I had never been to Easton's State Theater until last week - for no reason than I just never thought of it, nor had anyone else made the suggestion! For Christmas, my in-laws bought a group of us tickets to see The Million Dollar Quartet, and I must say it was an excellent performance at a fine theater venue, for a great value.
The State Theater is one of those old-time theaters that was
recently renovated, like The Beacon Theater or Roseland Ballroom in NYC, with
the style of architecture being much the same. In those days, it seems, they
constructed theaters so that no matter where one was seated, one could have a
decent view of whomever was performing on stage.
When we got there, the place was swarming with Baby Boomers
buying coffee and hot chocolate, clutching their Playbills, and just buzzing
around excitedly making ready for the show to begin. A smiling lady escorted us
up the carpeted wide staircase and into the loge area where our seats were
located. There was plenty of leg room, the cushions were thick and comfy, and
the seats in front of us were positioned low enough so that the people seated
in them were not obstructing our view. My father-in-law had loaded up on
refreshments – M&Ms, Twizzlers and Raisinets, to pass around before the
show began.
Soon after finishing our snack, a lady-in-charge, presumably
the owner or head of the theater association, emerged from behind the curtain
and gave a hearty thank-you speech to everyone who had helped make this
production possible. Everyone applauded, and the show began.
To brief you – Million Dollar Quartet is an exciting and dynamic performance highlighting "best
of" moments from the impromptu 4-hour jam session between Elvis Presley,
Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash and Jerry Lee Lewis, that actually happened at Sun
Recording Studios in Memphis,
TN on December 4, 1956. The show
is a mix of dialogue and musical numbers, performed in a fairly realistic
"jam session" manner, paying homage to what actually took place that
night in rock and roll history.
Songs performed include Blue Suede Shoes, Folsom Prison, Love
Me Tender, Great Balls of Fire, and many more. There is also a sultry rendition
of Peggy Lee's "Fever", performed by Elvis's then-girlfriend, who
showed up halfway into the session and was referred to only as
"Dyanne."
In the interest of keeping the jam session aspect of this
accurate, there are frequent interruptions where the performers talk to each
other, play part of a song, stop, talk some more, and then continue playing. While
this may seem as though the audience is being cheated out of the total music
experience, the rock and roll icon impersonators make up for it in the finale
by donning glittering jackets and performing a medley of well loved rock and
roll numbers at peak intensity.
Of note was the excellent portrayal of Johnny Cash
performer, and the rollicking piano playing by the man who portrayed Jerry Lee
Lewis. Each actor held his own in terms of believability. All in all, for $60
per ticket it was a great night out, and definitely worth exploring whatever
else might be coming around to the State Theater in Easton, PA.
Not too shabby for small town America! For more info about the State Theater in Easton PA, visit http://statetheater.org.