Berkshire on Stage

The jubilation of the audience at the Capital Repertory Theatre’s Million Dollar Quartet opening night was unmistakable. From the beginning of the show, the hoots, hollers, and foot stomping rose steadily, and by the show’s end, the crowd, roaring with such delight that they overwhelmed the music, leapt to its feet as one. It feels luscious to be submerged in a theater full of happiness, so much so that I was nearly not distracted by the man seated behind me, banging his knees into the back of my seat for the duration.

Million Dollar Quartet Christmas is based on the 2010 hit jukebox musical, Million Dollar Quartet, which was inspired by an actual meeting of four young musicians, Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Carl Perkins, at Memphis’s legendary Sun Records on December 4, 1956. I would be inaccurate if I were to refer to either show as a progenitor or a prequel or a sequel, since, according to theRep’s program, the current show also takes place at the Sun Records studio on December 4, 1956. Actually, the premise is as odd as the tissue-thin book, with its self-conscious expository dialogue and its uncomfortably contrived series of predicaments.

What, then, made the audience so joyful? The performers are so damned good! Each one, Luke Monday as Elvis Presley; Matt Cusack as Johnny Cash, Billy Rude as Jerry Lee Lewis; Jeremy Sevelovitz as Carl Perkins, succeeded in delivering uncanny replicas of voices we’ve all heard, along with each one’s distinctive physicality. They’re also fine musicians. Freddy Ramirez’s choreography is wild and gasp-inducing, thanks to the remarkably nimble players. It must be said: Rude’s acrobatics are breathtaking. The other cast members are also terrific. Taylor Aronson plays Dyanne, a character loosely based on a young woman Elvis was dating at the time, and her captivating singing and sensuous dancing provide a nice contrast to the 1950s machismo that surrounds her. Brother Jay (Perkins), Jason Cohen, is on bass; Ian Kerr-Mace’s Fluke is on drums; and Rob Morrison’s Sam Philips, the Sun Records producer, is an appealingly funny link to each of the other performers.

Howard Tsvi Kaplan’s costumes are period-perfect. The set (designed by Christopher Rhoton), with its appropriately over-the-top lighting (designed by Jeff Adelberg) is beyond flashy–fittingly so, perhaps with the exception of some short periods of intense flickering and flashing later in the show. I would suggest that people who are sensitive to extreme lighting effects take heed.

Jeffery Salerno’s sound design, for the most part, was extremely well crafted (there was, early in the evening, when I had difficulty hearing Aronson’s singing above the accompaniment, but that was the only glitch). Matt Cusack, in addition to playing Johnny Cash, was responsible for the superb musical direction. 

Director James Barry deftly orchestrated this phenomenal cast, and despite the poor quality of the book, he deserves kudos for making the music the key to an exceptionally fun show.

Million Dollar Quartet Christmas by Colin Escot, directed by James Barry, runs through December 24 at the Capital Repertory Theatre, 251 North Pearl Street, Albany, NY. CAST: Luke Monday as Elvis Presley; Matt Cusack as Johnny Cash, Billy Rude as Jerry Lee Lewis; Jeremy Sevelovitz as Carl Perkins, Taylor Aronson as Dyanne, Rob Morrison as Sam Phillips, Jason Cohen (bass) as Brother Jay, Ian Kerr-Mace (drums) as Fluke. Understudies Nathan Roberts and Kasie Buono. Creative Team: Musical Director Matt Cusack, choreography by Freddy Ramirez; sound design by Jeffery Salerno; lighting design by Jeff Adelberg; costume design by Howard Tsvi Kaplan.

Regular performance times Nov. 28-Dec. 24 are 7:30 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday with matinees 3 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Wednesdays and Sundays.

Tickets range from $30-62. For tickets and information, call the box office 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Saturday at (518) 346-6204 or visit attherep.org. The box office at theREP will open 30 minutes before show time.