A Review of Million Dollar Quartet (Broadway)
By Lisa T., June 03, 2010
I saw Million Dollar Quartet (Broadway) on 03/13/10. Overall, I'd say it was a 5-star rating. I'd summarize it by saying “Wow! Great balls of fire! The rock music live onstage felt like it was on electricity! ”
I had a wonderful time and left the show feeling energized and spastic. I'd describe the show as vibrant, nuanced, and compelling. Levi kreis was a highlight of the show because he jammed with fiery bravado. If this were a movie, I'd rate it PG-13. I would recommend this show to friends and people looking to have fun but not to young children.
I would see this show again. I sat in the right balcony area of the theater. The view was clear and the seats were splendid.
This is the type of musical that forces us to reimagine the conception of the rock and roll revolution and the very real quartet who created musical hits. It relives and redefines a pnnacle in musical history where all was perfect and idyll, where all was potential and dreams and anything could still happen to our quartet of musicans, their father, and the band that supported them. The audience accompanied the quartet on their roller coaster ride, on which the tunes and tracks and tenacious characters and spontaenous hits never lost steam, as they enchanted and brought the audience to their feet. With direction by Eric Schaeffer, A Million Dollar Quartet had all the spontaenity and vivacious play of a real jam session between four of the greatest rock and roll stars
A Million Dollar Quartet literally felt like a fire-cracker went off onstage and the electricity did not let up until well after curtain call. It was so refreshing to see live musicians playing different characters and instruments simultaneously, and artfully avoiding the trap of caricatures. Elvis appeared shy and bashful; Carl Perkins had a tic; Johnny Cash appeared wise and older; Jerry Lee Lewis appeared as a firecracker wise mouth when he challenged Mr. Phillips with his wit and his music. Each legend felt fresh, which added a shot of innovation, youth, and creativity to each song that was belted with passion and drive; the musical direction could not have been any more flawless. The book was loose, but facts were interwoven to an exciting, albeit created,conflict and fully elaborated on the nuances of character and the journey that each performer undertook to reach this moment. Elizabeth Stanley, as Elvis' girlfriend, was a strong actress who portrayed the fever of singing with a great immediacy. The finale is literally not to be missed, with a huge Las Vegas style showstopper number with dazzling suits flying in to build to a gravity-defying stunt. I would say that the proscenium stage at the Nederlander did not always compliment the actors' impressive talents, and perhaps, more levels should have been added and used, but each individualistic performance and music was shaking, rocking, and rolling!
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