December 4, 1956 was an important date for rock and roll fans as it was the day Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins played together at Sun Records Studios in Memphis, Tennessee, for the first and only time. That impromptu jam session spawned an album, a book by Colin Escott and Floyd Mutrux, and a musical on Broadway in 2010 and West End in 2011. The musical, which features 24 classic numbers, including ‘Blue Suede Shoes’, ‘Hound Dog’, ‘Great Balls of Fire’, ‘Fever’, ‘Folsom Prison Blues’ and ‘Walk the Line’ came to Mumbai in December 2017. The musical will be on at Bengaluru from February 26.
Peter Duncan, who plays Sam Phillips, the owner of Sun Records, writing over email, says: “I performed some dates on the 2016 production and then took over for the 2020 tour.” Talking of the challenges of bringing a musical to India, Duncan says, “The logistics are quite hard. Getting all the equipment and instruments here and back safely and adjusting to new venues that we have little time to rehearse at is also tough. Last time, it worked a treat.”
In the musical, each musician when he enters the stage for the first time sings a verse and all actors on stage freeze. Phillips then introduces the singer, there is dialogue between them and then Phillips asks him to play something for him — the second verse of the song. The actors then unfreeze.
The 65-year-old actor, presenter, documentary maker, former Chief Scout and two-time Blue Peter presenter, says: “Not a note or harmony is recorded... it is all live.”
The reception to Million Dollar Quartet in Mumbai was great, says Duncan. “The audience were so up for having a good time and they love Elvis of course.” The Bengaluru audience, Duncan says, can look forward to “a wonderful true story, great music and A whole lotta shakin’.”
Of the Quartet — Cash, Presley, Lewis and Perkins, Duncan says his favourite is “Carl Perkins because without him there probably would have been no Beatles.” On the research for his role, Duncan says, “I discovered that like all revolutionaries Sam could see and hear things that others couldn't. Music changes the world while governments try to stop any kind of change until it is too late. Sam was ahead of the curve.”
The most difficult thing about the role is, Duncan says, “Making sure that the audience gets the story as well as the great music.”
Million Dollar Quartet will be performed at St. John’s Auditorium, Koramangala, from February 26 to March 1, with one show on weekdays and two shows on Saturday and Sunday. Tickets are available on www.bookmyshow.com