Review: MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET at Actors' Playhouse

Actors' Steals the Years and Seals the Deal with Great Balls of Fire

A magic night back in '64 when rock and roll crashed into the Sun Studio and a magic night every night at Actors' Playhouse when the MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET replays the extraordinary meeting of Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins and Jerry Lee Lewis.

It's a fact. They really did meet that December night in Memphis. It's a fact. They really did play together. And it's a fact that MILLION DOLLARS QUARTET version of that session is one of the most entertaining shows you can hope to see.

Sure, the songs are from fifty years ago, but who cares? They're classics. They roil the blood. They grab the soul.

David Arisco, Actors' artistic director, has put together a remarkable cast. Four actors, all experienced in previous productions of MDQ, who are exceptional in their recreations of the stars. Physically, vocally and musically. All the quirks and sneers. You've surely heard that Oscar Wilde said "Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery..." but he also added to end of that sentence "that mediocrity can pay to greatness." But old Oscar is wrong when it comes to this imitation at Actors'. There ain't no mediocrity, no how, about it.

I'd fill the internet if I tried to list all the songs. So rattle your brains, think back to the days when rock was young and whatever you come up with will be blasted right at you. Joyously. That's the word. Joyously. You've never seen such a musical cast having so much fun. Doing what they love.

There's a book, of course, but it never gets in the way. The always excellent Jim Ballard plays Sun Records owner, Sam Phillips (and a dirty blues harp), and the terrific Lindsey Corey, playing Elvis Presley's girl friend, Dyanne, belts Fever and I Hear You Knocking so well she could have been singing at the original session.

Eddie Clendening plays Elvis Presley, Sky Seals is Johnny Cash, Jeremy Sevelovitz is Carl Perkins and Dominique Scott is Jerry Lee Lewis. Andy Davis plays Fluke, the drummer and Adam Egizi is Brother Jay and the bassist. (pause) Just to list this cast in this fashion does not do them justice. They're all much more than their roles.

David Arisco's enthusiasm drives this show brilliantly. The musical direction is by Manny Schvartzman and the associate musical director is Dominique Scott. Gene Seyfer's set and Eric Nelson's lights. Sound by Shaun Mitchell and costumes by Ellis Tillman.

Take a second mortgage on the dog, whatever you have to do, to get tickets to Million Dollar Quartet. But be warned, once you're there, do not, under any circumstances, leave early to beat the traffic, for there's an unbelievable encore that will fry you, broil you, melt you until you scream in ecstasy. And that's no lie.

Okay, I give in. Here are the musical numbers, from the top:

Blue Suede Shoes, Real Wild Child, Matchbox, Who Do You Love, Folsom Prison Blues, Fever, Memories Are Made of This, That's All Right, Brown Eyed Handsome Man, Down by the Riverside, Sixteen Tons, My Babe, Long Tall Sally, Peace in the Valley, I walk the Line, I hear You Knocking, Let's Have a Party, Great Balls of Fire, Down by the Riverside (reprise), Hound Dog, Riders in the Sky, See You Later Alligator, Whole Lotta Shakin' Going On.

MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET plays through January 1, 2017 at Actors' Playhouse at the Miracle Theatre, 280 Miracle Mile, Coral Gables. 305-444-9293 http://www.actorsplayhouse.org

Photo: Jeremy Sevelovitz and Lindsey Corey

Credit: Alberto Romeu

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