Catch 'Million Dollar Quartet' while you can

The cast of "Million Dollar Quartet" will have to hold off packing their bags for Broadway.

For now.

Any plans Chicago-based Dee Gee Theatricals and John Cossette Productions had to move the show to New York after its monthlong lease at the Goodman Theatre runs out, are on hold.

For now.

Within days of this week's official opening, producers announced the show - an exhilarating fictionalization of the historic 1956 Sun Studio jam session involving Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash and Jerry Lee Lewis - would transfer to the Apollo Theatre where it will likely continue through the end of the year.

That's great news for anyone who thrills to the sound of chunky guitars complemented by a rollicking piano and a heavyweight rhythm section that lands every punch.

A combination concert, history lesson and homage to the musicians and their visionary producer, Sun Records founder Sam Phillips, "Million Dollar Quartet" is the most exuberant theatrical event I've experienced all year. A jukebox musical in the best and purest sense of the word, it persuades even those disinclined to the genre (I include myself among them) that in the right hands, this format has merit.

Co-writers Floyd Mutrux ("American Hot Wax") and music historian Colin Escott (author of "Good Rockin' Tonight") have an ideal premise in the impromptu jam session in that it doesn't require the imposition of the kind of artificial narrative from which jukebox shows typically suffer. That's not to say "Million Dollar Quartet" doesn't have a story to tell. In fact, it tells several.

Narrated by Phillips (an astute, dynamic Brian McCaskill), a man who understands both art and commerce, the show flashes back to how he met the 'boys' he helped turn into legends. Flashing forward to 1956, it finds those boys restless and unsettled. Presley (Eddie Clendening, in an understated performance underscored by remorse), who left Sun for RCA, returns to the studio with a girlfriend (Kelly Lamont who more than holds her own) and a whole lotta regret over the man who understood him and his music unlike anyone else. Cash (Lance Guest, of the taciturn demeanor and quiet conviction) struggles with how to tell Phillips he's signed with Columbia. Brash newcomer Lews (the brilliant and charismatic Levi Kreis who leads with his chest and nearly steals the show) angles for the break that will make him a star. Last but not least, there's prickly Perkins (a fiery, defensive Rob Lyons who makes palpable the guitarist's bitterness and his brilliance), frustrated in his attempt to follow up his hit "Blue Suede Shoes" and resentful at Presley's unintended appropriation of the song.

Co-directors Mutrux and Eric Shaeffer have crafted the show wisely: with minimal dialogue and maximum music. (The 24-song set - er - score arranged by Chuck Mead, includes the house-rocking "Real Wild Child," a propulsive "Who Do You Love?" and a dizzying "Whole Lotta Shakin'" among others). Four terrific musician-actors - with an emphasis on the 'musician' - comprise the powerhouse quartet which is supported by a rock-solid rhythm section made up of bassist Chuck Zayas and drummer Billy Shaffer.

There's a poignancy to the show which marks not just the birth of rock 'n' roll, but the end of an era (within a year or two, all but Lewis had left Sun for labels offering higher royalties and wider distribution). There's also a sense of lost innocence that's especially resonant in light of the personal struggles these men endured and the artistic compromises some of them were forced to make.

But more than anything, "Million Dollar Quartet" reflects early rock 'n' rolls unfettered abandon, it's absolute defiance and the pure joy music can provide. There's nothing like it on stage in Chicago right now, and that's saying something.

Catch it while you can.

"Million Dollar Quartet"

Rating: Four stars (out of four)

Location: Goodman Theatre, 170 N. Dearborn St., Chicago

Times: 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays to Thursdays; 8 p.m. Fridays; 2 and 8 p.m. Saturdays; 2 and 6 p.m. Sundays through Oct. 26

Running time: About 100 minutes, no intermission

Tickets: $20-$49

Parking: Paid lots nearby

Box office: (312) 443-2800 or milliondollarquartetlive.com

Rating: For all ages

<div class="infoBox"> <h1>More Coverage</h1> <div class="infoBoxContent"> <div class="infoArea"> <h2>Video</h2> <ul class="video"> <li><a href="/multimedia/?category=1&type=video&item=209">Montage of 'Million Dollar Quartet' </a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div>