Success may have many fathers, but Sam Phillips was a particularly big daddy in the raising of rock ‘n’ roll. For example, his little Sun Records launched the careers of Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash, and Jerry Lee Lewis.
Million Dollar Quartet memorializes the December 1956 night these seminal figures gathered at 706 Union Avenue in Memphis, Tennessee for a one-time-only jam session, adding fiction for spice and rewriting the song list to give us plenty of the ‘50s hits we associate with the foursome.
One short year ago, Perkins (Will Riddle) was top of the pops with “Blue Suede Shoes”. But it’s slim pickings since then, so he’s come to Sun Studio with his sidemen, bassist Jay (Benny Lipson) and drummer Fluke (Lonn Hayes), to try to churn out another hit. A fly in the ointment is Phillips’s (Adam Poole) latest find, the excitable 20-year-old Lewis (Garrett Forrestal), who’s aiming a lot higher than being a session piano player. After a few songs, Cash (David Elkin Simpson) pops in supposedly to wish Phillips a merry Christmas. And when Presley (LJ Benet) drops by with his girlfriend (Summer Nicole Greer) in hope of getting Phillips to come work with him at RCA, where’s he’s having success but not a lot of fun, the gang’s all here.
In addition to songs — there are always songs, wall-to-wall songs — Act One gives us four little flashbacks of how our stars came into Phillips’s life, while Act Two provides resolution to the pre-intermission cliffhanger (such as it is) regarding what will happen when Phillips learns that Cash is leaving Sun for Columbia Records.
As far as story goes, that’s pretty much it. But you don’t come to this for story: you come to see these icons do their thing, which happens only if the casting is right. It sure is here. With his deep bass voice, Simpson makes an especially convincing Man in Black (he’s even the tallest of the bunch, just like Cash was). Forrestal is a properly rambunctious Jerry Lee, and his sparring with Riddle is the source of most of Million Dollar Quartet’s (admittedly few and far between) yuks. And Benet evokes the young King without stooping to caricature.
Million Dollar Quartet is the rare musical where the musicians are on stage — and rarer still because the actors are the musicians. Lipson and Hayes underpin the proceedings with steady flair, Forrestal bangs away with great balls of fire, and Riddle’s guitar wins with both chunky rhythm and tasteful atmosphere.
As excellent as everyone’s solo vocals are, there’s an extra tingle when their voices blend together. We hear a hint of that in the simple harmony between Riddle and Forrestal during the refrains of “Who Do You Love?” Then comes the delight that is “Down by the Riverside” — only to be topped when the foursome is joined by Greer by “Peace in the Valley”.
Curiously, it’s a Greer solo number, “Fever”, that’s the most unexpected treat. Why this (fantastic) song is in Million Dollar Quartet I’ll never know, but musical director David Lamoureux’s simple yet stellar arrangement — delivered with true rapport by the band — send this one into the stratosphere.
There’s not much that director Tim Seib and company don’t get right. Those in the know will note the absence of Perkins’s adorable signature dance steps and that his guitar is too distorted for the era. But the choice to jazz up the foursome’s costumes from what they wear in the famous 1956 photo is spot-on. Two hours of Johnny Cash in a white shirt and light-colored jacket just wouldn’t be the same.
Although there’s not much to Million Dollar Quartet, anyone buying a ticket based on the premise should come away satisfied.
Million Dollar Quartet at Musical Theatre West
Times: Fri 8pm, Sat 2pm & 8pm, Sun 1pm, plus Apr 18 7:30pm & Apr 21 6pm
The show runs through April 28.
Cost: $20–$125
Details: (562) 856-1999, musical.org
Venue: Carpenter Performing Arts Center (6200 W. Atherton, Long Beach)