REVIEW: Million Dollar Quartet - Liverpool Empire Theatre

On Monday evening, Tony award-winning Broadway musical Million Dollar Quartet showcased at Liverpool Empire Theatre as part of its UK tour. The worldwide hit musical has been successful in the West End, Las Vegas and Broadway.
Inspired by a famous recording session which took place on December 4th 1956 where rock and roll legends Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis and Chris Perkins sang together for a one off event, the show is a celebration of that momentous occasion. The jamming session took place quite accidentally and they never played together again. The man responsible for the collaboration was Sam Phillips record producer at Sun records and he was played in the musical by Jason Donovan. He discovered each of the rock and roll icons.

Photographic evidence capturing the most famous recording session in history

 Written by Colin Escott and Floyd Mutrux and based at Sun records in Memphis, the musical recalls the events of that legendary night. With over 20 tracks, the score is rich with famous hits such as Hound dog, Blue suede shoes, Great balls of fire to name but a few.

Photo credit Darren Bell

 The show is about friendships, rivalries, jealousy and the common thread of music. There is a great mix of humour, it is energetic and upbeat. The first act seemed to fly by and set the scene. The second half of the show was more engaging in my opinion and the audience were fully involved.

Photo credit Darren Bell

Jason Donovan as Sam Phillips. Photo credit Darren Bell

 Jason Donovan played the role of Sam Phillips remarkably well. He was convincing in his role as the manager. He acts as the narrator for the musical and shares insights about the personal lives of the four icons.

Overall, the energy was high, I particularly rated the vocals of Ross William Wild who played the role of Elvis, Ashley Carruthers who played Jerry Lee Lewis was fantastic and such a talented pianist, however his vocals were less strong.  Katie Ray as Dyanne  was disappointing in her performance of "Fever". It seemed forced, she redeemed herself in later collaborations with the quartet however. Matt Wycliffe was dynamic in his vocal delivery as Cal Perkins as was Robbie Durham (Johnny Cash). The cast worked well together and the audience showed their delight by way of singing, clapping and giving the cast a standing ovation at the end. Whilst I was not particularly familiar with the history of the likes of Lewis, Cash  and Perkins, I could still appreciate the music an the delivery by the cast.

If rock and roll is your bag, you will undoubtedly love this show. Whilst the performances were not mirror images of the stars that the cast were emulating, it was an entertaining show. Perhaps if there were less musical numbers there would have been more time and scope to explore the personal lives of the protagonists more fully. The narrative seemed reduced for the sake of more musical numbers.

Cast: 

Jason Donovan - Sam Phlllips
Ashley Carruthers - Jerry Lee Lewis
Dyanne - Katie Ray
Matt Wycliffe - Carl Perkins
Robbie Durham - Johnny Cash
Ross William Wild - Elvis Presley
Visit the Million Dollar Quartet website

The show runs until Saturday 18th February. You can get your tickets here