MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET at The Village Theatre

My oldest daughter is involved with a great theatre group at The Village Theatre in Issaquah (not as far away as it sounds, and home of the awesome XXX Root Beer diner and Boem's chocolates; well worth the drive!). As a result I went to see a really fun show, MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET, that played at the Village Theatre from September 19 through October 28 at the Francis J. Gaudette Theatre (that's what the mainstage is called).

MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET has a book by Colin Escott and Floyd Mutrux, with musical arrangement (of classic rock and roll songs) by Chuck Mead.

The synopsis from the program:

"This incredible musical, inspired by an actual event, will take you back to the place where rock-n-roll was born! On December 4, 1956 at Sun Studios in Memphis, a twist of fate brought Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, and Elvis Presley together for one night of music that made history. These four legends-to-be and the "Father of Rock-n-Roll", Sam Phillips, who discovered them all, united for an impromptu recording session that would be one for the ages. The musicians played, talked, played, joked, played, argued and played all night -- and were quickly christened the "Million Dollar Quartet". Part jam session, part bull session, and chock full of rock-n-roll classics from the 50s, this unforgettable new musical will have you dancing in the aisles."

In addition to those five men mentioned, Elvis's girlfriend, "Dyanne" appears, as does Jay Perkins (Carl's brother) playing the bass and "the Drummer" (poor drummers, they don't even merit a name! Quick question: What do you call a drummer who's broken up with his girlfriend? Answer: Homeless...)

What made this show fun was the music and the musicianship. Great songs played and sung really well -- hard to beat for a fun night. The characterizations were done (not overdone) nicely too. My favorite was Rob Lyons at Carl Perkins, probably the least well known of the Million Dollar Quartet. I've seen only a couple of 1990s country videos in which Carl Perkins performed, and Rob Lyons totally captured him. Levi Kreis as Jerry Lee Lewis was crazy fantastic on the piano, playing hits such as "Great Balls of Fire". Johnny Cash was played by Lance Guest, Elvis was played by Dane Stokinger, Sam Phillips by Matt Wolfe, and Dyanne by Jessica Skerritt. What a great ensemble!

The only negative of the evening was reported by my husband (after he took out his ear plugs) who sat on the other side of the theatre (we got last minute tickets) where the sound appeared to be amplified to an uncomfortable level. On my side of the theatre the sound was great. Go figure. This is the only show I've seen at the Village theatre so I don't know if it was a one time thing, or a chronic sound issue.

I wouldn't have predicted having such a good time, but I was standing and clapping by the end of it.

Those kids and their rock-n-roll!