MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET 'Band Of Gold' Catches The Character Of Early Rock

Million Dollar Quartet was recently featured in NY Magazine. The article, titled "Band Of Gold" was written by Chris Willman.

It begins: Colin Esott, an author of rock-history books who is now the book writer for a Broadway musical, had a game plan in mind for Million Dollar Quartet, which dramatizes a historic day in the life of Sun Records in the mid-fifties. "We wanted to find an event that caught the brawling and anarchic character of early rock," says Escott, "the spirit of the Beatles on the Reeperbahn in 1962."

It's an interesting exercise: What if Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Johnny Cash, the four original superstars of Sam Phillips's Sun Records roster, had been a band? For one afternoon in December 1956, they were, sort of, as they participated in an impromptu jam session in Memphis that inspired the new show's dramatization. But who would have played which Beatles-esque role in this particular proto-Fab Four? Elvis was the Cute One, to say the very least. By the time of this fateful gathering, he'd already begun undermining the sanity of young girls with his Ed Sullivan Show appearances. You might dub Cash the Quiet One, for his youthful deference, innate decency, and potential to go postal. (Also, his voice literally can't be heard on the original Million Dollar Quartet recording.) Jerry Lee would be the One Who Wants to Steal Your Granddaughter and Elvis's Crown, which leaves the perennially undersung Perkins as the One Who Might Actually Not Be Going to Hell.

To read the complete article visit http://nymag.com/arts/theater/features/65108/

MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET, now in previews at Broadway's Nederlander Theatre, will open on Sunday, April 11, 2010. The cast includes the acclaimed original "quartet" from the Chicago company: Eddie Clendening, Lance Guest, Levi Kreis, and Rob Lyons who are each making their Broadway debuts in MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET. They are joined by Tony Award® nominee Hunter Foster (Little Shop of Horrors, Urinetown) and ElizaBeth Stanley (Cry-Baby).

On December 4, 1956, an auspicious twist of fate brought Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, and Elvis Presley together. The place was Sun Records' storefront studio in Memphis. The man who made it happen was Sam Phillips, the "Father of Rock and Roll," who discovered them all. The four young musicians united for the only time in their careers for an impromptu recording that has come to be known as one of the greatest rock jam sessions of all time.

Inspired by the actual event, MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET features a treasure trove of the greatest rock and roll, gospel, R&B and country hits from these musicians, including such iconic songs as "Blue Suede Shoes," "Fever," "Sixteen Tons," "Who Do You Love?," "Great Balls of Fire," "Riders in the Sky," "I Walk the Line," "Folsom Prison Blues," and "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On." MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET captures the infectious spirit, freewheeling excitement and thrilling sounds of a singular moment when four of the music industry's most extraordinary talents, all in their creative prime, came together for one of the most memorable nights in music history.

MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET is directed by Eric Schaeffer, features a book by Colin Escott and Floyd Mutrux, and was originally directed and conceived by Mutrux. The design team for Broadway includes: Derek McLane (scenic design), Howell Binkley (lighting design), Jane Greenwood (costume design), Kai Harada (sound design) and Chuck Mead (musical arrangements and supervision).

MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET is produced by Relevant Theatricals, John Cossette Productions, American Pop Anthology, Broadway Across America, and James L. Nederlander.

For information about the Chicago production of MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET, visit www.MillionDollarQuartetLive.com. Tickets for MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET are available online www.TicketMaster.com, by calling 212-307-4100, or by visiting the Nederlander Box Office (208 West 41st Street). MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET's performance schedule will be Tuesday at 8PM, Thursday through Saturday at 8PM and Sunday at 7PM. Matinees on Wednesday and Saturday at 2PM and Sunday at 3 PM. Beginning Tuesday, April 13 the performance schedule will be Tuesday at 7PM, Thursday through Saturday at 8 PM and Sunday at 7 PM. Matinees on Wednesday and Saturday at 2PM and Sunday at 3PM.

Photo credit: Joan Marcus