Sunday 8 May 2011

London Million Dollar Quartet Noel Coward Theatre

By Charlotte Capel


A smash hit upon Broadway and in Chicago, the Tony Award-winning MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET tells the thrilling tale associated with the evening ELVIS PRESLEY, JOHNNY CASH, CARL PERKINS and JERRY LEE LEWIS came together to create music, and ended up generating history. Million Dollar Quartet will be at The Noel Coward Theatre during 2011 from 8th February, 2011.

Bill Ward as Sam Phillips: Ben Goddard, Derek Hagen, Robert Britton Lyons and Michael Malarkey will play renowned music stars Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins and Elvis Presley. Marilyn Evans, Presley's girlfriend in 1956, will in addition feature within the story and is to be played by Francesca Jackson.

Inspired by the actual occasion, that took place upon 4th December 1956 at Sun Records in Memphis, this happy and absorbing musical is a tale of celebrity, friendship, discovery, divided loyalties, professional envy and extraordinary music and songs as 4 of the music industry's most remarkable talents, all in their creative prime, created music collectively for the very first and only time in their particular careers.

The renowned gathering was masterminded by Sun Records' founder Sam Phillips, who found out about all four of the musicians, and ushered Elvis Presley (and his then sweetheart) back to the recording studio which launched him to fame and fortune. As well as Sun Records' fast-rising new superstar Johnny Cash and Carl Perkins, who had been still chasing his next big hit after writing as well as recording Blue Suede Shoes, the 4th person in this particular unplanned 'quartet' was Phillips' latest signing, Jerry Lee Lewis.

MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET features over 20 classic hits from a golden era of music including: Blue Suede Shoes, Folsom Prison Blues, Fever, Memories Are Made Of This, That's All Right, Down Because of the Riverside, Sixteen Tons, (There Will Be) Peace During the Valley, I Walk The Line, I Hear You Knocking, Great Balls Off Fire, Hound Dog, Riders In the Sky, See You Later Alligator and Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On.

Noel Coward Theatre: At first called the New Theatre, then The Albery, The Noel Coward Theatre was constructed by Sir Charles and Mary Wyndham and opened up on 12th March 1903. In 1915 Dion Boucicault introduced a Christmas revival of J M Barrie's Peter Pan, which, because of its level of popularity was repeated each year right up until 1919. It also staged several successful productions by other recognized writers including Somerset Maugham, A A Milne, Nol Coward, Bernard Shaw, Dylan Thomas, T S Eliot and Tennessee Williams. The sixties were dominated by Lionel Bart's Oliver! which ran for 2618 performances.

A host of famous names have made an appearance on-stage at the theatre including Sir John Gielgud, Sybil Thorndike, Sir Laurence Olivier, Peggy Ashcroft and many more. In 1973 the New Theatre was renamed the Albery in tribute to the late Sir Bronson Albery who had presided over its fortunes for quite some time. The Noel Coward Theatre has witnessed productions as varied as Somerset Maugham's The Constant Wife, Children of a Lesser God by Mark Medoff, Tom Stoppard's Travesties and Willy Russell's Blood Brothers. During 2011 Million Dollar Quartet will be on the stage.




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