Million Dollar Quartet at Toronto Centre for the Arts: Review

It's a tricky premise for a writer to tackle: a musical comedy based on the historical chance recording session at Sun Records in 1956 when Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, Elvis Presley and Johnny Cash all happened to be "in the building" at the very same time. Why tricky? Well, there's no hook for a storyline, or even any particular dramatic tension, or character development, or any of those other things a play's supposed to have.

In truth, Million Dollar Quartet's not really a play. Yes, writers Colin Escott and Floyd Mutrux have managed to stitch together some wispy fragments of a plot: will Johnny Cash re-sign with Sun Records? Will Sun Records producer Sam Phillips leave the company for a job with Elvis at a bigger label? Is rock 'n' roll a passing fad or just a vey lucrative flash in the pan?

The most interesting of these plot shreds has to do with Phillips' talent for polishing the diamonds in the rough that came his way; we see him turning Elvis from a Dean Martin imitator into the King, and picking up Carl Perkins more or less off the sidewalk because he could see the talent shining through without the window dressing.

Ultimately, however, any production of this show is going to stand or fall on the vocal and impersonation talents of its stars, who perform all their own singing and musical accompaniment. In this production, all are capable, and they've certainly mastered the physical gestures and performance styles of the icons they're emulating.

Martin Kaye is an audience pleaser as a scrappy little terrier of a Jerry Lee Lewis at odds with the big, broad-shouldered Carl Perkins (Lee Ferris). But the most astonishing performance from the point of view of straight impersonation is Derek Keeling as Johnny Cash, whose resonant bass is uncannily note perfect.

As the cast worked its way through a roster of the "quartet"'s hits ("Blue Suede Shoes", "Great
Balls of Fire", "Folsom Prison Blues", "Hound Dog"), most of the audience ended up on their feet, clapping and dancing along. Somewhat to my surprise, so did I.

Photo credit: Jeremy Daniel. National Tour of Million Dollar Quartet (L-Rl) Martin Kaye as Jerry Lee Lewis, Lee Ferris as Carl Perkins, Chuck Zayas as Jay Perkins, Derek Keeling as Johnny Cash, Cody Slaughter as Elvis Presley.