Review: 'Million Dollar Quartet' Musical Brings 1956 Sun Studios Legend to London Stage
A jukebox musical inspired by the fabled 1956 Sun Studios session featuring Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins and Jerry Lee Lewis opens at The Arts at Marble Arch, blending historical liberties with energetic performances, according to a Guardian review.
A new production of the jukebox musical "Million Dollar Quartet" has opened at The Arts at Marble Arch in London, according to a review published by The Guardian's culture section. The show is being staged at a temporary venue while the Arts theatre undergoes major renovation works, the review noted.
The musical draws on the legendary December 1956 recording session at Sam Phillips' Sun Studios in Memphis, where Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins and Jerry Lee Lewis spontaneously gathered and recorded roughly 40 songs together. A newspaper photograph from that day carried the caption "million dollar quartet," which gave the event its enduring nickname, the review said.
According to the review, the historical record shows the four musicians primarily performed gospel and spiritual numbers during that session, interspersed with casual conversation that was also captured on tape. However, the review stated that "all the evidence suggests" claims that the group shared vocals on "Blue Suede Shoes," or that Cash and Perkins combined "My Babe" and "Sixteen Tons" as depicted in the production, are not historically accurate.
The review noted that only two songs from the actual 1956 session—"Down By the Riverside" and "Peace in the Valley"—along with Chuck Berry's "Brown Eyed Handsome Man," are retained in the show. The production instead rotates through a broader selection of the performers' greatest hits, including "Great Balls of Fire," a song the review pointed out would not actually be recorded at Sun Studios until the following year.
The review also addressed the production's visual design by Libby Watson, describing how the set transforms the historically modest recording studio into what was characterized as a "checkerboard-floored rock'n'roll diner cum fairground," featuring a colorful arch styled to resemble a vintage jukebox.
The Guardian review characterized the musical's script as "unsubtle" while acknowledging what it called "some vigorous performances" from the cast.
Sources
- Million Dollar Quartet review – jumping jukebox show reignites rock’n’roll classics — The Guardian — Culture
EGazette summarizes reporting from multiple sources; follow the links for the originals.
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