Enjoy A Rockin’ Good Time At Marriott’s Lincolnshire Theatre With “Million Dollar Quartet Christmas”
Marriott Lincolnshire Theatre brings back the boys of the famed Rock ‘n’ Roll fifties era in a spectacular holiday special. Million Dollar Quartet Christmas runs from November through January 4, 2026. Scott Weinstein cleverly directs this exciting, nostalgic holiday version, which he feels has always been a family story. Colton Sims masterfully portrays Elvis Presley. He does not perform the usual parody of Elvis. His Elvis has genuine passion, flair, heart, and soul. JP Coletta is perfectly cast as “Killer, “ Jerry Lee Lewis. He has loads of ego and dynamite moves. Coletta is an actor, singer, dancer, and musician who received his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Musical Theatre from the prestigious Boston Conservatory. I really feel that this is the plum leading role in Million Dollar Quartet. Jerry Lee Lewis was electrifying and beloved for his rebellious, wild, unpredictable style. Trevor Lindley Craft, a New York City-based actor, singer, and musician, has extensive experience playing various roles in the musical Million Dollar Quartet. He performs powerfully as the “King of Rockabilly,” Carl Perkins, who wrote “Blue Suede Shoes” and “Honey Don’t.” Perkins suffers from an identity crisis since he is not as popular as Cash and Presley. Michael D. Potter embodies the Man in Black, Johnny Cash. He has so much experience with the vocal stylings of Cash. He has been skillfully performing Johnny Cash tributes since a college concert at Brigham Young University in Hawaii, where he studied vocal performance. His powerful singing perfectly captured Johnny Cash’s raw, deep, bass-baritone conversational storytelling style. Potter’s “ Ring of Fire” blew me away.
Ross Griffin inhabits the part of Sam Phillips, the owner of Sun Records. His movements and swagger convey a great deal of confidence and emotion. He has the “good ole’ boy” vibe down pat. Phillips is the impetus for conflict over snarky comments about Cash leaving Sun Records for Columbia Records and Presley for the Colonel and Los Angeles. Although this is Griffin’s Marriott Theatre debut, he has performed in six productions of Million Dollar Quartet. Teah Kiang Mirabelli is a veteran of the Marriott Theatre. She is a gifted singer, dancer, and actor. She plays Elvis’s girlfriend, Dyanne, who was in reality Marilyn Evans. She has a sexy, sultry swagger. Her sassy comments and comebacks elicited loud laughter from the audience. A Northwestern Alum, Jed Reder is a stellar actor, drummer, guitarist, and composer. His role is that of American drummer W.S. “Fluke” Holland, who played for Carl Perkins and later for Johnny Cash. Cody Siragusa is making his Marriott Theatre debut as Jay Perkins, Carl Perkins’ brother. He is a talented bass player based in Chicago and a founding member of the rockabilly trio Old Grand Dad. The understudies for Million Dollar Quartet Christmas are Jake Brusse, Nathan Gallop, Madison Kauffman, Jake Akira Kono, Adelina, Marinello, Kelan Smith, and Zachary Tate.
Jesse Klug’s lighting design is superb and builds to a whole sparkling, enveloping Christmas extravaganza. Award-winning Costume Designer Nicholas Hartman returns to Marriott Theatre to work his magic, creating apropos 1950s outfits. The last act features entertainers emerging in Hartman’s show-stopping Las Vegas rhinestones, glitter, and sparkling couture, complete with glitz and glam, in a joyous, visually stunning finale. Miguel A. Armstrong, Wigs and Makeup Designer, has done an outstanding job matching the actors onstage to their real-life counterparts. Milo Bue has done an exemplary job recreating the Sun Records setting, effectively connecting the audience to this iconic independent record institution. Michael Daly, the Sound Designer, allows the audience to hear every word spoken and the lyrics sung clearly.
Million Dollar Quartet began as a chance encounter in December 1956. An impromptu jam session started during a recording session at Sam Phillips’ independent record label, Sun Records, in Memphis, Tennessee. The legendary four icons of Country, Rockabilly, Rhythm and Blues, Gospel, and rock ‘n’ roll, Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash, and Carl Perkins, came together on December 4, 1956. They stopped by since they were coming home for the Christmas holidays. They created a recording of historic proportions. Carl Perkins, already successful with “Blue Suede Shoes,” was accompanied by his brothers Clayton and Jay and a drummer, W.S. “Fluke” Holland. Their goal was to record new Blues material. Phillips brought in an unknown pianist, Jerry Lee Lewis, for the Perkins studio session. Elvis Presley, a former Sun Records artist, showed up to visit. He and Johnny Cash, formerly of Sun, joined in the improvisational music conclave.
Sound Engineer, Jack Clement, wisely thought this session was worthy of recording. Phillips, ever the self-promoter, called the Memphis Press-Scimitar’s entertainment editor, Bob Johnson, to witness the assembly. He wrote an article dubbing the artists in a headline as “Million Dollar Quartet.” United Press International Memphis Bureau Chief Leo Soroka and photographer George Pierce accompanied Johnson. Pierce captured the famous photograph of Lewis, Perkins, Cash, and Elvis, who was seated at the piano on this fateful day. The recording was released in Europe as The Million Dollar Quartet in 1981. In 1990, The Complete Million Dollar Session was released in the United States.
Colin Escott and Floyd Mutrux drew inspiration from this epic jam to create a sensational, legendary rock ‘n’ roll jukebox musical that reimagined the dynamic events. Million Dollar Quartet premiered in Florida’s Seaside Music Theatre in 2006. It moved to Issaquah’s Village Theatre in Washington, and in 2008, it broke box office records in Everett, Washington. Chicago’s own Goodman Theatre recognized the popularity of Million Dollar Quartet in 2008. It then moved to Chicago’s Lincoln Park Apollo Theatre, where it played from 2008 through 2016, making it the longest-running Broadway musical in Chicago. In 2010, the musical premiered at New York’s Broadway Nederlander Theatre. It was nominated for three Tony Awards, including Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical, and Best Featured Actor in a Musical. Levi Kreis won for his portrayal of Jerry Lee Lewis.
Marriott’s Million Dollar Quartet Christmas version is a compilation of chart-toppers, including “Don’t Be Cruel” and “Chantilly Lace,” as well as popular holiday tunes. I heard audience members remark how wonderful it was to listen to their favorite childhood Christmas tunes performed live. There is “Home for the Holidays”, “Santa Claus is Coming to Town”, “O, Christmas Tree”, “Jingle Bells”, and others. “Silent Night” is particularly touching, staged in candlelight and sung by all the performers. The audience gave a rousing standing ovation at the end of this joyous Christmas version. I heard remarks like, ” this is even better than the original Million Dollar Quartet“. See it while you can.
