By Jim Lowe
Staff Writer
Imagine casting someone as Elvis Presley or Johnny Cash, to say nothing of Jerry Lee Lewis or Carl Perkins. That’s exactly what Northern Stage has done for its production of “Million Dollar Quartet,” the Broadway musical celebrating the true-life impromptu jam session with these musicians before they were superstars.
Northern Stage is presenting “Million Dollar Quartet” through Sept. 12 at its Courtyard Theater behind Barrette Center for the Arts in White River Junction. Although this is a “jukebox” musical featuring 23 hit songs, “it also delves deeper into the lives of these young men of their way to stardom.
“It’s got something really special,” explains Carol Dunne, the artistic director of the Upper Valley professional theater.
“It gets to the heart of these people in a way that sneaks up on you. It’s pretty special.”
On Dec. 4, 1956, Presley, Lewis, Perkins and Cash found themselves in an unplanned jam session at Sun Record Studios in Memphis, Tennessee. The session by four young men who were to create what has become rock ’n’ roll was recorded and released in 1981 as “Million Dollar Quartet.” And in 2010, it was turned into a Broadway hit featuring music by the four.
Written by Floyd Mutrix and Colin Escott, the show premiered in Florida, and opened on Broadway in 2010 where it ran for 489 performances and 34 previews, before going on to Off-Broadway and London’s West End.
No newcomer to portraying musicians before superstardom, Northern Stage premiered Bob Stevens’ “Only Yesterday” in January 2018, imagining an unheralded moment early in the career of Beatles John Lennon and Paul McCartney. Also directed by Dunne, it moved to the Off-Broadway 59E59 Theaters to excellent reviews.
“So for me as a director, it’s kind of like coming home to the journey of exploring famous people as human beings and mining the script for the interesting and beautiful truth of these young men who came from nothing and invented a new form of music,” Dunne said. “It brought a lot of people together.”
“Million Dollar Quartet” is being directed by Dunne and Kyle Brand. And they are being assisted by Northern Stage veteran Jon Rossi, who plays the drummer Fluke.
“It’s because of Jon’s love of this show we’re doing it,” Dunne said. “He’s the music director of the national tour and has been touring with the show for seven years. We cast him sort of as a homecoming to bring this show to Northern Stage.”
Rossi is responsible for the casting of several actors who had appeared in previous productions of the show.
“He knows every bit of dramaturgical information about this piece, and is passionate about it, and so it’s a huge advantage for us, in terms of trying to make it a good strong emotional journey,” Dunne said.
Dunne was looking for real actor-musicians, not impersonators. Caleb Hartsfield, who plays Elvis, has never performed the show before.
“We were looking for that young man who really was more of a puppy dog than the Elvis we saw later — and this actor is that,” Dunne said. “He’s uncannily like Elvis, but without the flick. And he’s the one who has never done this show before.
“We’re in love with him,” Dunne said. “We think he’s so amazing and so natural. He’s no copycat Elvis, but you’ll absolutely buy him as Elvis.”
Cash, of course, was the same problem.
“Peter Oyloe doesn’t really look like Johnny Cash, but he embodies that seriousness and the commitment to the sacred in music — and the struggles Johnny Cash carried through his life,” Dunne said.
Lewis presents quite a different problem — he was a virtuoso pianist.
“We have a brilliant young man, Taylor Isaac Gray, who started piano in the first grade and has been studying it ever since. He’s fabulous,” Dunne said. “This is something Jon Rossi insisted on. A lot of people came in to audition for Jerry Lee and Jon said they missed half the notes.
“What Taylor does, he’s one of the best musicians to play the role that we know of,” Dunne said. “We’re really thrilled with that.”
Also cast were Caitlin Doak as Presley’s girlfriend Dyanny; Austin Hohnke as Perkins; David Mason as Sam Phillips; and Ben Sheppard as Brother Jay.
Casting done, the production must fit on the small stage of Northern Stage’s Courtyard Theater
“It’s not going to have the grandiosity some have — some productions look like a Las Vegas show,” Dunne said. “That was never something I wanted. I want it to feel like it was in that tiny little put-together Sun Records studio. So it’s very tight — which is great.
“People have to walk over each others’ mic stands and cords,” she said. “The flip side is that being outside, the audience will feel like it’s a summer open air concert.”
jim.lowe @rutlandherald.com
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