Chicago Tribune - Highly Recommended
"...So how does it stack up in a big proscenium house like Aurora's Paramount Theatre? Judging by the whole lotta shakin' that went on Saturday night? Just fine, thanks. Director Jim Corti's production raises the rafters, but also knows when to pull back and let some of the quieter interactions between the big names and soon-to-be-stars nurtured by producer/impresario Sam Phillips have their unvarnished and unguarded moments."
Chicago Sun Times - Highly Recommended
"..."Million Dollar Quartet," the virtuosic jukebox musical with a book by Colin Escott (who conceived the show) and Floyd Mutrux, played in Chicago for more than 2,500 performances between 2008 and 2016, first at the Goodman Theatre, but for most of the time on the intimate Apollo Theatre stage. Now, framed by the Broadway-size proscenium of Aurora's Paramount Theatre, the show not only maintains that intimacy, but simultaneously erupts with the larger-than-life musical electricity and emotional heat its story demands. In fact, the show feels as if it has found its proper scale."
Daily Herald - Highly Recommended
"...Part rock 'n' roll history lesson, part homage to its pioneers -- including visionary producer Sam Phillips -- this jukebox tuner is a fictionalized account of a 1956 jam session at Phillips' Sun Records in Memphis, Tennessee, where the titular quartet -- Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins and Elvis Presley -- briefly came together."
Around The Town Chicago - Highly Recommended
"...It was so loved and highly rated that they immediately found a home in a larger venue, The Apollo, where it remained for years. Now, this "small" show was being offered at the much larger Paramount. How could they pull that off? Tonight, I sat and watched (and marveled at) their production, I realized that once again Jim Corti (the master of musical theater direction) had indeed done it again! He had taken this "small" piece to a greater level from start to end ( I will tell you more about the end later) than all the previous productions that Chicago has seen."
Chicago Theatre Review - Highly Recommended
"...This production marks a prodigious beginning to Paramount's seventh season. Jim Corti's polished production, with his attention to detail, is a musical that, although it began elsewhere, grew and took form in Chicago. Beginning at the Goodman Theatre, back in 2008, it then transferred, due to popular demand, to the Apollo Theatre on Lincoln Avenue, where it broke all attendance records. When it opened on Broadway in 2010 it was nominated for three Tony Awards, winning for Best Featured Actor in a Musical. The show then went on to play Off Broadway the following year, and then began a current-running National Tour. Here is one more tribute to the show's popularity, as well as serving as a hallmark of Paramount's critically acclaimed, audience supported artistry. With such a fine, first-rate show, it portends nothing but greatness for a new season of musicals in the months to follow. As Jerry Lee Lewis and the company remind us, this entertaining evening's filled with a "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On!""
Chicagoland Musical Theatre - Highly Recommended
"...As the first production in Paramount's seventh Broadway season, Million Dollar Quartet thoroughly entertains. It offers a sorely needed "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On" escape from 2017 to a memorable day in 1956. But at its best, it also reminds patrons of the constant need for some soul searching best achieved down by the riverside."
Chicago Theater and Arts - Highly Recommended
"...Go to Paramount Theatre's 'Million Dollar Quartet' if you love Johnny Cash. Go if you appreciate really good boogie piano. Or go if you are interested in the Sam Phillip's Sun Studio's handling of Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins and Jerry Lee Lewis."
