Million Dollar Quartet
Great Balls of Fire! Here's a hit! A palpable hit!
Million Dollar Quartet
As electrifying as holding your finger in a light socket!
Time Out Chicago
Million Dollar Quartet
Great Balls of Fire! Here's a hit! A palpable hit!
Why see Million Dollar Quartet?
OFFICIALLY CHICAGO'S LONGEST-RUNNING MUSICAL!
Featuring an incredibly talented cast who all play and sing their instruments live, this musical, that has been dazzling Chicago audience ever since it opened in 2008 gives you the chance to witness the birth of the greatest rock 'n' roll band that never was.
WHAT IS IT ABOUT?
On a cold and wet December night in 1956, four young musicians gathered at Sun Records in Memphis for what would be one of the greatest recording sessions ever. You may have heard of them - Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins and Jerry Lee Lewis, between them making up the eponymous "million dollar quartet". Not an easy feat back in the Fifties!
This impromptu jam session would become the basis of musical legend, with four icons of the rock 'n' roll era together singing and recording in one room for the first and only time.
Fortunately for the rest of us, a quick-thinking sound engineer who was working at the time was smart enough to press 'record' for posterity. And thanks to this man, we have the chance to experience the goings-on in that studio, albeit half a century later!
MDQ brings that legendary night to life, featuring a score of rock hits including Blue Suede Shoes, Fever, That's All Right, Sixteen Tons, Great Balls of Fire, Walk the Line, Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On, Who Do You Love?, Matchbox, Folsom Prison Blues, Hound Dog and many, many more. If you're a fan of the Golden Age of Rock, this is one musical you simply cannot miss.
Key Information
Audience
Recommended age for children is 8 years and up. Everyone is required to have a ticket. Children under four years of age will not be admitted into the venue.
Run Time
One hour 40 mins with no intermission
Dates
Finished Jan 27, 2016
Cast
Lance Lipinsky as Jerry Lee Lewis
Shaun Whitley as Carl Perkins
Adam Lee as Johnny Cash
Brandon Bennett as Elvis Presley
Marty Kondziolka as Fluke
Marc Edelestein as Jay Perkins, Bassist
Andy Ahrens as Sam Phillips
Kelly Lamont as Dyanne
John Countryman as Understudy Jerry Lee Lewis
Kurt Jenkins as Understudy Carl Perkins/Elvis Presley
Travis Williams as Understudy Johnny Cash/Sam Phillips
Sarah Bockel as Understudy Dyanne
Creative
Book by Colin Escott and Floyd Mutrux
Music Direction and Arrangements by Chuck Mead
Directed by Eric Schaeffer and Floyd Mutrux
Reviews
Customer reviews
3 reviews, average rating: (5.0 Stars)
Annette
Could not stop smiling!!!
My husband and I saw the show last night, and we and the
friends we were with all loved it. The music was amazing, the
humor was spot on and the acting superb. The intimacy of the
theatre made you feel like you were right there with them. All
the characters were incredible musicians and actors. "Jerry
Lee Lewis" kept us laughing the whole time, and his piano
playing just blew us away. Thank you to the whole cast for a
great evening!! We highly recommend the show and are
talking about seeing it again. ... Read more
Yvonne P
Thee Million Dollar Quartet
“One man bought Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins and Elvis Presley to play together for the first and only time; his name was Sam Phillips. The place was Sun Records and that night they made rock n roll history. These four men became The Million Dollar Quartet by chance on December 4, 1956, making rock n roll revolutionary”. This was the introduction to a theatrical musical that brought to life an iconic tale of four great musicians renowned to the rock n roll industry.
The quartet sporadically strolls into Sun Records, the studio where all of their music careers started under the eyes of Sam Phillips (Sean Fortunato) who made them all musical legends. This random visit turned into an impromptu jam session that involved Johnny Cash (Tommy Malouf), Jerry Lee Lewis (Michael Kurowski), Carl Perkins (Zachary Stevenson) and Elvis Presley (Zach Sorrow). Who would have ever imagined that a jam session would make them historical millionaires?
The Million Dollar Quartet is centered around Sam Phillips, who is narrating the story from his perspective, and the debuts of the quartet. According to Sam Phillips, Carl Perkins put Sun Records on the map with his hit single, Blue Suede Shoes. Carl Perkins knew his position to the company and felt arrogant, but he was the star looking for a new hit single while seeking a new contract with another record label. Jerry Lee Lewis, new to the company, tries to become a star with his pianist talents. Johnny Cash, who had hit records on the country charts, was not resigning his contract at Sun Records and going to Columbia. Elvis Presley, the star of the session, stopping by paying a casual visit with no intent to return to the record label while being accompanied by his girlfriend.
The Million Dollar Quartet was re-enacted in a theatrical musical at the Theatre at the Center in Munster, Indiana and I was able to witness greatness on March 22, 2019. The stage was well put together like a studio with pictures on the wall, five gold records hanging on the wall and a sign that said, “QUIET ON AIR RECORDING”. The stage set up gave me a visual that I had seen in movies like The Temptations and Cadillac Records. The lighting was utilized very well when they had to dim lights to focus on the narrator when he spoke or when they wanted to focus on all actors.
The production was informative about how each artist started their musical interest and family, but not too much about their life outside of the studio. Although, we know the role and impact each artist played within Sun Records, they also had a strong impact on a very diverse audience. Going into the theatre blind-sided didn’t leave me confused at all, I understood the play. I’d only heard of Elvis Presley growing up but the actors brought their characters to life so well that I knew them all by the end of the production.
The audience was able to see the life of the artists within the studio with making songs, disagreements, celebrations and sadly departures of some moving on to different record labels. The production also had performer-audience interactions, which sparked a connection between both.
Jerry Lee Lewis, the life of the party; historically known as rock-n-roll first great wild man kept everyone shaking. All the actors spoke to the crowd throughout the show, but Jerry Lee Lewis edged everyone out of their seats. The crowd was singing and shaking to his hit “Whole Lotta Shakin Going On”. The crowd was live and the theater was full, so to turn around seeing everyone up shaking was nothing short of amazing. I knew at that very moment, JOB WELL DONE!
The following day of seeing the show, I researched The Million Dollar Quartet finding that most of the story to be accurate except for Miss Dyanne (Aeriel Williams). Miss Dyanne was the girlfriend that accompanied Elvis Presley that night in the studio. She was a beauty with a powerful voice that Jerry Lee Lewis couldn’t resist. In the brochure the theatre gave to all guest, it was believed that her real name was Marilyn Evans and she was a dancer. Following my own research, it was said that Miss Marilyn Evans was a mystery figure. Some believed that Marilyn Evans was not her name and many did not remember a dancer by that name. Some say she never existed until the famous picture from the night of December 4, 1956, in the studio of Sun Records shows her sitting atop of the piano.
That famous picture of The Million Dollar Quartet including Dyanne is how the show ended, my favorite scene of the production. Sam Phillips is taking the picture and when the light from the camera flashes from white to blue, the actors sit in mannequin style while narration continues. That particular picture is the representation of Sun Records and its very own, Million Dollar Quartet on December 4th of 1956. And if pictures are worth a thousand words, this production is worth more than just a standing ovation. ... Read more
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