cash, Perkins and Jerry Lee are also brought up but quickly dropped in the rush to get to the next number

Michael Coveney, Whatsonstage: We run the gamut of ‘Blue Suede Shoes,' Chuck Berry's ‘Brown Eyed Handsome Man,' ‘Sixteen Tons,' ‘I Hear You Knocking' (well done by slinky Francesca Jackson as Elvis' girlfriend), ‘Great Balls of Fire' and so on; but there's no point of pressure when each song comes, and it's not the sort of stuff you want to sit in a seat and listen to. You find yourself hand-jiving, tapping your feet and wanting to scream and shout ... After 75 torpid minutes, despite all the frenetic activity, they all give up, too, and the set swings round into a huge lighting bank and a concert encore with a life, and a banality, all of its own.

Michael Billington, The Guardian: But Michael Malarkey as Elvis, Derek Hagen as Johnny Cash and Robert Britton Lyons, the one authentic American, as Carl Perkins offer substance as well as shadows. Bill Ward as the pathfinding Phillips and Francesca Jackson as Elvis' squeeze, who offers a notably sultry, microphone-caressing version of 'Fever', add to the gaiety of a show that taps into all our yesterdays.

Henry Hitchings, Evening Standard: The success of Jersey Boys shows there's an appetite for musicals that are part jukebox extravaganza, part documentary - full of hit songs faithfully delivered, and spiced with humour and testosterone. Million Dollar Quartet ... Is just such an exercise in upbeat nostalgia ... The music is recreated in an enjoyably vigorous style. The performances go beyond being impersonations, though of course they have to satisfy in that respect.

 

 

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