Review: There's a Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On at MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET at Broadway At Music Circus

Goodness gracious, great balls of fire! Broadway at Music Circus is starting off the summer hot! Director and choreographer Greg Santos is gifting Sacramento with a swinging, sizzling, and sensational production of Floyd Mutrux’s Million Dollar Quartet.

Based on one magical day when four legends gathered in the place that made them stars, Million Dollar Quartet is a jukebox musical that combines some of the best of a bygone era. On December 4, 1956, Carl Perkins (Sam Sherwood) and his band meet at Sam Phillips’ (Zach Cossman) Sun Records for a recording session. Carl’s brother Jay (Joe Bentley) is on bass, Fluke (David Lamoureux) is on drums, and newcomer Jerry Lee Lewis (Billy Rude) irritates everyone with his attention-seeking, flamboyant turn on the piano. Phillips’ foresight turns what could become a fight into a jam session as his invitations to Elvis Presley (Noah Barnes) and Johnny Cash (Blake Burgess) are answered when the two show up to pay their respects to the man who gave them their start. What ensues becomes part of rock and roll history as Phillips thankfully has the sense to record it all on tape.

The strength of this show lies in its cast. While everyone will know the great musical numbers, the performers are truly astonishing. This show doesn’t have a separate orchestra – the actors themselves double as the band. The only two performers who don’t play instruments are equally captivating in different ways. Cossman’s Phillips serves as narrator as he delves into a short backstory and vignettes of the lives of each of the quartet. He’s by turns boastful, desperate, smarmy, assured, and always engaging: truly the epitome of what I imagine a record producer to be. Hailie Lucille plays Dyanne, Elvis Presley’s girlfriend, who thrills the boys with her million- dollar voice in “Fever” and “I Hear You Knocking.” She’s a much-needed feminine voice of reason in a testosterone-riddled sea of egos, bringing balance, beauty, and brains. Most of the cast are Million Dollar Quartet veterans, and it is evident in the ease with which they don their respective characters. Sherwood is an introspective and serious Perkins. It’s heartening to see him shine with “Who Do You Love?” and the rollicking “See You Later Alligator.” Barnes’ gyrations and movements are Elvis, and it’s easy to see the sensitive boy that existed long before the star. His vocals are haunting in “Peace in the Valley” before he changes it up to the Elvis we all know and love in “Hound Dog.” Sacramento natives will love Burgess’ lookalike turn as Johnny Cash, particularly when he sings about a certain prison just up the road from Music Circus. He’s also captivating when he performs “I Walk The Line,” his baritone capturing the brilliant simplicity so perfectly that if you close your eyes you couldn’t say it's not the Man in Black in person. That brings us to Jerry Lee Lewis. Rude is an entire show by himself. I’ve never been so thrilled to see someone so spectacularly deranged (in the best way), talented, and vibrant. His boundless energy coupled with a cheeky, effervescent aura screams “Look at me! I’m Jerry Lee!” But, thank goodness he's not. Rude is decidedly more real, engaging, and astonishingly limber. He is a "Wild One," indeed! Broadway at Music Circus has made history come alive, and you’ll leave with your hands clapping, your hearts full, and your minds singing these classics for a long time to come.

Million Dollar Quartet plays at Broadway at Music Circus through June 5th. Tickets may be found online at BroadwaySacramento.com, by phone at (916) 557-1999, or in person at the Box Office at 1419 H Street in Sacramento.