Musicals Week: 1

Went to see Million Dollar Quartet in the West End last night. This was a remote bonding experience between my oldest son and my dad. As a younger man, I might've turned my nose up at this sort of entertainment and held out for some art, but hey, one of the joys of having children is the ability to put cynicism or criticism aside and enjoy even simple entertainments with and through them. So eldest son and I clapped our hands, stomped our feet, grinned a lot and generally had a great time. Inspired by an actual studio meet-up in 1956 between Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash, and Jerry Lee Lewis, the show is the jam session they should've had but didn't. The actual session has a couple fleeting special moments but overall the thought of the meeting's potential vastly exceeds the reality of the recording. The show happily is unfettered by historical accuracy and gives the audience what we want: lots of music, well played, and just enough narrative to provide a bit of context and structure. The boys can really play, and did a great job. The tunes were pounded out with joy and gusto and no small amount of panache, the characters played with farmloads of affection. And as much as the rockin' tunes jumped, the gospel tune "Down By The Riverside" was an unexpected and shockingly beautiful delight -- straight to the heart, that one.