Review: MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET at Music & Arts Community Center

Imagine how much self-confidence, not to mention talent, it takes to get up on a stage to portray an icon. The four gentlemen in Million Dollar Quartet for Southwest Florida Theatre Company nail it.

Steve Lasiter is Carl Perkins, grouchy and resentful about being pushed aside by the more charismatic Elvis Presley, portrayed by Teddy Grey. Tyler Breeding is uncanny as Johnny Cash. Rounding out the quartet, baby-faced Mitchell Wiley is wild child Jerry Lee Lewis.

Their singing gets the house rocking, and their prowess on guitars and piano is impressive.

The show captures a moment in music history, when the four stars shared a recorded jam session in 1956 at Sun Record Studio in Memphis, Tennessee. Sam Phillips, the owner of that studio, was also legendary. As Sam, Bear Manescalchi acts as the narrator of what transpired.

Jennifer Barnaba delivers strong vocals as Dyanne, Elvis’s girlfriend. Backup bassist Justin Bendel has some athletic moments with his instrument, and Mike Lucchetti lays down the necessary beat that underlies it all.

Although this is a juke box musical, packed with well known songs, it also shows us some glimpses of human nature: competitiveness, ambition, gratitude, pride, innovation.

If you want to see the Fort Myers version of these Hall of Famers, you have until Feb. 14. For tickets, call 239.277.1700.