Last weekend was the last week of the “Million Dollar Quartet” show at Beef and Boards dinner theater. The show tells the story of the one night in which musical legends Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Carl Perkins recorded an album together in 1956.
The Beef and Boards theater is located beside the Pyramids on the northside of Indianapolis. For those who have never been, it is a three-to-four hour experience with a buffet-style dinner and a show with an intermission. During that time, a dessert is served as well as ample supplies of coffee, iced tea, water, or any other drink that meets your fancy.
One of the best things about the buffet is that there are plenty of options, but not too many that it becomes stressful. The present staple was a chicken pot pie (which, while I’m no food expert, was very good), and other typical buffet options, such as corn and potatoes. The servers were very polite and were very good about filling up your drinks, almost to the point where I felt like I had too much (balancing water, iced tea, and coffee is a difficult task) but that’s hardly a cause for criticism.
The show is set on December 4, 1956, at the headquarters of Sun Records, run by businessman Sam Philips. The first half of the show introduces newcomer Jerry Lee Lewis, a promising piano player from Louisiana. As the night progresses, Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash, and Elvis Presley arrive to talk to Philips (as they all found their start at Sun) They have a degree of hostility toward each other, Lewis and Perkins are at each other’s throats for the majority of the show, but eventually set aside their petty differences through a night of good old country rock.
It’s an age-old story that might seem redundant to some, but set against the backdrop of some iconic songs (and live performances of them), the simple storyline takes the backseat and the show delivers a really good time. If you don’t like country music, the show won’t change your mind, but it serves as more of a celebration of those artists than one of country music.
The show has a historical relevance as they frequently discuss the beginnings of the Rock’n Roll genre; how there was a lot of negative discourse surrounding it with the church calling it satanic and denouncing it. Quartet takes a stance on the idea that artists are creating art and not everything is revealing the ‘true evil nature’ of the artists.
The show was full of fine performances, specifically Sam C. Jones as Johnny Cash, who stole the show. Evidently, part of the show’s appeal was watching actors portray the musicians, and all of the performers did very well (Jesse Plourde as Elvis has the moves down) but Jones’ voice was perfect. Listening back to some Cash music afterward revealed how good the portrayal was, so that really was a treat.
I do have to praise the show for its ability to do a pretty effective drama in one location, which I find impressive if done well. The set looked great and fit very nicely into the stage, which was moved out into the venue before the show started, so that it didn’t take up too much space. The setup was quick, but I was able to see a bit of it and it was cool to see how it happened.
Whenever the actors were performing the songs, it was like being at a concert. There came a point when Lewis says “We’re out of sittin’ songs, but we do have a few good standing ones”, and it was a great time. Everyone was standing and clapping to the beat like a full concert. Coming from someone who’s not the biggest fan of country music, it was a blast by the end. One of the best things about the show was that it managed to balance these moments with some genuine emotion and an exploration of the themes of accepting where you are and moving on to better things.
Near the end of the show, Philips narrates: “Oh, it really was a night; the first, and the last time me and all of my boys were all together.” It really was.
Million Dollar Quartet will continue through this month. Beef and Boards is preparing for their showings of “The Fiddler on the Roof”, which will run from October 10 to November 24.
