KAYTRANADA’S BIG WEEK BIG-TIME PAY OFF
Musician takes Polaris, drops album Globe Theatre hits the jackpot with Million Dollar Quartet
If Thursday night’s performance is any indication, the Million Dollar Quartet is vastly undervalued.
The musical opened Globe Theatre’s 2016-17 mainstage season with a bang, delivering a production that was incredibly entertaining from the opening notes until the final curtain.
Written by Colin Escott and Floyd Mutrux, the production recounts the true story of a night in 1956 when Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash and Elvis Presley ended up at Sun Records in Memphis, Tenn., with producer Sam Phillips.
Perkins, Presley and Cash were bona fide stars in the new world of rock and roll while Lewis the newcomer to the label. On that particular night — Dec. 4, 1956 — all four men showed up for what was originally a recording session for Perkins.
And while they spent the evening filling the former auto-parts store with music, each of them had distractions on their minds. Perkins, in the words of Lewis, was “a has-been looking for a hit” while Perkins considered Lewis nothing more than “a hayseed from Louisiana.”
Presley, who had moved on to RCA and was filming movies in Hollywood, yearned to have Phillips join him at his new label. And Cash, who was drawn to his spiritual roots, was also looking to move on.
So to say the story had a lot going on would be an understatement. Yet it’s the personal stories that gives the production its soul and gives people a reason to pay attention.
Of course it doesn’t hurt to have an impressive catalogue of hits to intermingle with the story. The production includes everything from Blue Suede Shoes to Folsom Prison Blues to Great Balls of Fire to Hound Dog.
Played before a packed house, what really put the production over the top was the superb cast. Armed with a great story and fantastic music, the cast used its remarkable talents to make it a night to remember. The versatility of each of the actors was extraordinary — in addition to acting, they were also responsible for the music. The production probably would’ve have been OK using canned music but the live music is what put it over the top.
The cast is comprised of Kevin Aichele (Cash), George Krissa (Presley), Elliott Loran (Lewis), Scott Perrie (Perkins), Clinton Walker (Phillips), Christopher A.D. Berti (Brother Jay Perkins), Lindsay Croxall (Dyanne) and Mike Thompson (Fluke).
Aichele, Krissa and Perrie were amazing. Each did yeoman service on the guitar and their vocals were outstanding. It was Loran, however, who stole the show with his phenomenal portrayal of Lewis. Of course it didn’t hurt that Loran was playing a man known for being outrageous and flamboyant but he took the character and ran with it. When he was on the stage, it was difficult to take your eyes off him and his piano playing was simply insane.
Croxall, who was playing Presley’s girlfriend, also made a significant contribution to the production with her sultry vocals. And of course Berti (bass) and Thompson (drums) were a vital part of the musical engine that drove the production.
And as for Walker, he brought Phillips’ dreams, fears and aspirations to life with a wonderful performance.
Rehearsal for the production began on July 18 with the musical playing a two-week run in Saskatoon in early August while also making stops in North Battleford, Swift Current and Weyburn later in the month. It was then back to Regina to prepare for the run at Globe Theatre, which meant changing the production from a proscenium configuration to one for theatre in the round.
The August performances certainly enabled the production to get everything down pat for the Regina run, which has been extended through Oct. 16. The acting was seamless and energetic while the band was tight for the musical numbers. Although the rock and roll hits were superb, it was a couple of gospel tunes — Down By The Riverside and Peace In The Valley — that really stood out. Especially astonishing were the harmonies during Peace In The Valley.
Danny Balkwill made his Globe Theatre directorial debut with the production and he should be proud of what he helped bring to the stage.
Joining Balkwill, a Reginan who also is serving as the musical director for the production, on the creative team are Katie Murphy (choreographer), Wes Pearce (set and costume design), Louise Guinard (lighting designer), Beth Grieve (stage manager) and Kenilee Kehler (assistant stage manager).
Tickets are available at the Globe Theatre box office, by telephone (306-525-6400) and online (www.globetheatrelive.com).
TORONTO Winning the Polaris Music Prize is giving Kaytranada reason to feel a little more whole as an artist.
The Haitian-Canadian producer surprised fans late Wednesday by dropping a new 90-minute mixtape called 0.001% ??? on his SoundCloud page. The title is a direct reference to his most recent album 99.9%, which took home the Polaris prize on Monday.
Featured in the mix are samples from Kaytranada’s previous collaborations with other musicians, as well as his own remix of Usher’s U Don’t Have to Call and Chance the Rapper’s All Night. Overall, the sound keeps in step with his latenight melange of funk, soul, hip hop and disco.
“Strictly for Kaytranada fans,” he tweeted shortly after posting the mixtape.
Kaytranada’s name is also attached to The Move, a new song released by Portland, Ore., songstress Reva Devito on Thursday.
It’s been a stellar week for the Montreal-raised producer, who beat out big names like Carly Rae Jepsen and Grimes to take home the Polaris album honour. Along with the bragging rights of the title, he also won a $50,000 prize.
After winning, Kaytranada took to Twitter to express his disbelief and highlight a congratulatory phone call he received from rapper Wyclef Jean.
“U don’t know how that is from a Haitian to another!” he tweeted.
Kaytranada is in the midst of a world tour that will stop in Vancouver on Sept. 30 before heading to other North American cities like New York and Chicago. He will then travel to Australia and New Zealand for a run of dates in late October.