A whole lotta nostalgia as 'Quartet' salutes legendary jam session

Review

TAMPA

There's a whole lotta shakin' goin' on when the "Million Dollar Quartet" takes the stage and the foot-stompin' music of Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins is recreated.

This jukebox musical, filled with more than 20 rock 'n' roll hits from the 1950s, is thin on drama but heavy on rhythm and nostalgia. It's a feel-good night for those who know the music and the legends.

And it's a quick, snapshot history lesson for those too young to remember when rock 'n' roll changed the course of pop culture in this country.

The Tony-winning Broadway hit (2010-2011) is on the road and it opened Tuesday night at the David A. Straz Jr. Center for the Performing Arts. It continues tonight through Sunday.

The story is based on a legendary jam session that happened on a December night in 1956 –- the year that Elvis (Billy Woodward) became a national hip-shaking sensation, Perkins (Lee Ferris) was looking like a one-hit rockabilly wonder, Cash (Derek Keeling) was on his way to fame, and newcomer Jerry Lee (Martin Kaye) hadn't recorded his first hit.

The four come together at the scruffy little Sun Records recording studio in Memphis run by the volatile Sam Phillips (Christopher Ryan Grant), the man who discovered them and launched their careers. Elvis brings a date, Dyanne (Kelly Lamont), a sultry young thing and aspiring singer.

The actors in this production also are musicians and they strive to match the voices, mannerisms, looks and raw energy of the performers they portray.

During the first few numbers, the audience has to adjust and accept these relative unknowns. You may think actor Keeling sort-of resembles Cash and he does duplicate the deep nasal voice of the Man in Black. Woodward sounds like Elvis and has his moves down.

Kaye plays Jerry Lee Lewis as a backwoods rube from Louisiana who has as much ego as he does talent. Kaye's Lewis is a sassy, over-sexed, outrageous ball of fire who can rip up the keyboards. He trades barbs with the somewhat bitter Perkins, who has been unable to top his hit "Blue Suede Shoes."

Grant portrays Phillips as a bit of small-time hustler with a talent for mentoring budding artists by helping them develop unique styles.

As the night unfolds, we learn that Elvis is unhappy with his current bosses and wants Phillips to join RCA, Cash wants to record a gospel album over Phillips' objections, Perkins resents the success that Elvis enjoys, and Lewis fears that rock 'n' roll is the pathway to hell.

And the hits keep coming: Elvis sings "Hound Dog," "Long Tall Sally" and "That's All Right." Cash sings "Folsom Prison Blues," "Sixteen Tons" and "I Walk the Line." Perkins does "Blue Suede Shoes," "Matchbox," "Who Do You Love?" and "See You Later Alligator." Lewis does "Great Balls of Fire," "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On" and "Real Wild Child."

Dyanne cuts loose on "Fever" and "I Hear You Knocking." And the whole gang shares several golden oldies in the production which runs less than two hours without an intermission.

There's an awesome moment when the four actors recreate a famous photograph taken that night. And there's a spirited finale that gets the audience on its feet.

SPECIAL GUEST: Of the four legends, only Jerry Lee Lewis is still alive. Another person who was at that Sun Records jam session will be a special guest during the Thursday's performance of "Million Dollar Quartet."

W.S. "Fluke" Holland, 76, the drummer for Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison and Jerry Lee Lewis, is scheduled to come on stage during the encore. A legend himself, Holland still performs.

MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET

Arts review

When: Tuesday through Jan. 8; 7:30 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, 8 p.m. Friday, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, 1 and 6 p.m. Sunday

Where: David A. Straz Jr. Center for the Performing Arts, Morsani Hall, 1010 N. MacInnes Place, Tampa; call (813) 229-7827 or visit www.strazcenter.org

Tickets: $38.50 to $79.50