Yes,
the awesome foursome is back in town, celebrating the harmonic rock/country
convergence when Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash and Carl Perkins convened
at the Sun Records studio in Memphis.
That
occurrence in 1956 didn’t exactly cause a rip in the space-time continuum,
since the careers had yet to fully blossom, but it was a gathering heard round
the world. Especially now, thanks to this jukebox musical tribute build around
a flimsy book by Colin Scott and Floyd Mutrix.
At
first glance, this production feels almost like a Muppet Babies version of the
show, since the actors are shorter (and a couple of them wider) than the
originals, who were all six feet tall (or more) and pretty lean in those early
days.
But
hey, it’s hard enough to cast four guys who look and sing like their icons
while also accompanying themselves on the appropriate instruments. And from the performance standpoint,
this group acquits themselves well.
The
songs are the thing in this show, and the 90 minutes pass with a number of
familiar hits being given the star treatment. As Carl Perkins, James Barry has a mean sort
of backwoods snark to his aura, and he plays a mean git-tar.
Scott
Moreau has that Johnny Cash bass thing working, doing a scorching version of “I
Walk the Line.” As the loose cannon Lewis, John Countryman pounds the upright
piano with skill and force, using both his hands and feet. But his character’s
wild child wackiness seems forced at times.
In
the key role of Elvis, Tyler K. Hunter has the hair and the snarl down pat. But
his vocal impression is no better than you might hear at a lot of worshipful EP
gatherings.
Indeed,
these four guys do their best when singing together and not trying to
impersonate the singers, such as on the songs “Brown Eyed Handsome Man” and
“Down by the Riverside.”
The
book touches on some conflicts among the singers and Sun Records owner Sam
Phillips (a scenery-chewing Vince Nappo), and a dust-up over “Blue Suede
Shoes” between Perkins and Presley. But mostly, the story is just there as
spacers between the songs.
The
fab four are assisted ably by Stephanie Lynne Mason, who plays Elvis’s current
squeeze Dyanne and sings a couple tunes.
Directed
by Eric Schaeffer, the production actually has plenty of energy, more even than
the recent less-than-stirring visit of Jersey
Boys. And they’ll get you to your feet at the end, with a whole lot of shakin’
goin’ on.
Million
Dollar Quartet
Through
July 27 at PlayhouseSquare, Ohio Theatre, 1615 Euclid Avenue, 216-241-6000.
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