Review: MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET National Tour at Durham Performing Arts Center
On December 4th, 1956, one man brought Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, and Elvis Presley to play together for the first and only time. That man was record producer Sam Phillips. The place was Sun Records, and that night, they made Rock 'n' Roll history.
After several out-of-town tryouts and regional productions, the musical debuted on Broadway on April 11th, 2010. It went on to earn 3 Tony Award nominations (including Best Musical), and is currently being adapted into a miniseries on CMT.
In the Tony nominated book penned by Colin Escott & Floyd Mutrux, the whole story is presented through the perspective of Sam Phillips (very compellingly portrayed by actor Matthew Scott) entirely through one act. He is joined onstage by some very energetic performances from Evan Buckley Harris as Johnny Cash; Jason Cohen as Jerry Lee Lewis; Christopher Wren as Carl Perkins; Skip Robinson as Elvis Presley; and Jackey Good who displays some fierce vocal chops as Elvis' girlfriend Dyanne. It's thanks to these performances that it is possibly the closest you could ever get to witnessing the actual event!
Under the direction of Lauren L. Sobon (who also choreographs), the whole story is staged entirely inside Sun Records. The small set designed by Derek McLane is put to great use with an onstage band the actors makeup in the center, even playing their own instruments. The show ends with a great concert-like encore with each of the four musicians performing one of their most iconic songs.
With only 90 minutes filled with great performances and great toe-tapping songs, anyone who goes to see Million Dollar Quartet should be in for a treat!
For more information regarding the tour, please visit: http://www.milliondollartour.net/
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