Art is often born by accident, or happenstance, as is the story of the Million Dollar Quartet coming together on an ordinary Tuesday in 1956. Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash and a just-discovered Jerry Lee Lewis launched into an impromptu jam session at Sun Studio in Memphis, sharing vocals on country songs and spirituals, as well as Presley's "Don't Be Cruel," and a few snippets of Chuck Berry's "Brown Eyed Handsome Man." The result was an album of live recordings by the four musicians, which Sun Studio owner Sam Phillips dubbed his "Million Dollar Quartet." A dramatized account of the afternoon is presented in the musical adaptation Million Dollar Quartet; here, the boys sing their big hits, including "Blue Suede Shoes," "Great Balls of Fire" and "Folsom Prison Blues." This version of the Million Dollar Quartet makes its St. Louis premiere at 8 p.m. Tuesday, April 23, at the Fox Theatre (527 North Grand Boulevard; 314-534-1678 or www.fabulousfox.com). Performances continue every day except Monday through Sunday, May 5, and tickets cost $15 to $80.
Tuesdays-Sundays. Starts: April 23. Continues through May 5, 2013