This photo was the original inspiration for the Broadway show Abbey and I ushered last night at the Aronoff Theatre in Cincinnati. One evening in December 1956, Sam Phillips, the owner of Sun Records in Memphis, Tennessee, had under the same roof, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, Elvis Presley and Johnny Cash. They even made a short recording together.
I admit I was hesitant about whether the show would be good or not, but kept telling myself, "Last year when we did the same show twice (The Addams Family), we were pleasantly surprised...who knows?" I was correct...and pleasant surprise is an understatement.
Just flipping through the Playbill, I knew which actor would portray Elvis. He was spot-on for the roll, not only in appearance, but also in vocals and dancing too. When the actor playing Johnny Cash first opened his mouth to sing Folsom Prison Blues, if I'd closed my eyes I would have believed Johnny had come back for just one night only to sing his music for us.
But the actor that blew me away was the very incarnation of Jerry Lee Lewis...piano bench kicking and all! He provides most of the comedic material too, but the leg-jumping, foot-playing-the-piano, hair-bobbing singer really had no equal on that stage. This kid, just like Lewis, was the consummate performer last night.
It's a great show and I was beaming for most of the one hour and forty-five minute performance not only because of the foot-tapping music, but because of the fun and energy exuded by the audience. I noticed once the doors opened that this was an "older" crowd...but it was obviously the music of their generation and watching sixty and seventy year olds getting their groove on, can't help but make you smile.
Tickets are still available. If you have some time now through Sunday, March 3rd, you should head out to catch the show. You will not be disappointed!
No comments:
Post a Comment