Chicago Tribune - Recommended
"...For anyone who cares about the provision of live and classy nights out on Michigan Avenue, “Personality: The Lloyd Price Musical” is a very positive development this summer. Not only do theatergoers have a chance to see the gorgeously restored Studebaker Theater — an architectural gem transformed from how it looked even a year or so ago — but they get excellent singing, strikingly innovative choreography (in the first act, at least), craftful direction from Sheldon Epps and an intriguing and entertaining story of one of the American music business’s biggest talents and least sung heroes."
Chicago Sun Times - Highly Recommended
"...“Personality: The Lloyd Price Musical,” the remarkable new production based on Price’s life and now playing at the Studebaker Theater, shines a bright spotlight on the multifaceted entertainer. He lived a fascinating life and he had a gift for writing amazing, memorable tunes."
Chicago Reader - Highly Recommended
"...There’s a love story at the heart of Personality, but it’s not the one we might expect. (The depiction of Price’s first wife, Emma, played by Alexandria Reese, paints her as a scheming troubled gold digger, though we definitely learn that Price wasn’t lonely on the road, either.) The strongest element of the book is the friendship between Price and his manager/partner, Harold Logan (Stanley Wayne Mathis), who cowrote “Personality” and ran a club with Price, the Turntable, in the New York theater district in the spot formerly occupied by legendary Birdland."
Let's Play Theatrical Reviews - Highly Recommended
"...Lloyd Price's songs were recorded by Elvis, Aretha, Little Richard, Bruce Springsteen, Paul McCartney, Amy Winehouse, and more. He became the first Black man to open a nightclub in Harlem, New York City, and the first recording artist of any color to create his record label and Inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1998. This two-act performance featuring hits songs like Stagger Lee, Personality, Tutti Frutti, and Lawdy Miss Clawdy, which runs 2 hours, plus one 15-minute intermission, is a great night out for the 50's heartthrob to show the new kids on the block how it's done when it comes to great entertainment. It's a magical performance that the young and old will enjoy."
Around The Town Chicago - Highly Recommended
"...The Studebaker Theater at the Fine Arts Building is alive and well and filled with energy. The venue has been restored and after the last musical, took some time to find the right play for this comfy theater. The show is a biography celebrating the life and career of Lloyd Price. There are many music lovers who danced to his music and loved what he brought to the table, and yet, don't know his name. Songs like "Tutti Frutti", "Stagger Lee", "Lawdy Miss Clawdy". his signature song, "Personality" ( which is also the name of the play), and a host of others."
Chicagoland Musical Theatre - Somewhat Recommended
"...But as is currently, Price's story is told in bullet points as well as the bullets of a record chart. (In addition to his own songs, Personality also features visits from Sister Rosetta Tharpe and Little Richard.) It takes a lot of work to get Price's songs, twelve-bar honkers meant to get people up and dancing, to drive the story forward in the manner of the best jukebox musicals. "I'm Gonna Get Married" comes the closest to achieving a tangy spiked synthesis: put at the front of the line for the Korean War draft by a racist senator, Price and his management figure his marrying someone might spare him. Likewise, the "Mailman Blues", which closes out the first act with the full reality of that war."
MaraTapp.org - Highly Recommended
"...The beauty of Personality: The Lloyd Price Musical is that it tells these stories with passion, excellent acting, snappy dancing and, of course, fabulous singing. Saint Aubyn gives us an engaging Lloyd Price full of affable charm but far from blind to the limitations his race imposes. Darian Peer is a sweet and naïve youthful Price, the country boy with a big and beautiful voice. Stanley Wayne Mathis is solid as Price’s long-time partner, loyal friend and protector who has a bit too much going on on the side but comes across as valorous nonetheless. Miles Boone delivers the perfect-over-the-top Little Richard with his rendition of “Tutti Frutii” that surely has Little Richard rockin n’ rollin in his grave."
Splash Magazine - Highly Recommended
"...Personality, Stagger Lee, Lawdy Miss Clawdy, these are the unforgettable, popular songs you love and know. Now you can become familiar with Mr. Personality, Lloyd Price's sobriquet. He was a national hit maker and the 1998 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, you do not know. Price had an amazing, prolific career. His start was equally astonishing. He was the first teenager to sell over a million records and earn a Gold Record in 1952 with his initial recording Lawdy Miss Clawdy."
NewCity Chicago - Highly Recommended
"...It’s been two days and I can’t get this song out of my head! In fact, all the songs from “Personality: The Lloyd Price Musical” playing at the Studebaker Theater are on a constant mental playlist. Tunes like “Personality,” “Stagger Lee,” “Lawdy Miss Clawdy” and “Mailman Blues” get a new lease on life thanks to the more-than-capable vocal talents in this production."
