Forget everything you remember from the Paramount Theatre’s 2017 production of “Million Dollar Quartet” — the new show puts you in the middle of Sun Record Studios.
“Million Dollar Quartet” is the debut production July 10-Dec. 29 in Paramount Theatre’s new Stolp Island Theatre in downtown Aurora.
Showtimes are at 1:30 and 7 p.m. Wednesdays, 7 p.m. Thursdays, 8 p.m. Fridays, 3 and 8 p.m. Saturdays; and 1 and 5:30 p.m. Sundays.
The show’s initial eight weeks sold out quickly, prompting the run to be extended to the end of the year weeks before the show even opened.
Stolp Island Theatre is the Paramount’s third live theater venue in downtown Aurora, along with the 165-seat Copley Theatre. With just 98 seats, the space is specifically designed for live theater, said Jim Corti,
Paramount artistic director and co-director of “Million Dollar Quartet.” Creg Sclavi is co-director on “Million Dollar Quartet” and is also the project manager supervising construction of Stolp Island Theatre.
When audiences exit the lobby en route to the theater, they’ll find themselves on Union Street in Memphis, Tennessee, Corti said, where Sun Studios is located. Around the walls of the streetscape will be displays of the history of the famous “Million Dollar Quartet,” consisting of Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis and Elvis Presley.
Photos of the performers and the history of Sun Studios will be included. Audiences will enter “Sun Studios” and sit on either side of the recording studio, Corti said. The action that occurred on Dec. 5, 1956, will take place right in the middle. That’s the night when music legends Presley, Cash, Lewis and Perkins were by happenstance in the same place at the same time and a quick-thinking sound engineer recorded one of the most historic jam sessions in rock ‘n’ roll history.
At the time, Carl Perkins was already on top of the rockabilly scene and Elvis Presley and Johnny Cash were already certified stars. Jerry Lee Lewis was just starting out in his career and was hired to play piano on Perkins’ recording session.
Nominated for three Tony Awards, including Best Musical, “Million Dollar Quartet” features hits like “Blue Suede Shoes,” “Folsom Prison Blues,” “I Walk the Line,” “Hound Dog” and “Great Balls of Fire.”
Instead of the actors and musicians playing toward an audience, the space allows them to play to each other, like they would have in the actual jam session, Corti said.
“Now, it’s like you’re really watching them play off each other,” he said. “They’re really superb artists. The musicianship is off the charts. It’s thrilling how they play and how they play off each other and sing these songs and capture this very authentic presentation of how we remember these songs.”
Nostalgia is a big part of the appeal of the show, Corti said.
“People love remembering these songs and where they were when they first heard them,” he said.
Bill Scott Sheets of Chicago plays Johnny Cash in the upcoming production. He sings, plays guitar and is also the associate music director. He is the only returning cast member from the 2017 production of “Million Dollar Quartet,” when he also played Cash.
“It’s the same lines, the same music, but every time you do this show it’s different,” he said. “And this time, it’s very different because it’s an immersive version of the show. It’s really changed so much of what I know about the show and challenged it.
“‘Walk the Line,’ for example. I used to look at the back of the theater and think I’m singing it to a loved one. Now, there’s no doing that. I’m looking right at the rest of the cast. You can’t space out and enjoy the concert nature of it all. You’re in the room and it feels like it.”
He’s played Johnny Cash in iterations of “Million Dollar Quartet” for eight years and this is one of the most talented casts he’s ever worked with, he said.
“Everybody is giving it their all,” he said. “What we’re conveying is, this was a real day, this really happened and what are the emotions involved? Jim and Craig are doing an incredible job of maintaining that and building that atmosphere and we all as actors really want to do our best and support the other actors with us.”
Sheets was an elementary music teacher in Oklahoma several years ago when he decided to move to Chicago and give acting a go. The experience of playing Johnny Cash never gets old for him.
“It’s exciting every time because it’s live music. I love playing music and I love Johnny Cash, I have since I was a kid,” he said. “There’s always something new to find in the show. I’ve done this show over 1,000 times and it’s still not old to me.”
He’s very excited to be in the new venue and knows that audiences are going to love the venue and its atmosphere, too. They walk in the doors and suddenly they’re in Memphis and then they’re in the studio after that, he said.
“You’ve never seen a ‘MDQ’ like this,” he said. “I’ve seen all kinds of ‘MDQ’s and worked with the original guys who created it as well as making the new version back in 2021 and this is the most excited I’ve ever been for a ‘MDQ.’ This isn’t your typical musical. It’s a rock play. Even if you’ve seen ‘Million Dollar Quartet’ before, you haven’t seen it like this. This is going to be something else. You’ll feel like you’re there.”
Annie Alleman is a freelance reporter for the Beacon-News.
‘Million Dollar Quartet’
When: July 10-Dec. 29
Where: Stolp Island Theatre, 5 E. Downer Place, Aurora
Tickets: $65
Information: 630-896-6666; paramountaurora.com
