On December 4, 1956, Sam Phillips hosted a jam session in his Sun Records recording studios featuring four stars of the early rock and roll genre. All four had hits with Sun Records: Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash, and of course, Elvis Presley. There are a number of recordings available that document the songs they performed that day including a bit of studio banter but they don’t tell the whole story.
Playwrights Colin Escott and Floyd Mutrux further imagine events of the day in their musical, Million Dollar Quartet. And they weave a very dramatic story around twenty two hits from these four artists. And they go beyond just banter in a studio during a jam session to also flesh out a story that gives us the history of Sun Records and Sam Phillips and some of the dynamics of the burgeoning recording industry in post-war America.
Before I get further into the performances, I want to compliment Daniel Conway on the truly amazing set design he developed for the Sun recording studio. It seems to hit all of the notes that we see from period photos of recording studios while feeling open and friendly to the audience experience and certainly gives the performers the space needed to rock on!
And I have a question for director Laura Braza: how do you prepare to cast a play like this when the four main characters are well known and well loved personalities with clear and discernible traits and performing styles? I was a but dubious at first but once Million Dollar Quartet got underway, those doubts were erased. Braza has assembled an incredible ensemble here who get the story and the history and they music!
Although not an actual member of the quartet, Sun Records owner, Sam Phillips is a principle character here. Seth K Hale is a dynamic and enthusiastic Sam Phillips. Hale’s Phillips is not only fully invested in the music, he is fully committed to his boys and Sun Records, and Hale clearly plays to that role. But he also has to switch up a bit as Escott and Mutrux have given him a second role: Phillips also speaks directly to the audience at times, separate from the interactions on stage, giving us the history of Sun Records, his relationship to the artists, and his plans for the future…and a bit of back fill and back story so we too are in the know. He’s the glue that pulls the overall story together.
Blake Burgess is Johnny Cash. Tall and somber at times as the man in black, he also knows how to have a good times with his friends. Burgess throws himself into the songs and hits some low notes that I am not sure even Cash managed on stage. But Burgess is a sure presence here!
Carl Perkins is played by Armando Gutierrez with a ton of vigor and exudes Perkins enthusiasm for his own music. And Gutierrez’s singing and guitar playing are so so suited to the genre. But Perkins can be a little direct and aggressive in protecting his own music, taking a dim view of Phillips introduction of Jerry Lee on piano for the sessions for a new Perkins single. And he clearly takes umbrage at both Phillips and particularly Elvis for recording Blue Suede Shoes, a song Perkins wrote, immediately after his own release of the song. Of course Elvis had a bigger hit with it (which should have put songwriter royalties in his pocket but maybe not given the era). But Gutierrez can bring that feisty to bear here too, befitting that subplot in the story.
And Jerry Lee Lewis! The flamboyant, over the top, piano player and singer! How do you bring that to life? Well Braza found her man in JP Coletta…who can play any style from the gospel tunes to country licks to straight ahead rock and roll…standing up, sitting down, standing on the piano, reaching over the piano backward, and all without missing a beat or a lyric. But he’s always his own best front man and promoter and ends up being the subject of a few very funny and very clever jokes. But really, Coletta is a consummate piano player and feels Jerry Lee to his very core.
And here’s Elvis! Elvis is probably a hard role given that the whole world saw him on television and movies throughout his career. But Joe Hebel gives us the young and rebellious and yet a bit unsure star performer here. Never missing a vocal hiccup or physical tic or any other familiar bits and pieces of the Presley swagger, almost to the point of parody, and I think in 2025 that is the point. But Hebel brings it all to life.
And then there’s Dyanne, a singer in her own right that tags along as Elvis’ girlfriend. Although not part of the quartet they all encourage her to join in and Aja Alcazar’s Dyanne does with a flawless voice and amazing range. Alcazar gives us a Dyanne that holds her own here with the boys and proves to be a star on her own. And she played off of Jerry Lee’s advances just right!
There are 22 songs here. Not the ones actually recorded that day which were often gospel or country standards that all of the artists knew. Instead Escott and Mutrux gave us a tapestry of hit songs from each artist and other hits of the period that they may have covered or admired at the time. So beyond the great solo personalities, the feeling of camaraderie and ensemble prevails for most of the songs. No small task to present a memorable performer set in everyone’s memory but then to stay in character while performing in ensemble is a real accomplishment. And this cast pulls that off in a resounding fashion.
This is a remarkable musical written around a number of dramatic events (some that happened but probably not as shown) with songs that live on in our culture and just when you think the play and drama has resolved and you prepare to clap…a rock concert breaks out. What a rousing toe tapping finale! This is the last new show of the season and the Rep left us with a whole lotta shakin’ goin’ on.
The Milwaukee Rep presents Million Dollar Quartet at the Wilson Theater at Vogel Hall at the Marcus Performing Arts Center now through May 24, 2025. It runs about two hours without intermission…and you won’t miss that intermission with the music going down, trust me. And listen to the band!
Cast Change Note: Blake Burgess continues as Johnny Cash through May 11th, but Trevor Lindley Craft assumes the role after that.
