It was KISS who famously sang “God gave rock and roll to you,” but I’m pretty sure they were mistaken.
Now, after attending a tour-de-force presentation of Million Dollar Quartet at SLO Rep, we know who did and it wasn’t the man upstairs.
The show tells the story of a memorable one-off night at Sun Records in December 1956 Memphis. The fearsome foursome that night included one Elvis Presley, at the time recording for RCA, Johnny Cash and Carl Perkins, soon to leave for the Columbia label, and up-and-comer wild man Jerry Lee Lewis, recently signed by Sam Phillips, the founder, creator, and owner of Sun.
The star power on stage in downtown SLO is palpable, with another dynamic quartet delivering powerful, spirited musical performances—but also plentiful heart and soul in the emotional narrative of their musical journey.
Every song is a classic, skillfully played and sung with intensity by Tony Costa as Elvis, Zachary Tate as Cash, Hunter Semrau as Lewis, and Collin Yates as rockabilly man Perkins. Yates shreds on his Gibson electric guitar (also serving as musical director). Kamilah Lay as Elvis’ girlfriend Dyanne supports her man and his rock brethren well and gives feverish renditions of the torch classic “Fever” and the rocker “I Hear You Knocking.”
But the real star of the show is Phillips. He’s the anchor: a visionary and one of the few record producers at that time who saw rock ‘n’ roll as a revolution and not a fad. Toby Tropper nails the intense but folksy music mogul who helped create a cultural phenomenon while deftly navigating musician egos and everything else in the wild and wooly nascent music/radio biz of the 1950s.
What also makes the show so wonderful is the interplay between the musicians and Phillips, and the crossroads they face at this legendary get-together. Elvis has become a huge success—moved on to bigger things while lamenting the lost, simpler times with Phillips at Sun. Contrast that with Perkins and Cash reluctantly informing Phillips about their move to Columbia, and Lewis pining to find equal ground and acceptance in the burgeoning rock fraternity, and you got a fiery, emotional recipe.
It’s no surprise that historic musical offerings like Million Dollar Quartet, Once, and Ring of Fire continue to be among SLO Rep’s most popular shows. But as difficult and expensive as they are to stage, artistic director Kevin Harris has an uncanny knack for picking winners every year, and Quartet is certainly no exception.
So, if you love compelling stories with a foot-stomping, sing-along early rock soundtrack, Million Dollar Quartet is definitely the show for you. But get down on it—tickets remain scarce up to its final performance on March 9.
Your KISS albums can sit this one out.