One can only imagine what it would be like to see legends like Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Carl Perkins perform together. Luckily, Floyd Mutrux and Colin Escott wrote a musical about it.

The unimaginable happened on December 4, 1956; these artist spontaneously met at the at the Sun Record Studios in Memphis, Tennessee. Million Dollar Quartet captures the event in a musical, and it is being hosted by Apollo Theatre in Chicago.

The musical rhythmically reenacts the very moment these very popular artists accidentally came together in a recording studio.

The experience is very entertaining, and it gives you the urge to join them on stage to sing along to some of their biggest hits.

The audience is sure to learn more about the legendary performers and their historical stage presentation that made them so well-known.

“The new commercial musical ‘Million Dollar Quartet’ contains virtuosic performances. The kind of jaw-dropping turns that snap your head to the stage and unlock your feet from the floor,” Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune staff writer, said.

The characters Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins were especially charming. They were played by Colte Julian and Shaun Whitley, and were excellent cast choices. Not only were their vocals a similar to the famous artists, but they were also very visually engaging.

At one point in the show, Jerry Lee Lewis played the piano with his feet while giving a soulful performance.

The character development for Elvis Presley, played by Brandon Bennett, and Johnny Cash, played by  Adam Lee, was not as strong, however.

Bennett may have had appealing vocals, but he redundantly kept moving his hips. An audience member could tell that his movements were not genuine. As an actor, it is his job to capture the image of a character, to represent the character well, which didn’t happen with Bennett.

Johnny Cash’ personality was suave, and his on-stage performance was charming. At certain points, Adam Lee made Johnny Cash seem like a buzz kill or like he was too mature  to be hanging out with the rest of the group. The audience could see Lee likes to sing and he played the guitar well, but there was not enough passion to make the audience members remember why millions of people fell head over heals for the rock star.

All of the songs had the audience members up on their feet by the last song, Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On. The show was interactive, and was very fun.

There was an impromptu part where Elvis came up to a woman in the audience, wrapped his scarf around her shoulders, and they “shimmied” together. The audience played along, which increased the likability of the show.

The musical, overall, is a really fun performance to watch. It is worth the $84-$284 cost. There is not a bad seat in the auditorium. The open stage allows for the audience’s seating to surround ¾ of the stage.

The show ended on January 17.

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