By Lauren McAfee
Million Dollar Quartet is a performance based off of an impromptu jam session that occurred in Sun Record Studio in Memphis, Tennessee on December 4, 1956 with Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, and Jerry Lee Lewis. The story begins with Sam Phillips (John Gardner*), owner of Sun Record Studios, assisting Carl Perkins (Colin Summers*) and his brother, Jay (Daniel Bailey*) and Fluke (David Sonneborn*) record material for a new album. In an effort to help Perkins regain traction in the music industry, Phillips brings in his newest artist in the company, Jerry Lee Lewis (Gabe Aronson*), to play the piano. After a few moments of not-so-friendly bantering between Perkins and Lewis, Johnny Cash (Benjamin D Hale*) walks in to talk Phillips out the pending extension of Cash’s contract with Sun Record Studios.
This discussion is interrupted however, when Perkins and Lewis rope Cash into their discussion, leading to a song performed by Cash. Shortly after this performance, Elvis Presley (Kavan Hashemain*) walks into the studio with his current girlfriend Dyanne (Kylie Rae*) to catch up with Phillips, having left Sun Record Studios to join RCA in 1955.
I was unfamiliar with the actual event Million Dollar Quartet is based off of, as well most of the artists. My ignorance, however, did not become a barrier to my enjoyment of this fun show at the Tuacahn. After each artist made their first entrance, Phillips turns to the audience to give a short background of his acquaintance with each performer, which is accompanied by a short reenactment of the moment while the rest of the characters freeze.
This short background in addition to the quick dialogue between performances did not lack in providing vital information and insight to each character and their specific situation at that moment in time Although Presley was at the top of his success and fame, , he wished for the simpler times at the beginning of his career when his every move and moment isn’t dictated by the Colonel at RCA. Cash is constantly striving to find a way to perform gospel music and praise his God, while Perkins is still bitter over Presley’s cover of his best hit “Blue Suede Shoes” on the Ed Sullivan Show while Perkins was recovering from a car accident. Finally, there was Lewis, a youngster with high hopes, a wild personality, and a cocky attitude about his pending career taking off with his upcoming single.
This performance was not in the Tuacahn Amphitheatre, but rather in the indoor Hafen Theatre located in the Tuacahn High School for Performing Arts, a public charter school located on the same campus as the amphitheater. This venue allows the musical to be performed both in the evening and early afternoon, thus allowing patrons to see both this performance and one of the three summer musicals Tuacahn offers in the same day. As the venue is much smaller than the amphitheater, it creates an intimate atmosphere thereby allowing the audience to become a part of the event and situation.
The cast, although small, is filled with experienced performers who each have a very strong resume of performances all across the country as well as fantastic musical abilities. Aronson, who plays Lewis, is exceptionally amazing with the piano, jumping up and down, twirling in circles without missing a beat, as well using his feet and arms in perfect harmony to any song. Bailey, although a minor character as brother Jay, shines with his many displays of how to stand on a cello while still playing the notes correctly. Many of the leads have performed this musical with their specific character multiple times giving it a truly intimate experience, including Hashemain, who has been performing tributes to Elvis Presley since the age of three.
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John Gardiner as Sam Phillips
Million Dollar Quartet is not a performance to miss during its month stay at the Tuacahn, although it should be noted there are subtle sexual references throughout. It is filled with best-selling rock and roll performances including “Great Balls of Fire,” and “Hound Dog,” as well as the characters’ religious favorites such as “Peace in the Valley,” and “Down by the Riverside.” Put on your blue suede shoes and come to the Tuacahn so you can experience what it would have been like to see the greats of Rock and Roll’s yesteryear.
The Tuacahn Center for the Arts presents Million Dollar Quartet by Floyd Mutrux.
The Tuacahn Center for the Arts, Hafen Theatre, 1100 Tuacahn Dr. Ivins, UT 84738
July 6 – August 11, 2018 Times vary
Tickets: $29-$59
Contact: 800-746-9882
Tuacahn Center for the Arts Facebook Page
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