Soul: The Stax Musical stars David LaMarr, Trevon Davis, Boise Holmes and Kyle Bary. (Photo: Bill Geenen)

“How can the scrappy founders afford to get started? Can they avoid getting ripped off by the big record companies?” Those are the questions asked by The Washington Post theater critic Nelson Pressley in reviewing Soul: The Stax Musical. The Baltimore Center Stage production, which runs through June 10, was directed by erstwhile artistic director Kwame Kwei-Armah, who in September was named artistic director of London’s Young Vic Theater.

“The music sounds right. The horns are tight. The rhythm section is solid. The singers are capable, and a notable presence in the cast as Wilson Pickett (‘In the Midnight Hour’) and Johnnie Taylor (‘Who’s Making Love’) is the real Taylor’s son, Jon Harrison Taylor,” Pressley writes.

Soul: The Stax Musical: Book by Matthew Benjamin. Directed by Kwame Kwei-Armah. Choreography, Chase Brock; music supervision and musical director, Rahn Coleman; scenic and co-projection designer, David Gallo; costumes, Dede Ayite; lights, Mike Baldassari; co-projection designer, Alex Basco Koch; sound design, Shane Rettig and Charles Coes. Baltimore Center Stage, 700 N. Calvert St., Baltimore. $20-$79. 410-332-0033 or centerstage.org.