‘Million Dollar Quartet’ offers toe-tapping look into vibrant world of rock renaissance

What would happen if you put music greats Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins and Jerry Lee Lewis in the same room for a jam session? Well, let your imagination turn into reality, because this famous gathering actually happened on Tuesday, Dec. 4, 1956. It’s known as the day of the “Million Dollar Quartet.” The musical Million Dollar Quartet dramatizes the historic time that all four gathered under the roof of Sun Record Studios in Memphis, Tenn., with legendary label owner Sam Phillips and a company of others. The show itself is a crowd-pleaser, a nostalgia-dense wonderwork that features some of the best recreated music that stage can produce. Think of one of those gimmicky ‘Good Times Live’ shows with impersonators, but reorganized into the confines of a fascinatingly told story and with some of the best musicians to be found. The music is largely made up of some of the quartet’s finest work (Presley’s “Hound Dog,” Cash’s “I Walk the Line,” Lewis’ “Great Balls of Fire,” and Perkins’ “Blue Suede Shoes” all make appearances), but a few lesser-known songs also make their way into the show. But, all are played with the same level of vivacious energy. Not only can this cast act – the ensemble can play. Vince Nappo stands out among the group as the energetic Sam Phillips. Nappo shows both sides of Phillips – the mogul looking to continue his pioneering ways into the industry and the kind-hearted genius who pulls some of music’s greatest faces out of the woodworks and helps them find the soul of their music. Cody Ray Slaughter does a mean...