Million Dollar Quartet

I love musical theater!  I love professional musical theater!  I love community musical theater! I recently had the experience of seeing musical history come to life before my very eyes and ears!  I recently saw a local professional production of “Million Dollar Quartet.” For those who don’t know, this show is inspired by what happened on December 4, 1956–Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, and Elvis Presley were together at Sun Records in Memphis for what would be one of the best jam sessions ever!  (This really happened!)

I didn’t just see but rather experienced this performance at the Marriott Theater in Lincolnshire, Illinois. Certainly, some musicals are great to watch on a huge stage in a huge venue. This, venue, however was perfect for “Million Dollar Quartet.”  The theater is “in the round”–the stage is in the center, and 4 sets of seating are around it. The last row is J–no one is at all far from the excitement and action on the stage!  THERE IS NO BAD SEAT!! The music was all played live right in front on you. The performers and their instruments were frequently moved around the stage–this included the piano. (One exception–the drum set stayed put.)  As I watched, I really felt like I had these musical icons performing right in front of me. All of the performers in this production (there was some other cast members in addition to the mentioned quartet) were fantastic, but the performer who played Jerry Lee Lewis stole the show (and that doesn’t take anything away from the other performers)–either he had WAY too much coffee or you need to make sure that no one gives him any because he does not need it.  Just watching him playing the piano was exhausting and exhilarating all at one! (Plus, it was AMAZING!) At the end of the show, the audience was literally standing, dancing, and clapping to the music. My husband and I have a subscription to this theater which allow us to see the shows as often as we like assuming that seats are available. We are DEFINITELY going back to see this again!

This YouTube video provides more factual information about that historic day.  Enjoy!

To  learn more about the fact vs fiction in regards to this show, check out this site.

Looking forward to enjoying the full season of musicals! I will keep you posted with my reviews!