"Million Dollar Quartet" comes to Butte and Billings
The “Million Dollar Quartet,” a high-voltage musical, closes the Broadway series at the Mother Lode Theater in Butte and the Alberta Bair Theater in Billings this month. The national tour of comes to Butte at 8 p.m. Saturday, April 16 (406-723-3602 or www.buttearts.org) and to Billings at 3 p.m. Sunday, April 17 (406-256-6052 or www.albertabairtheater.org).
This international Tony Award-winning musical is set on Dec. 4, 1956, when an auspicious twist of fate brought together Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins and Elvis Presley. Sam Phillips, the “Father of Rock ’n Roll,” who was responsible for launching the careers of each icon, gathered the four now legendary musicians at Sun Records studio in Memphis for the first and only time. The resulting evening became known as one of the greatest rock ’n roll jam sessions in history.
“Million Dollar Quartet” brings that electric night to life with an irresistible tale of broken promises, secrets, betrayal and celebrations. Timeless hits including “Blue Suede Shoes,” “That’s All Right,” “Sixteen Tons,” “Great Balls of Fire,” “I Walk the Line,” “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On,” “See Ya Later, Alligator,” “Fever,” “Folsom Prison Blues,” “Hound Dog” and more.
The New York Times wrote of the Broadway version: “Gifted musicians and likable performers, they tackle with no apparent discomfort the unenviable chore of impersonating some of the most revered names in pop music, from their slick pompadours right down to their frisky, agile fingertips.”