On
December 4, 1956, two stars, Johnny Cash (Scott Moreau) and Elvis
Presley (Cody Slaughter) are joined by almost has-been Carl Perkins (Lee
Ferris) and star to be Jerry Lee Lewis (Martin Kaye) gather at Sun
Records in Memphis, Tennessee, run by Sam Phillips (Christopher Ryan
Grant) the man who found and mentored the aforementioned. This was the
only time all four were recorded in the studio and that evening with Sam
already having lost Elvis to RCA Victor and, unknowingly, was going to
lose Cash and Perkins to Columbia records.

In
the studio were Jay Perkins (Chuck Zayas), Carl’s brother who played
Bass and Fluke (Billy Shaffer) playing drums.  Also in the studio was
Dyanne (Kelly Lamont) who was Elvis’s girlfriend at the time and a
singer in her own right.

In
between 23 songs sang, danced and played by the cast Sam Phillips tells
what happened that night at the meeting of what was to become known as
the Million Dollar Quartet. Along the way we hear songs like “Hound
Dog”, “I Walk The Line”,  “See You Later Alligator” and “Great Balls of
Fire” as each get their moment in the spotlight and all singing the
songs of the beginnings of rock and roll. In a departure Dyanne does a
solo version of “Fever”  and even Sam gets his licks in playing the
harmonica in the ‘concert’ at the end when the guys don sequin dinner
jackets.

The
cast, with the exception of Scott Moreau, as Cash, have been together,
touring, for over a year now and need a little shaking up as too many
moves come across as automatic instead of spontaneous. When the guys are
doing group numbers like “Down By The Riverside” their infectious fun
comes across the lights and their ‘jamming’ at the end is pure joy for
the audience.

The
book by Colin Escott and Floyd Mutrux works as the lead in to the songs
and giving some history to what happened that December. The direction
by Eric Schaeffer keeps the show moving but the choreography has to be
freshened up.

“Million
Dollar Quartet” starts the opening of the 2012-2013 theatre season
offered by Broadway Across America, at the Broward Performing Arts
Center in Fort Lauderdale ,getting it off to a rocking beginning.

Running
time: 1 hour and forty-five minutes without an intermission. Strobe
lights and on stage smoking. performances from November 6-18 and then
tours to the Peace Center in Greenville, South Carolina and Baltimore
Hippodrome.

Next at the Broward Performing Arts Center will be “Sister Act”

December 18-30.