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The Boys are Back rockin’ the stage at the Loretto-Hilton
Million Dollar Quartet Christmas”:
A Spirited Holiday Triumph
by Pat Lindsey
It won’t be a “Blue Christmas” if you gift yourself a ticket to “Million Dollar Quartet Christmas” now playing at The Loretto-Hilton Center in Webster Groves through a new collaboration with STAGES St. Louis and The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis. This festive production promises to have you rockin’ and rollin’ for 105 minutes.
History was made on Dec. 4, 1956 when three rising recording artists and a new kid on the block serendipitously dropped in on Sam Phillips at Sun Records in Memphis. What resulted was one of the world’s greatest jam sessions. That historic night is what Colin Escott wrote about in his book that eventually became the Tony Award-winning stage show, “Million Dollar Quartet.” Artistic license has been employed to expand that story into a second show, “Million Dollar Quartet Christmas.”
As the show begins, Elvis Presley (Sean Buckley), Johnny Cash (Scott Moreau), Carl Perkins (Jeremy Sevelovitz), and Jerry Lee Lewis (Brady Wease) have just had an impromptu jam session featuring their own hits when they decide to play some holiday favorites. They are accompanied by musicians W.S. “Fluke” Holland (Dave Sonneborn) and Jay Perkins (Chuck Zayas). Elvis’s current Las Vegas girlfriend, Dyanne (Shelby Ringdahl) and Sam Phillips (Jeff Cummings) are participants who witness the event.
Never have I ever heard a better group of musicians. Brady Wease as Jerry Lee Lewis tickles the keyboard like no other and has the crazy, unbridled energy to go with his musical talents. Scott Moreau has been playing Johnny Cash for 16 years, so he has the voice and mannerisms mastered. Jeremy Sevelovitz is believable as the disgruntled Carl Perkins, who feels he gets no credit for writing and recording “Blue Suede Shoes,” “Rock and Roll Music,” and other songs.=
These three actors jammed together in STAGES’s second biggest show, “Million Dollar Quartet,” last year. Newcomer to the quartet, Sean Buckley, gives a good performance portraying a young, gyrating Elvis Presley. “They play all the music and sing all the songs. Nothing is pre-recorded,” Jeff Cummings, who plays Sam Phillips, told us after the show. And I it shows in each performer, and especially Brady Wease as Jerry Lee Lewis makes his keyboard “wiggle while he walks” around the piano.
Not all of the songs are Christmas tunes. Other familiar favorites such as “Chantilly Lace,” “Tutti Fruity,” and “Ring of Fire” are sprinkled among them. In between songs, members of the quartet take turns revealing something personal about themselves and reminisce a bit. Those vignettes make the whole story much more believable and authentic. The audience gets a real sense of the struggles they faced during their rise to fame.
Jeff Cummings as Sam Phillips has more opportunity in this show to give advice to his proteges. He reminds them to ask themselves, “What would Sam do?” before they make any big decisions. When the quartet begins singing a Christmas song in the tempo it was written, Phillips encourages them to sing it “Sun” style. What results is a foot-stomping pepped up version that thrills the audience.
Shelby Ringdahl as Elvis’s girlfriend, Dyanne, is decked out in a red dress and adds holiday cheer by decorating the fantastic set and harmonizing with the guys. She shows off her gorgeous voice in a couple solos of her own. Near the end of the show, it’s clear that Dyanne isn’t gaga over Elvis the way so many other women were.
Kudos to STAGES and The Rep’s creative teams for bringing a show full of holiday heart and spirit to St. Louis audiences. They have chosen the perfect cast for the perfect show this Christmas. “Million Dollar Quartet Christmas” is a triumphant gift to all who see it.
“Million Dollar Christmas Quartet” is now playing at The Loretto-Hilton Center, 130 Edgar Rd., Webster Groves now through Dec. 22. Show times vary. For more information, go to repstl.org.
