Million Dollar Quartet plays in Lombard
Elaine Berquist of Lombard saw Elvis Presley in concert in Maryland sometime in the 1960s.
The Elvis she saw on Saturday at Yorktown Center in Lombard wasn’t the same, of course, but he came very close, the 83-year-old Lombard resident said.
“This guy was pretty darn hot on the trail!” she said about musician Brandon Bennett.
Cast members from the Chicago musical Million Dollar Quartet — impersonating Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins and Johnny Cash — entertained the crowd just before Santa’s yearly arrival at the mall.
The performers belted out a number of instantly recognizable hits from the 1950s and 1960s, including “Ring of Fire,” “Hound Dog,” “See You Later, Alligator” and “Great Balls of Fire.”
Steve Watson of Lombard, who saw the Chicago show, agreed the musicians have an uncanny similarity to their iconic predecessors.
“Jerry Lee Lewis especially — he really looked like Jerry Lee Lewis. He plays like him, he has the same hair, he has all the antics,” he said.
Bennett says that — despite the gyrations — it takes a certain amount of gravitas to impersonate The King.
“You have to be conscious of how you play, you have to be respectful,” he said. “People enjoy it because they’re able to step back in time.”
Saturday’s was one of the biggest crowds that showed up for Santa’s arrival, Yorktown marketing director Lynette Steinhauser said. The shopping center has been inviting musical acts for the last four or five years, she said.
“One year Santa came on a sleigh, one year he came on a golf cart. This year he came on a lift,” she said. “We always try to make it really fun.”
Woodridge residents Amanda Johnson and her fiance Christopher Mast brought their kids, Kairi, 5, and Cooper, 1.
“I can’t wait this much,” Kairi said, spreading her arms wide to show how excited she was about Santa.
Some kids met Santa for the first time, like 10-month-old Savannah Salcido of Justice. Her older sister Sydney, 5, noticed something was amiss compared to last year.
“He’s different,” she said. “He can’t hear very well.”
Thirteen-year-old Alina Junejo of Oak Brook said she and her four siblings — Yahya, 10, Arez, 8, Alishba, 5, and Faris, 3 — had a great time.
“Our visit with Santa was really fun,” she said. “He’s a really funny man — and really sweet.”