- Million Dollar Quartet (musical)
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Million Dollar Quartet Music Various
Arranged by Chuck MeadLyrics Various Book Floyd Mutrux and Colin Escott Productions 2006 Florida
2007 Washington
2008 Chicago
2010 Broadway
2011 West EndMillion Dollar Quartet is a jukebox musical written by Floyd Mutrux and Colin Escott. It dramatizes the Million Dollar Quartet recording session of December 4, 1956, among early Rock and roll stars Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash and Carl Perkins, and newcomer Jerry Lee Lewis. The musical opened on Broadway in 2010, after several tryouts and regional productions, and spawned a 2011 West End production.
Contents
Productions
Florida and Washington (2006-2008)
The musical premiered at Florida's Seaside Music Theatre in 2006 and was then staged at the Village Theatre in Issaquah, Washington in September through October 2007, and Everett, Washington, in January 2008,[1][2] breaking box office records.[3]
Chicago (2008-)
The musical had a limited run at Chicago's Goodman Theatre, opening on September 27, 2008.[4] Mutrux co-directed the Chicago production with Eric D. Schaeffer, Artistic Director of Virginia's Signature Theatre. The show transferred to Chicago's Apollo Theater where it opened on October 31, 2008,[4] and is still running.[5]
Broadway (2010-2011)
The Broadway production premiered at the Nederlander Theatre on April 11, 2010,[6] with a cast featuring Eddie Clendening as Elvis Presley, Lance Guest as Johnny Cash, Levi Kreis as Jerry Lee Lewis, Robert Britton Lyons as Carl Perkins and Hunter Foster as Sam Phillips.[7] The Broadway cast also included Elizabeth Stanley as "Dyanne",[8] who in the show accompanies Elvis Presley to the Sun Records studio and sings "Fever" and "I Hear You Knocking," as well as provides back-up vocals.[9] Again directed by Eric Schaeffer, the scenic design is by Derek McLane, costume design is by Jane Greenwood, and lighting design by Howell Binkley.
The musical was nominated for three 2010 Tony Awards: Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical and Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical for Levi Kreis.[10] Kreis won the award for Best Featured Actor for his portrayal of Jerry Lee Lewis.
The original cast recording was released in 2010.[11]
The musical closed on June 12, 2011 after having played 489 performances and 34 previews. The production opened Off-Broadway at the New World Stages in July 2011.[12]
West End (2011-2012)
Million Dollar Quartet: The Musical opened in the West End at the Noël Coward Theatre on February 28, 2011, with previews from February 8.[13][14][15]
The original cast featured Bill Ward as Sam Phillips, Ben Goddard as Jerry Lee Lewis, Derek Hagen as Johnny Cash, Francesca Jackson as Dyanne, Robert Britton Lyons as Carl Perkins, and Michael Malarkey as Elvis Presley.[16][17] This production is again directed by Schaeffer with orchestrations and arrangements by Chuck Mead.[13]
The show will close in London on January 14, 2012. It had previously been booking to October 27, 2012.[18]
Off-Broadway (2011-)
The musical transfered to New World Stages in July 2011.[12] The show had struggled at the box office in final months of the Broadway production, taking in $242,786 out of a potential $1,109,700 and playing to 36.76% of capacity for the week ending June 5, 2011.[19] The cast for Million Dollar Quartet at New World Stages features David Abeles (Jerry Lee Lewis), Eddie Clendening (Elvis Presley), Lance Guest (Johnny Cash), Robert Britton Lyons (Carl Perkins), Victoria Matlock (Dyanne), and James Moye (Sam Phillips).
U.S. tour (2011-)
A United States national tour of the musical began in October 2011 at the Palace Theater at Playhouse Square in Cleveland, Ohio.[20] The tour cast features Derek Keeling as Johnny Cash, Cody Slaughter as Elvis Presley, Martin Kaye as Jerry Lee Lewis, Lee Ferris as Carl Perkins, Christopher Ryan Grant as Sam Phillips, and Kelly Lamont as Dyanne.[21] The national tour will hit Appleton Fox Cities, Portland, Miami, Houston, Indianapolis, Memphis, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Tempe, Salt Lake City, Seattle, San Jose, and many more.
Synopsis
On December 4, 1956, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins and Elvis Presley assemble at the Sun Record recording studio in Memphis, Tennessee.
