MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET means whole lotta shakin goin’ on at Rep
– By Cate Marquis –
The Repertory Theater of St. Louis closes out its 50th season in the Main Stage with the musical MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET, from March 15 to April 9. This rock and roll musical is built around a real life musical event, when chance gathered Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins and Jerry Lee Lewis for a jam session at Sun Studios in Memphis, where they all had started their recording career.
Producer Sam Phillips dubs the gathering of his four biggest musical discoveries the “million dollar quartet” when they meet at his Sun Studios. MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET, with book by Colin Escott and Floyd Mutrux, and music by these rock legends, has played the Fox Theater here a couple of times previously but the Rep production is a special treat. The wrap-around nature of the Rep’s Main Stage space, and the smaller venue make this production, which is really a tribute concert much more intimate and enjoyable. Hunter Foster directs the Rep production, which stars Ari McKay Wilford as Elvis Presley, Sky Seals as Johnny Cash, John Michael Presney as Carl Perkins and Dominique Scott as Jerry Lee Lewis. James Ludwig plays Sun Records founder/producer Sam Philips. Rounding out the cast are Ryah Nixon as Elvis’ singer girlfriend Dyanne, and Eric Scott Anthony on bass and Zach Cossman on drums as session musicians.
One does not have to be an Elvis fan, or even a fan of any of these music legends, to enjoy this show. The musical performances are high-energy and completely irresistible, and the slice of Americana story is both fascinating and deliciously entertaining. The story has drama and comedy in equal measure but mostly it is packed with terrific musical performances.
Sun Records founder and producer Sam Phillips is desperately trying to keep his little record label in business, while bigger labels are steal away the musicians he discovered. He lost his first big discovery, Elvis Presley, to a major New York label, but he is hoping to hang on to his current hit maker, Johnny Cash, whose contract is up for renewal. Phillips knows Elvis is coming by for a visit, but keeps mum on that. The producer has told Cash to come to the studio during a recording session for guitar legend Carl Perkins, who is hoping to jump start his sagging recording career. To help with that, Phillips’ has asked his newest find, young wild-man pianist Jerry Lee Lewis, to play back-up. At the same time, Phillips is also hoping Elvis’ visit will encourage Cash to re-sign with Sun Records, and has planned a little party around his signing the new contract. Cash, however, has other plans.
Elvis shows up with singer/girlfriend Dyanne, and with Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, and Jerry Lee Lewis, plus two session musicians, in the house, the place is rocking in no time.
This show is more a concert tied together by a little plot than a traditional musical. The story line follows the events of the evening but mostly it serves to educate the audience about who these musicians were. Each music legend gets his moment to shine and tell his story. While Chuck Berry created rock and roll by combining blues and country music, and early African American black rockers often came out of blues music traditions, these white rockers came out of gospel and country music. The tunes performed are rock classics but the themes run to those country music and gospel roots.
Most of the musical’s focus is on the rockin’ music itself, with hits from all four stars performed with style and high-level skill. Wilford does a passable Elvis impersonation and Seals captures some of Cash’s stage appeal as well. Presney as Carl Perkins is a man on fire playing guitar.
Elvis may have been the biggest star when this real meet-up took place but Dominique Scott as Jerry Lee Lewis is the musical star of this show. In the story line, Scott’s Jerry Lee plays the comic relief, a clownish backwoods character who is amazed at indoor plumbing and someone who might marry his teen-aged cousin (which Jerry Lee Lewis really did do), but also a supremely gifted musician and showman burning with ambition. Scott added laughs as he swings between fire-and-brimstone preaching and indulging his roving eye for the ladies, but when the play moves into its concert phases, he really shines. Scott tears up the piano and electrifies the audience with his top-notch playing, and jaws were dropped at his skill while playing backwards or upside down. With his mix of antics and sheer musical talent, he dominated the stage during musical performances.
Ryah Nixon as Elvis’ girlfriend Dyanne is a terrific addition, belting out number with a bluesy energy and adding a much-appreciated female voice. Drummer Zach Cossman and bassist Eric Scott Anthony add musical back-up to the guitar and piano leads, as well as some comic moments as Carl Perkins’ brother and friend.
As always, the Rep’s creative sets add greatly to the show. A pair of brick walls coming together as the corner of the building housing Sun Studios serves as the set for the introduction by showman…. But then the slides back to either side of the stage, revealing a concert stage within the interior of the tow-level studio. It is a most impressive, ingenious “curtain parting.”
The high-energy, highly- entertaining MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET is a must-see for every rock music fan, even if one is not an Elvis fan.
© Cate Marquis
