Ben Goddard, Derek Hagen, Robert Britton Lyons and Michael Malarkey are to play a slightly better known foursome when they take on the roles of Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins and Elvis Presley in the musical Million Dollar Quartet next month.
The new musical, which comes to London’s Noël Coward theatre following a run on Broadway, is inspired by the real-life event in which these four giants of rock ‘n’ roll came together for an impromptu jam session at Sun Records in Memphis in 1956.
Though open auditions were held to cast the roles of the four famous musicians, none of the principals are complete newcomers. Goddard (Lewis) was seen in Craig Revel Horwood’s chamber revival of Sunset Boulevard, which won a Laurence Olivier Award for its run at the Comedy theatre; Hagen (Cash) has appeared in Rupert Goold’s award-winning Enron and the West End musicals Gone With The Wind and Carousel; and Malarkey (Presley) appeared in Beyond The Horizon and Spring Storm at the National Theatre last year. Though new to the London stage, American actor Britton Lyons created the role of Carl Perkins in Million Dollar Quartet on Broadway.
The four leads join the already announced Bill Ward, who plays music producer Sam Phillips, the man who brought the foursome together. Former I’d Do Anything finalist Francesca Jackson joins the cast as Dyanne.
The musical features some of the greatest rock ‘n’ roll tunes ever written, including Blue Suede Shoes, I Walk The Line, Great Balls Of Fire and Hound Dog.
Million Dollar Quartet opens at the Noël Coward theatre on 28 February after previews from 8 February.
CB