Established performer Carl Perkins was to record songs with a new performer, Jerry Lee Lewis. Elvis Presley stops by the studio along with his girlfriend, a singer named Dyanne (at the real session, Elvis' girlfriend was a dancer named Marilyn).[22]. Johnny Cash has stopped by to talk to recording impresario Sam Philips. They soon have a jam session together. Philips attempts to sign Johnny Cash to a contract, unaware he has already signed elsewhere. Typically, as a member from the Quartet enters for the first time, he sings a verse of one of his most famous songs, followed by an onstage freeze of all actors. During this time Sam Philips relates to the audience how he first discovered the boy, and a brief, few line scene of that moment occurs between Philips and the musician, followed by Sam Phillips asking the boy to play something for him, which is the next verse of the song, and everyone unfreezes.
Musical numbers
- Blue Suede Shoes (Music and Lyrics By Carl L. Perkins) – Company
- Real Wild Child (Music and Lyrics By John O'Keefe, John Greenan and Dave Owens) – Jerry Lee Lewis
- Matchbox (Music and Lyrics By Carl L. Perkins) – Carl Perkins
- Who Do You Love? (Music and Lyrics By Ellas McDaniel) – Carl Perkins
- Folsom Prison Blues (Music and Lyrics By John R. Cash) – Johnny Cash
- Fever (Music and Lyrics By Eddie Cooley and Johnny Davenport) – Dyanne
- Memories Are Made of This (Music and Lyrics By Terry Gilkyson,Richard Dehr and Frank Miller) – Elvis Presley
- That's All Right (Music and Lyrics By Arthur Crudup) – Elvis Presley
- Brown Eyed Handsome Man (Music and Lyrics By Chuck Berry) – Company
- Down by the Riverside – Company
- Sixteen Tons (Music and Lyrics By Merle Travis) – Johnny Cash
- My Babe (Music and Lyrics By Willie Dixon) – Carl Perkins
- Long Tall Sally (Music and Lyrics By Robert Blackwell, Enotris Johnson and Richard Penniman) – Elvis Presley
- Peace in the Valley (Music and Lyrics By Thomas A. Dorsey) – Company
- I Walk the Line (Music and Lyrics By John R. Cash) – Johnny Cash
- I Hear You Knockin (Music and Lyrics By Dave Bartholomewand Pearl King) – Dyanne
- Party (Music and Lyrics By Jessie Mae Robinson) – Carl Perkins and Company
- Great Balls of Fire (Music and Lyrics By Otis Blackwell and Jack Hammer) – Jerry Lee Lewis
- Down by the Riverside (Reprise) – Company
- Hound Dog (Music and Lyrics By Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller) – Elvis Presley
- Ghost Riders (Music and Lyrics By Stan Jones) – Johnny Cash
- See You Later Alligator (Music and Lyrics By Robert Guidry) – Carl Perkins
- Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On (Music and Lyrics By Curly Williams) – Jerry Lee Lewis
Notable celebrity performers
Several notable performers have joined the cast of the show for the encore, including: Melissa Etheridge on June 23, 2010,[23] Jerry Lee Lewis on September 10, 2010,[24] Lesley Gore on October 28, 2010,[25] and Ray Benson on November 16, 2010.[26]
Reception
Million Dollar Quartet received mixed reviews from critics (the average grade of 28 major reviews was a "B").[27]
The New York Times reviewer wrote that "There’s a lot to like about this relatively scrappy variation on a familiar theme. “Million Dollar Quartet” has a pleasing modesty, taking place as it does on a single afternoon, Dec. 4, 1956, in the rattletrap recording studio of Sun Records in Memphis...The actors portraying these pioneers...don’t just play the roles but play the music too. Gifted musicians and likable performers, they tackle with no apparent discomfort the unenviable chore of impersonating some of the most revered names in pop music, from their slick pompadours right down to their frisky, agile fingertips."[28]
In a summary of the Broadway reviews, the Back Stage reviewer noted: "When the curtain call is the most exciting part of a show, it's definitely a problem. Such is the case with "Million Dollar Quartet," the latest attempt to turn pop nostalgia into Broadway box-office gold." The New York Magazine reviewer commented "The actors—all four of them crackerjack singers and musicians—distill the essence of their real-life counterparts without succumbing to excessive caricature."[29]
Audiences felt that the show was "fun and upbeat" but that it was "little more than a dinner theatre-level entry designed to fill time." One audience member noted that they were "partially impressed with the librettist's ability to turn this conceit into an actual story" although the introductions to some of the songs were "mostly groan-worthy."[30]
Awards and nominations
Original Broadway production
Year Award Ceremony Category Nominee Result 2010 Drama Desk Award[31] Outstanding Musical Nominated Drama League Award[32] Distinguished Production of a Musical Nominated Distinguished Performance Levi Kreis Nominated Lance Guest Nominated Outer Critics Circle Award[33] Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical Levi Kreis Won Tony Award Best Musical Nominated Best Book of a Musical Colin Escott and Floyd Mutrux Nominated Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical Levi Kreis Won References
- ^ Berson, Misha."On Broadway: Village co-stars catch 'Million Dollar' ride to Broadway" The Seattle Times, June 12, 2010
- ^ "Village Voices, August 2007" villagetheatre.org, retrieved November 28, 2010
- ^ "Million Dollar Quartet To Make Midwest Premiere at Goodman Theatre" theatreinchicago.com, retrieved November 28, 2010
- ^ a b Jones, Kenneth."Perkins, Elvis, Cash and Lewis Are Chicago's Hot Million Dollar Quartet, Opening Nov. 5" November 5, 2008
- ^ "Million Dollar Quartet at the Apollo Theater Extended" theatreinchicago.com, September 29, 2010
- ^ Dollar Quartet Will Be New Tenant of Broadway's Nederlander Theatre
- ^ Fick, David. "Million Dollar Quartet Opens Tonight". Musical Cyberspace, April 11, 2010
- ^ Gans, Andrew."Foster and Stanley Will Join Original Chicago Quartet for Broadway's Million Dollar Quartet" Playbill.com, January 21, 2010
- ^ MDQ Merchandising LLC (2010). “Song List” and “Performing Credits”. In Million Dollar Quartet CD booklet, p. 5. New York City: Avatar Studios; and Chicago: Chicago Recording Company.
