A funny thing happened on the way to the Hobby. I went to see a musical and a concert broke out.
If you’re a fan of old-time rock ‘n’ roll, you probably know all about the famous December 4, 1956, jam session at the now-legendary recording studio Sun Records in Memphis, Tennessee. Owned and run by the equally legendary Sam Phillips (Bart Shatto), a hustler supreme and eagle-eyed spotter of nascent talent, this former radio DJ discovered Elvis Presley (Daniel Durston), Carl Perkins (Sam Sherwood), Johnny Cash (Sky Seals), Jerry Lee Lewis (Nat Zegree) and a slew of other recording artists whose “new” music immediately captured young listeners and catapulted rock ‘n’ roll into music history. Phillips invented the genre.
However, as his impressive roster morphed under his tutelage into household names, one by one, his singers left for far more lucrative horizons at larger houses like RCA and Columbia, where the record distribution was epic compared to Phillips’ smaller output. He could no longer compete with the mega labels. Under mounting gambling debts and various copyright lawsuits, he shuttered Sun in 1969.
Colin Escott and Floyd Mutrux’s The Million Dollar Quartet is an homage to that fabled one-time-only session with Presley, Cash, Perkins and Lewis. There’s not much of a story line, but what a concert! Gals, wear a poodle skirt and tie your hair into a ponytail. Guys, peg your dungarees and Brylcreem your pompadour. Time travel back to the ‘50s. It’s a Top Forty hit-a-rama at the Hobby. The nostalgia is infectious.
Jealousy and petty squabbles between the guys are the main plot points, while Cash and Perkins conceal their new contracts with Columbia. How can they tell their beloved but harsh mentor they’re about to stab him in the back? Already a star waiting to become a supernova, Presley stops by with his new girlfriend Dyanne (Margaret Dudasik) to say hello and perhaps wheedle Phillips into joining RCA as his guide and ear. Piano phenom Lewis is the newbie in the studio, a constant butt of jokes until his hands tickle the ivories. The sound he produces blasts the guys away – sexy, tempestuous, gritty, maybe a little sinful. He ups the level to 11.
As does Zegree in a performance that would continually stop the show if it let him. Looking like Harpo Marx on meth, his Jerry Lee Lewis twitches, fidgets, bounces his feet, drums his fingers, and, if possible, rivals the astonishing Lewis. What a fantastic musician, playing runs with the sweep of his hand, or his butt, or his feet. He plays upside down, reclining on the piano bench, or at one point – blindfolded. He holds the mic stand between his legs and pounds the keys around it.
A consummate musician, Zegree is also the show’s music director, discreetly leading the two-man band (Isaac Foley on bass, Kieran McCabe on drums) and his fellow performer/musicians who play their own instruments. The casting for this production must have been a nightmare. Not only do the actors have to reasonably resemble these icons, but they must sing and play like them, too. The producers have worked wonders.
Zegree is a wizard on keyboard, Sherwood picks guitar with fiery abandon, Seals has Cash’s chasm-deep bass, and Durston possesses feline grace and limberness. Durston’s Presley would make more of an impression if his makeup were better. He has the waxy look of Madame Tussaud about him, glossy and sleek like an alien. They all sing impressively, but their musicianship is even better. Although Presley’s girlfriend did attend the session, she never joined in the quartet. Dudasik is there for eye candy for her smoldering rendition of Peggy Lee’s “Fever.” She harmonizes on the other vocals and stays mostly in the background.
As a cover band for these musical titans, Quartet is a good approximation, and their avatars are first-rate. There are 22 numbers to clap and sway to: classics like “Blue Suede Shoes,” “Who Do You Love,” “Folsom Prison Blues,” “That’s All Right,” “I Walk the Line,” “Long Tall Sally,” “Great Balls of Fire,” “Hound Dog” “and Ghost Riders.” The show doesn’t have the finesse of Jersey Boys in melding songs with story, but it’s a mighty fine concert. The concession stand should sell malteds.
Million Dollar Quartet continues through March 1 at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday; 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at Theatre Under the Stars at the Hobby Center, 800 Bagby. For more information, call 713-558-8887 or visit tuts.org. $67-$175.