Story of 4 early rock stars told in Million Dollar Quartet

A new show, Million Dollar Quartet is set to open at the Charlottetown Festival on June 16 with two of the lead actors enjoying their first visit to P.E.I.  

The musical production tells the story of the four musical legends of Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins who came together for one magical recording session.

Edward Murphy, who plays Carl Perkins in the production, and Greg Gale, who has taken on the role of Johnny Cash, say they are enjoying their Island visit. 

"It's everything I expected," said Gale of the Island. "It's really incredible. Charlottetown itself, I didn't realize what an established beautiful place with amazing restaurants and people and culture and a night life and all that kind of stuff. It's actually kind of blown me away."

Murphy added it was unlike anywhere he has visited on the East Coast. "The furthest east I've been is Montreal until now. It's beautiful. I walk along the water every morning and the people are super nice and the seafood is so good."

Opening night

The two men, while enjoying their time in the city, have been busy preparing for opening night. 

The musical is based on the story of the night in 1956 when the owner of Sun Records, Sam Phillips, invited his four biggest recording stars to come for a visit to the studio.

"So it's an imagining of what that night was because if you listen to the recordings of that night, they only sing gospel songs pretty much and obscure stuff," said Gale. 

But in the play, the four men perform their hits of the day like Hound Dog, Fever, Great Balls Of Fire, and Walk The Line. 

'These guys were like the first rock stars'

"There's a lot of music but just as importantly there is the story of the night and that time in history where essentially these guys were like the first rock stars," said Murphy. 

The play profiles Sun Records and Philips as the background to the start of rock and roll. 

"This isn't like an impersonation show. We are trying to capture the essence of these guys and play them as real guys so that the audience feels like they're a fly on the wall in a session of guys who are improvising songs together." Murphy said. 

Million Dollar Quartet will be performed at the Homburg Theatre at the Confederation Centre of the Arts until September. 

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