The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
‘Million Dollar Quartet’ comes to play at Ivoryton
ESSEX >> The real-life story of the “Million Dollar Quartet” still fascinates music fans: Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins and Johnny Cash got together for an evening studio jam session in December 1956.
The jam session of mostly gospel tunes they’d grown up with earned the name “Million Dollar Quartet” the next day in the local newspaper. And it inspired a jukebox musical of the same name a decade ago that went to Broadway in 2010 and won a Tony Award. A new production bows at Ivoryton Playhouse Wednesday and runs through June 25.
Sam Phillips, the “Father of Rock ’n’ Roll” who had launched the careers of the four young men (Elvis was the top star at the time), brought the four musicians together at the Sun Records studio in Memphis, Tennessee, for a one-time event. It has been called the greatest rock ’n’ roll jam session in history.
The musical, written by Floyd Mutrux and Colin Escott, attempts to bring that legendary night to life with a fictional story
of broken promises, secrets, betrayal and celebrations. The music, meanwhile, ranges from gospel to rock, R&B and country hits including: “Blue Suede Shoes,” “Sixteen Tons,” “Great Balls of Fire,” “Folsom Prison Blues,” “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On” and “Hound Dog.”
This production is directed by Sherry Lutken, who was last here in 2015 with “Stand By Your Man: The Tammy Wynette Story.” Starring are Luke Darnell as Carl Perkins, Joe Callahan as Jerry Lee Lewis, Jeremy Sevelovitz as Johnny Cash, John Rochette as Elvis Presley and Ben Hope as Sam Phillips.
Performance times are Wednesday and Sunday matinees at 2 p.m., and evening performances Wednesdays and Thursdays at 7:30 p.m., and Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m.
Tickets are $50 for adults; $45 for seniors; $22 for students and $17 for children and are available by calling the playhouse box office at 860-767-7318 or by visiting ivorytonplayhouse.org. The playhouse is at 103 Main St. in the Ivoryton section of Essex.