Back in the ’50s, some peo ple thought rock ‘n’ roll was “the devil’s music.” It was “temptation, fornica tion and damnation in that order,” Jerry Lee Lewis explains in the new Broadway show “Million Dollar Quartet.”
But don’t worry: This rockabilly musical is as wholesome as a PBS concert — the only thing lacking is a pledge drive.
On Dec. 4, 1956, Lewis, Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash and Carl Perkins jammed at the Sun Records studio in Memphis. That historic session provides the basis for Colin Escott and Floyd Mutrux’s stroll down memory lane.
READ MORE: ‘QUARTET’ DOING WELL ON B’WAY
They took some liberties with history and spread the material among the men, even though you barely hear Cash on the original recording. They also have them cover a sample of their hits at the time, whereas in reality the four singers played a lot of hymns.
The cast dutifully ticks off one number after another: “Blue Suede Shoes,” “Sixteen Tons,” “Long Tall Sally,” “Great Balls of Fire” and so on. Sun owner and producer Sam Phillips (Hunter Foster) provides context and keeps things moving between numbers.
The show is economical, which is a polite way to say cheap: a single set, four singers who back themselves up on piano and guitar, plus a drummer and a stand-up bassist.
Since “Million Dollar Quartet” is basically a covers show, everything hangs on the songs. Arranger Chuck Mead, a founding member of the alt-country band BR-549, wisely didn’t mess them up. But the performances themselves are merely adequate.
The problem is that these four stars are played by journeymen. Only Levi Kreis, as Jerry Lee Lewis, projects any kind of energy. Lance Guest displays an impressive baritone as Cash, but he trips on half his spoken lines. Robert Britton Lyons’ Carl Perkins barely registers, even though the character has a chip on his shoulder that could have made for good drama — if, you know, the show had been remotely interested in drama.
Worse of all, Eddie Clendening’s Elvis is completely neutered. It’s impossible to picture this guy driving millions of women crazy. Even the girlfriend who accompanies him to the studio, Dyanne (Elizabeth Stanley, from “Cry-Baby”), seems vaguely bored.
Only at the very end does the adrenaline surge a little. Out of the blue, director Eric Schaeffer goes all Vegas on us. It’s not rock ‘n’ roll in the least, but at least it’s fun to watch.
elisabeth.vincentelli
@nypost.com