Million Dollar Quartet (The SOB Review) - Nederlander Theatre, New York, New York
** (out of ****)It must have seemed like million dollar idea at the time.
Take a page out of the
Jersey Boys playbook, corral a famed group of singers from the 50s and build a jukebox musical around them. Oh, and be sure to remove any crude language, too.
If
Million Dollar Quartet strikes you as
Jersey Boys-lite, you're not alone. Resembling something like one of those family-friendly fare for which
Branson is famous, this likeable if milquetoast tuner aims to please.
While
Jersey Boys provided the
Four Seasons' milestones through the years,
Million Dollar Quartet centers on a single December evening when some major forces in music history came together. Back in the earliest days of rock and roll, visionary recording impresario
Sam Phillips (a terrific
Hunter Foster), owner of Memphis' famed Sun Records, had an unusual knack for spotting extraordinary talent.
By 1956, he had attracted legendary artists like
Carl Perkins (
Rob Lyons),
Johnny Cash (
Lance Guest),
Jerry Lee Lewis (
Levi Kreis) and
Elvis Presley (
Eddie Clendening) to his label. This stellar quartet enjoyed a jam session on December 4 of that year that's now been forever immortalized by
Floyd Mutrux, who originally conceived and directed this musical.
Million Dollar Quartet offers several admirable individual performances, particularly that of the excellent Levi Kreis. Picture
Harry Connick, Jr. doing Jerry Lee Lewis without coming across as stilted and you've got an appropriate image. A master of the keyboard as well as a gifted actor and singer, Kreis is one great ball of fire unto himself. He displays so much spunk and charm that they could have built the entire show around him.
As Johnny Cash, Guest expertly walks the line, not only sounding like the Man in Black, but lending an air of his humble demeanor as well. But Lyons' powerhouse Perkins next to Clendening's demure Presley will have you scratching your head how the former's superstar status ever eluded him. Clendening's Presley so pales in comparison with the other three that he blends into the recording studio's soundproofing.
There's nothing terribly insightful about the evening that's offered by Mutrux and
Colin Escott's book. After all, the music's the thing here. So if it's a pleasant diversion you're after,
Million Dollar Quartet just might fit the bill.
But in terms of a solid-gold Broadway show, I felt a little shortchanged.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
In keeping with the new Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regulations that unfairly discriminate against bloggers, who are now required by law to disclose when they have received anything of value they might write about, please note that I have received nothing of value in exchange for this post.Labels: Broadway, Carl Perkins, Eddie Clendening, Elvis Presley, Hunter Foster, Jerry Lee Lewis, Jersey Boys, Johnny Cash, Lance Guest, Levi Kreiss, Million Dollar Quartet, Musical, Rob Lyons, The SOB Review
Broadway Box Office Tweets - Week Ending May 23, 2010
If you follow me on
Twitter, you'll know that each Monday, I offer my quick analysis of each preceding week's box office on Broadway.
For your viewing pleasure, here are my tweets in chronological order for the
week ending May 23, 2010:
4:40 pm May 23rd - WICKED, LION KING, ADDAMS FAMILY, PROMISES PROMISES, BILLY ELLIOT, JERSEY BOYS all have million $ weeks on Broadway
4:41 pm May 23rd - Sold-out WICKED is once again Broadway's top grossing show last week with $1,576,010. Average ticket price is $108.90
4:43 pm May 23rd - FENCES once again Broadway's top grossing play w/$985,577. Also week's highest capacity: 101.7%. Av tix priced $112.30
4:44 pm May 23rd - Week's highest average ticket price: $115.67 for A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC. Show grossed $751,745 on just 87.3% capacity
4:46 pm May 23rd - NEXT FALL was Broadway's lowest grossing show last week: $150,982. Capacity just 54.3%. Average ticket price: $59.05
4:47 pm May 23rd - HAIR had Broadway's lowest capacity last week: 51%. Grossed $407,172 with average ticket price of $70.71
4:49 pm May 23rdh - Broadway's cheapest ticket last week was COLLECTED STORIES' $45.79. Grossed only $156,680 on 65.8% capacity.
4:50 pm May 23rd - Snap! ADDAMS FAMILY gets last laugh as box office increases to $1,312,216 gross. Av tix priced $109.79/98.4% capacity
4:53 pm May 23rd - CHICAGO has Broadway's biggest capacity increase of week: 13.5% to 89%. Grosses $597,460. Average ticket price: $77.72
4:55 pm May 23rd - HAIR has Broadway's biggest capacity decline last week of 10% to 51%. But gross increases from $401,681 to $407,172
4:57 pm May 23rd - With several weak weeks in a row, could HAIR be showing danger signs exhibited by most Broadway fare before they announce closings?
Feel free to comment and let me know if you're surprised by any of these results.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
In keeping with the new Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regulations that unfairly discriminate against bloggers, who are now required by law to disclose when they have received anything of value they might write about, please note that I have received nothing of value in exchange for this post.Labels: A Little Night Music, average ticket price, Box Office, Broadway, Broadway Box Office, Capacity, Earnings, Fences, Million Dollar Quartet, Promises Promises, The Addams Family, The Lion King, Wicked
Broadway Box Office Tweets - Week Ending May 16, 2010
If you follow me on
Twitter, you'll know that each Monday, I offer my quick analysis of each preceding week's box office on Broadway.
For your viewing pleasure, here are my tweets in chronological order for the
week ending May 16, 2010:
3:40 pm May 16th - WICKED, LION KING, ADDAMS FAMILY, PROMISES PROMISES, BILLY ELLIOT, JERSEY BOYS all earned $1 million+ last week
3:41 pm May 16th - Sold-out WICKED was Broadway's top earning show last week again with $1,549,754 and average ticket price of $107.09
3:42 pm May 16th - FENCES swung for second $1 million week and missed by a hair. Show still top earning Broadway play with $992,252
3:43 pm May 16th - FENCES attracted week's highest capacity on Broadway of 101.7% with average tickets selling for $113.01
3:45 pm May 16th - Broadway's top average ticket price last week was for LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC: $115.37.Show earned $821,698. 95.6% capacity
3:47 pm May 16th - Broadway's lowest earner last week was NEXT FALL: taking in just $152,021. Capacity at 52.8%. Av tix priced: $61.10
3:49 pm May 16th - GOD OF CARNAGE had last week's lowest capacity of just 51.9%. Show earned $292,793 with average tickets priced $65.37
3:50 pm May 16th - EVERYDAY RAPTURE may have had last week's lowest average ticket price-$49.19-but earned $206,516 on 70.9% capacity
3:52 pm May 16th - MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET looks almost like 1/2 million w/ week's top capacity increase of 8.3% to 57.7%. Earned $462,545
3:54 pm May 16th - HAIR had week's biggest capacity drop of 6.9% to 61%. Earned $401,681, which was up from last week.
3:55 pm May 16th - Despite critics, ADDAMS FAMILY & PROMISES PROMISES improve at box office by $20K and $43K respectively.
Feel free to comment and let me know if you're surprised by any of these results.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
In keeping with the new Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regulations that unfairly discriminate against bloggers, who are now required by law to disclose when they have received anything of value they might write about, please note that I have received nothing of value in exchange for this post.Labels: A Little Night Music, average ticket price, Box Office, Broadway, Broadway Box Office, Capacity, Earnings, Fences, Million Dollar Quartet, Promises Promises, The Addams Family, The Lion King, Wicked
