The Million Dollar Quartet — rock’n’roll legends Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins — met in Memphis Dec. 4, 1956 for an epochal 1-day gig you can see re-created starting Aug. 10 at the Saugatuck Center for the Arts.
The Tony Award-winning show of that name played by Equity actors from Broadway, Chicago, Los Angeles and more theater meccas will run through Sept. 1 in the 410-seat air-conditioned theater — and a good thing too.
Listen as they scorch through renditions of “Great Balls of Fire, “Blue Suede Shoes,” “Hound Dog” “Folsom Prison Blues” and more with shows starting most nights at 7:30 plus Sunday matinees at 2.
All four artists were at their peak for the one-time jam and shy to meet till they picked up their instruments. Then …
The drama’s taut too as their complex characters mesh more than clash. And the music …
“The lives and stories revealed,” says show and SCA artistic director Kurt Stamm, “are funny, touching, heart-warming, and heart-breaking.
MDQ “is truly an inside look at what it was like to be in the record business in the 1950s and to experience the birth of a revolutionary sound.”
The SCA has curated the experience specifically to its space, with each element built from the ground up by professional set, light and sound designers plus choreographers.
All actors play their own instruments and are veterans in their roles, meaning favorites roll out live and new each night.
The SCA, being one of few Equity theaters in Michigan, is able to from the talent pool who belong to the Actors’ Equity Association, the professional union for stage actors.
Act fast to buy tickets ranging from $25 to $94 for prime seats by going to sc4a.org or calling the box office at (269) 857-2399.
This level of professional theater is made possible in Saugatuck by Diamond sponsors including Cruise & Travel Experts, Tom and Deann Baumann; Jeff Antaya and Peter Rosenfeld; and Michelle and Bob Fish.
Platinum Sponsors include Amazwi Contemporary Art, Wally Petersen and Mike Tischleder; Holland Doctors of Audiology, Dr. Stelios Dokianakis; Baird Private Wealth Management, Steve Kiss; Edward Jones, Barb McNally; Michigan Homes and Cottages, Kersh Ruhl, Lauri Sisson, and Dave Hulst; Cathy and Clark Carmichael; David Heilman and George Stoutin; Kevin and Sarah Coastal Living Advisors; Beth Howley Creative; Grant McCorkill and Alan Zuber.
Silver Sponsors include Cunningham Dalman Attorneys at Law; Unsalted Vacation Rentals; Michigan Council for Arts & Cultural Affairs; and the National Endowment for the Arts.