- ^ "Who's Nominated?". Tony Awards. IBM Corp.. http://www.tonyawards.com/en_US/nominees/index.html. Retrieved June 13, 2010.
- ^ Probst, Andy.Million Dollar Quartet Original Cast Recording Now Available" theatermania.com, January 4, 2010
- ^ a b Hetrick,Adam."'Million Dollar Quartet' Begins New Gig Off-Broadway at New World Stages July 28" playbill.com, July 28, 2011
- ^ a b "Million Dollar Quartet Rocks London Beginning Feb. 8" playbill.com, February 8, 2011.
- ^ Gans, Andrew and Hetrick, Adam."'Million Dollar Quartet' to Open at London's Noël Coward Theatre in February 2011" playbill.com, November 19, 2010
- ^ "Million Dollar Quartet musical review" from the West End preview show on February 8 2011.
- ^ [1] Broadway.com, Dec 21 2010.
- ^ Gans, Andrew. "Casting Complete for London's Million Dollar Quartet". Playbill. January 6, 2011.
- ^ "'Million Dollar Qyartet to Close"whatsonstage.com
- ^ "Grosses, 'Million Dollar Quartet', 2011" broadwayworld.com, accessed October 14, 2011
- ^ Hetrick, Adam. "National Tour of 'Million Dollar Quartet' Opens in Cleveland, OH, Oct. 13"playbill.com, October 13, 2011
- ^ Gans, Andrew. "Derek Keeling, Cody Slaughter, Martin Kaye and More Cast in Million Dollar Quartet Tour" playbill.com, September 9, 2011.
- ^ George, Jason (2008-11-11), "How the Tribune tracked her down", Chicago Tribune: Live!, page 4, http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/lifestyle/chi-mystery-side-1111nov11,0,7263253.story
- ^ Hetrick, Adam."Melissa Etheridge Rocks 'Million Dollar Quartet' Finale June 23" playbill.com, June 23, 2010
- ^ "Jerry Lee Lewis' Million Dollar Jam Session" broadway.com, September 10, 2010
- ^ Hetrick, Adam.Lesley Gore Sings With Broadway's Million Dollar Quartet Oct. 28" playbill.com, October 28, 2010
- ^ Hetrick, Adam."Grammy Winner Ray Benson Sings with 'Million Dollar Quartet' (Video)" playbill.com, accessed November 29, 2010
- ^ "Million Dollar Quartet". Stage Grade. Retrieved 12-9-10.
- ^ Isherwood, Charles."Over at Sun Records, Whole Lotta Rock History Goin’ On" The New York Times, April 12, 2010
- ^ BWW News Desk.MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET Review Roundup" broadwayworld.com, April 12, 2010
- ^ "Million Dollar Quartet". Stage Grade / Community Reviews. Retrieved 12-9-10.
- ^ Gans, Andrew."Red, Memphis, Bridge, Fences and La Cage Win Drama Desk Awards" playbill.com, May 23, 2010
- ^ Gans, Andrew."Sondheim, Red, Bridge, La Cage and Molina Win Drama League Awards" playbill.com, May 21, 2010
- ^ Gans, Andrew."Memphis, La Cage, Zeta-Jones, Finneran and More Are Outer Critics Circle Award Winners" playbill.com, May 17, 2010
External links
Categories:- 2010 musicals
- Jukebox musicals
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
