Theatre review: Million Dollar Quartet

Jukebox musicals haven’t got a great reputation but Million Dollar Quartet might just change all that.

Generally, jukebox musicals are less fun than being beaten with a knotted rope, but Million Dollar Quartet sidesteps many of the usual pitfalls thanks to having an authentic storyline, brilliant cast and seriously great music.

The story goes, that at Sun Records in December 1956, four rock ‘n’ roll pioneers got together for an informal jamming session. In an amazing moment in musical history, Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash and Elvis Presley hung out, drank beer and made some music.

The script tinkers with chronology a little bit to try and create some dramatic tension (in the show, Cash is planning on leaving Sun Records; in reality, he didn’t do so for another two years) but it’s little inventions like this that give the story some drive and help Million Dollar Quartet avoid getting lumped in with other shows based entirely around pop songs.

Another bonu, is the sheer quality of the songs included: Hound Dog, Great Balls of Fire, I Walk The Line, Folsom Prison Blues, That’s Alright, Brown Eyed Handsome Man… the supergroup rattle through more than 20 of their greatest hits.

The quartet here of Ben Goddard (Jerry Lee Lewis), Robert Britton Lyons (Carl Perkins), Derek Hagen (Johnny Cash) and Michael Malarkey (Elvis) are incredible, and though it would be easy to play the gang as four interchangeable musicians, each has his own distinct personality. During the course of the show, your favourite will change four or five times. Ben Goddard’s frenetic, keyboard-splintering performance as Jerry Lee makes sure your eyes are regularly drawn to his side of the stage, while Derek Hagen’s Cash has the strong humility of the Man in Black (in his early years, at least) down perfectly.

Of course, the main draw for many is going to be Elvis, and Michael Malarkey does a superb job; quiet and humble while speaking, he lets rip on the microphone and manages to be far more than just an Presley impersonator. He sounds like The King, but without slavishly imitating him.

Perkins, who then – like now – was often overlooked in favour of people like Presley, is given a fiery side; he’s jealous of Elvis’s success with Blue Suede Shoes – a song he wrote – and wary of young upstart Jerry Lee. Robert Britton Lyons gives Perkins a barely-hidden anger and brittle intensity that finds its way out in his guitar playing. All four leads play their own instruments, and though a fairly decent guitarist can handle the stuff that Hagen/Cash and Malarkey/Presley do, Robert Britton Lyons and Ben Goddard are both incredible musicians.

There isn’t a weak vocal link among the guys. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said of Francesca Jackson who plays Presley’s squeeze, Dyanne. An obvious afterthought, this sole female character has been shoehorned into the show and given a couple of songs so she doesn’t seem too out of place. One of the songs, Fever, works well. The other does not. Jackson’s voice is not suited to I Hear You Knockin’ and her top notes are shrill and wince-inducing.

American accents on the British stage are often quite poor, and this problem crops up in Million Dollar Quartet, most prominently with Bill Ward who plays Sun Records boss Sam Phillips. It’s a shame, because his performance in general is extremely good, but the occasional slips draw attention away from his characterisation. Ward is also used as a storyteller, speaking directly to the audience, which doesn’t work very well. It’s not Ward’s fault and obviously audiences don’t go to see shows like these for their scripts, but the exposition here is particularly clunky and needs work.

These really are minor gripes though in what is otherwise a fantastic, fun show. With some of the greatest songs ever written, excellent performances and no unnecessary frills, the show is fast enough to keep jukebox musical fans happy (just 90 minutes with no interval), while of high enough quality to appeal to those who normally shun flashy crowdpleasers.

Million Dollar Quartet is going to be around for a while.