ASF's 'Million Dollar Quartet' takes audiences to legendary 1956 jam

On Dec. 4, 1956, four future music icons — Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash and Carl Perkins — walked into the studio at Sun Records in Memphis, Tenn., and did what musicians do best. They jammed.

This little gathering became known as the “Million Dollar Quartet,” the same name as the production that opens Thursday at Alabama Shakespeare Festival in Montgomery.

“It was a once-in-a-lifetime, very candid, lightning-in-a-bottle kind of situation,” said Michael Kurowski, who plays rock wild man Jerry Lee Lewis, AKA The Killer. “The show explores the life and times of all four of them.”

Written by Collin Escott and Floyd Mutrux, and directed by David Ruttura, “Million Dollar Quartet” shows the artists in the very early stages of their careers. All four were in their early 20s.

“For Elvis specifically, he had just did the Ed Sullivan Show,” said Luke Monday, who plays the soon-to-be King of Rock ‘n’ Roll. “People around the country are just starting to get to know him. He’s not even a mega star yet. None of them are really mega stars yet, but their stars are all rising.”

Chris Marsh Clark, who takes on the Man in Black himself, Johnny Cash, said the story behind “Million Dollar Quartet” makes it stand apart from other tributes of these icons.

“It’s like what they will become,” Clark said. “I think that’s really interesting to explore these guys at the beginning of their careers.”

William Finn, who plays rockabilly great Carl Perkins, said that it’s important that this production is in Montgomery, since it's a truly Southern show. He said seeing them at this early stage is one of the joys of the ASF production — which features a huge score of rock, gospel, R&B and country.

“It’s when they still have all that youthful passion, fire, energy, and music means everything to them,” Finn said. “It also offers a window into the relationships that they all have with one another — the friendships, the rivalries, the conflicts, some of the jealousies that arise from four really ambitious, talented people trying to share the same oxygen.”

Outside of the big four, producer Sam Phillips of Sun records and Sun Studio in Memphis, is described as the glue that holds the show together.

“He basically discovered all of these guys,” Monday said.

All that guy power is balanced out with singing female character Dyanne, played by Fatima El-Bashir. Monday said her character was originally thought to be created just for this show, but there was a woman in the studio in 1956.

“As it turns out, Elvis did actually bring his girlfriend at the time (Marilyn Evans),” Monday said.

“Fatima rocks!” Clark said.

“And our other two onstage musicians are freakin’ fantastic,” Monday said.

Tickets are available online at asf.net or by calling the ASF box office at 334-271-5353

Music of 'Million Dollar Quartet'

In real life, the jam session was mostly gospel songs, including “Down By the Riverside.”

For the show, they get into a lot of the music they’d become known for: “Blue Suede Shoes,” “Fever,” “Walk the Line,” “Sixteen Tons,” “Who Do You Love?,” “Great Balls of Fire,” “Folsom Prison Blues,” “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On,” “Hound Dog,” and more.

“Almost every song that you know and love from these guys is included in our show,” Finn said.

“It’s like it all happens again,” Kurowski said. “You’re back in the ‘50s and ‘60s.”

But it’s also a gateway for people who grew up much later.

“I really do think that one of the gifts of this show is getting to share this music and the stories of these guys with a new generation,” Finn said. “I feel like the young people will also get a lot.”

Kurowski said audience members frequently ask if they were actually playing on stage.

“We’re like, 'Yes!' We spent so long practicing,” Kurowski said.

“Every sound you hear is coming out of an instrument on stage,” Clark said.

One thing in particular that Monday hopes people take away from the performance is that Elvis, Cash, Lewis and Perkins were all inspired by Black artists.

“A lot of popular rock ‘n’ roll music originally came from Black singers and Black blues musicians,” Monday said. “It literally took a white guy singing ‘Hound Dog’ for it to become this massive hit, but it was originally sung by a Black woman (Big Mama Thornton). That is touched on in the show.”

What did they learn about their characters?

So was there anything about these music legends that surprised the actors as they prepared? Here's what they said:

Elvis Presley

This is younger Elvis, less than two years before he went into the Army.

“He’s still very much like a kid,” Monday said. “He loves his mamma. He loves music. He’s got a lot of older people manipulating him… Elvis is conflicted because he feels loyal to Sam, but he has all these obligations now in Hollywood.”

For the role, Ruttura had Monday put a lot of effort into Elvis’ twitching.

“What we perceive as Elvis doing as dance moves and stuff, the dude had legimate stage fright,” Monday said. “His twitching, which turned into gyrating, which turned into hip swiveling was his way of getting his nervous energy out.”

Johnny Cash

Clark said Cash’s music and career are connected to the things going on with his life — like his brother’s death and relationship issues with his father. Clark said learning the why behind Cash helped develop the character. “I’ve always thought the thing that was most iconic about Johnny is his sound,” Clark said. “When he was younger, his voice dropped. His mom heard him singing a gospel song and was like, ‘You have a gift. You need to keep singing.’”

Jerry Lee Lewis

A person who really “hit the core” of Lewis in his early years was another music icon very near and dear to Montgomery — Hank Williams. “It was really interesting to dive down into a path of Hank Williams, and see how his playing and his music influenced all four of these characters,” Kurowski said. “I just went to the Hank Williams Museum (in Montgomery) to learn more about him. If you start at square one with any of these boys, you can trace the music that they listen to far, far back. I just love looking at the musical history of all of them.”

Carl Perkins

“Of the four, Carl is definitely the least known of the names,” Finn said. “His history was definitely interesting. One of the cool things about this show is getting to introduce the audiences to Carl Perkins and his music. I think a lot of people don’t know that Carl is the one who wrote ‘Blue Suede Shoes.’"

Montgomery Advertiser reporter Shannon Heupel covers things to do in the River Region. Contact him at sheupel@asullender

This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: ASF's 'Million Dollar Quartet' takes audiences to legendary 1956 jam