Embedded Files
Seventy years ago, four musicians came together at Sun Records, the Memphis studio run by pioneering producer Sam Phillips. What began as an ordinary day would go down in music history. It is this legendary meeting that provides the basis for Million-Dollar Quartet, the Tony-nominated musical now playing at the Marble Arch Theatre.
With a cast of actor-musicians, an authentically recreated 1950s recording studio and a setlist packed with rock and roll classics including “Great Balls of Fire”, “Fever”, “Folsom Prison Blues” and “That’s All Right”, there is plenty here to get the toes tapping. But does Million-Dollar Quartet simply play as a greatest hits compilation, or does it have something more to say about the men behind the music?
The production certainly looks the part. The simple but authentic 1950s studio set crafted by Libby Watson immediately transports us to Sun Records, while the lighting design by Alex Musgrave is sharp, arresting and impressively seamless.
There is a pleasing sense of authenticity throughout, which is hardly surprising given that writer Colin Escott is the author of Good Rockin’ Tonight: Sun Records and the Birth of Rock ’n’ Roll. There is clearly a genuine understanding of the history behind this extraordinary meeting.
Musically, the production is rarely anything short of thrilling. The cast know how to command a stage, delivering the rock and roll numbers with infectious energy. A natural and undeniably sexy rendition of “Fever” is a particular highlight, while Elvis’ transition from his early Dean Martin impersonation into the distinctive sound that would make him a superstar is cleverly handled.
Yet for all its musical strength, the book never quite digs beneath the surface of these legendary performers. Where Jersey Boys managed to deconstruct the mythology surrounding its subjects and give us a real understanding of the people behind the hits, Million Dollar Quartet largely plays its characters in broad strokes. Jerry Lee Lewis is boyish and scatty, Carl Perkins hot-headed, while Johnny Cash is characteristically monosyllabic. These traits are entertaining, but rarely do we feel that we are genuinely getting to know the men behind them.
Much of the first act is structured around musical numbers interspersed with Sam Phillips’ narration and scenes depicting how he discovered each of the artists. The songs are undoubtedly the show's greatest asset, but at times they also feel shoehorned into a book that is simply too superficial to support them dramatically. It leaves the production feeling more like a collection of terrific musical moments than a fully realised piece of musical theatre.
Darren Day feels oddly miscast as Sam Phillips. There is an avuncular quality to the character, but Day never quite possesses the presence required to anchor the production around the extraordinary personalities surrounding him. As the first act largely relies on his storytelling presence, I found his delivery oddly flat and I found myself struggling to connect to the material.
The role Dyanne, Elvis’s girlfriend, remains frustratingly underwritten, despite providing some of the production's most memorable musical moments, kudos to Jenay Naima.
Thankfully, the show finds its feet more convincingly in the second act, when the story begins to explore the lives that these four men went on to lead and the sense of regret Sam Phillips carries over what happened to them. These moments of pathos provide a glimpse of the more emotionally substantial musical that Million-Dollar Quartet could have been.
There are still moments where the writing feels determined to insert a joke rather than allow the drama to breathe, with some of the Elvis gags about never playing in Vegas again feeling particularly shoehorned in. But when the production allows its performers and its music to take center stage, it becomes an exhilarating celebration of the birth of rock and roll.
There is no denying the sheer pleasure of Million-Dollar Quartet. This is a talented company of actor-musicians bringing authentic rock and roll energy to the stage, wrapped up in a well-mounted production that looks and sounds terrific. Jerry Lee Lewis, in particular, is played with an electrifying presence by Joe Bence, that makes it impossible to look away whenever he takes to the piano. Whilst I was most impressed with Christopher Erasmus’s authentic take on Johnny Cash’s baritone voice.
But while the music deserves its place in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the same cannot quite be said for the book. For a story involving four of the most fascinating figures in popular music, it is frustrating that the drama remains so resolutely on the surface.
Million-Dollar Quartet may not quite deconstruct the myths surrounding its titular quartet, but when those opening chords ring out, it is difficult not to feel the electricity of a moment that changed music forever.
⭐⭐⭐
Reviewed by Alex Farley
Million Dollar Quarter plays at Marble Arts Theatre until 6th December 2026 before embarking on a UK tour.
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