Fantastic ‘Million Dollar Quartet’ inaugurates new Stolp Island Theatre

“Million Dollar Quartet” — 4 stars

“Wow. Wow. Wow.”

Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin’s exclamation at the conclusion of Stolp Island Theatre’s inaugural production of “Million Dollar Quartet” summarized perfectly the press preview audience’s rapturous response to this irresistible celebration of rock ’n’ roll in all its raw, primal, original glory.

Perhaps you’ve seen this jukebox tuner, a fictionalized account of an impromptu 1956 meeting between rock ‘n’ roll pioneers Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins and Elvis Presley. Perhaps it was the Goodman Theatre’s 2008 Chicago premiere that subsequently transferred to the Apollo Theatre, where it ran for seven years, closing in 2016. Maybe you saw the acclaimed 2017 revival at Aurora’s 1,800-seat Paramount Theatre, or the revival currently running at the Metropolis Performing Arts Centre in Arlington Heights.

Regardless, it’s unlikely you’ve ever experienced “MDQ” quite like this. Directed by Jim Corti and Creg Sclavi, Stolp Island’s intimate, engrossing production places audience members inside Sun Records on the evening of Dec. 4, 1956, when visionary producer and label founder Sam Phillips welcomed to his Memphis, Tennessee, recording studio his million dollar quartet — all together, for the first and last time.

Theatergoers sitting in the front row of this 98-seat venue, located on the first floor of a parking garage on the banks of the Fox River, could reach out and touch the performers and their instruments (preshow announcements admonish against it).

The immersive setup lends an immediacy to this meticulously directed and designed production with a period set, including a lobby, by Jeffrey D. Kmiec. Subtle moments — telling glances and fleeting expressions — are far more discernible here than they would be in a large theater. Moreover, performed in such a close space, the hip-shaking, toe-tapping rock ‘n’ roll that animates this show thrills even more than it does in a big venue.

Those thrills come courtesy of Corti and Sclavi’s stellar cast of actor/musicians, three of them “MDQ” veterans. Bill Scott Sheets, Stolp Island’s Johnny Cash, reprises the role he played at Paramount seven years ago. Christopher Wren, a terrific guitarist who plays rockabilly godfather Carl Perkins, co-starred in the 2015-2016 national tour. Garrett Forrestal, who plays “The Killer” Jerry Lee Lewis, performed in a 2022 production. And, while Alex Swindle is new to the musical, he brings 12 years as an Elvis Presley tribute artist to the role of “The King of Rock ‘n’ Roll.”

Conceived by Floyd Mutrux, with a book by Mutrux and Colin Escott, with a score consisting of 22 songs by Cash, Perkins, Chuck Berry, Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, Arthur Crudup and Little Richard, among others, “Million Dollar Quartet” unfolds as an extended jam session. It’s punctuated by Sam Phillips’ recollections of how he met “his boys” and it comes at a pivotal point for all four musicians: Presley has a burgeoning film career, Cash and Perkins are leaving Sun for the larger Columbia Records, and newcomer Lewis is anxious for a hit record.

Phillips (played by the charismatic Sam Pearson with cocky self-assurance and unwavering faith) is a constant presence. Making musical suggestions, navigating petty squabbles (mostly between Forrestal’s bumptious Lewis and Wren’s coiled Perkins), he nurtures his artists even as they prepare to leave him.

Early rock’s architect, Phillips is a constant presence; sometimes on the periphery but always in charge.

The golden-voiced Sheets (whose rumbling low notes on “Sixteen Tons” are spine-tingling) plays the conflicted Cash, whose inner turmoil Phillips seems to sense. If Sheets’ reserved Cash seems older than the others, Swindle’s guileless, vulnerable Presley seems impossibly young. As a young man forced by his handlers to assume a persona, Swindle is sweet and sympathetic. As an artist expressing his true self on a cold December night in a storefront recording studio, he is electrifying, as evidenced by Swindle’s near showstopping performance of “Long Tall Sally.”

“Ain’t nothing more fun than rock 'n' roll,” he tells Phillips.

Indeed. It also remedies grievances, as evidenced by Wren’s prickly Perkins, who resents that his song “Blue Suede Shoes” became Presley’s big break. While Wren (sporting the guitarist’s trademark shoes) makes palpable Perkins’ feelings of betrayal, that anger turns to joy once numbers like “Who Do You Love” and “Let’s Have a Party” begin.

Equally exhilarating is Forrestal’s sly, endlessly kinetic, keyboard-pounding Lewis, whose talent earns him the respect of his fellow musicians even as his frank talk about the devil’s music causes his churchgoing colleagues to pause.

Rounding out the cast is Madison Palmer, a strong singer who injects a dose of feminine energy into this testosterone-heavy show as Presley’s girlfriend Dyanne. Dan Leali as drummer W.S. “Fluke” Holland and Jake Saleh as bassist Brother Jay Perkins make up the excellent rhythm section. Haley Jane Schafer plays the nonspeaking role of record producer Marion Keisker, Sam Phillips’ partner.

Immersion in Memphis’ mid 20th-century music scene begins the moment audience members enter the theater and step onto Kmiec’s charming streetscape depicting Sun Records’ Union Avenue home. Next door is a concession stand that serves soft drinks in glass bottles. Parked next to the streetlight wrapped in Christmas lights is a motorcycle.

Kmiec’s period detail is evident in the Sun Records lobby, where bios of Sun recording artists (courtesy of dramaturg Devon Hayakawa) fill the walls. Behind the reception desk is a vintage radio, television and phonograph (the props are by Jonathan Berg-Einhorn). Midcentury couches line the wall and a stubbed-out cigarette rests in an ashtray (another Berg-Einhorn touch).

That detail extends to the recording studio with its paneled walls, blue and pink linoleum floor and cluttered sound booth.

Paramount president and CEO Tim Rater estimates Stolp Island Theatre will generate more than $3 million a year in revenue. With “Million Dollar Quartet” on the bill through Dec. 29, and performances sold out or with limited seating through Sept. 25, that seems entirely possible.

And well-deserved.

• • •

Location: Stolp Island Theatre, 5 E. Downer Place, Aurora, (630) 896-6666, paramountaurora.com

Showtimes: 1:30 and 7 p.m. Wednesday; 7 p.m. Thursday and Friday; 3 and 8 p.m. Saturday; 1 and 5:30 p.m. Sunday through Dec. 29

Running time: About 2 hours, 15 minutes with intermission

Tickets: $65

Parking: Street parking, paid lots nearby

Rating: For most audiences, some mild sexual innuendo