Christmas comes to Sun Studios with Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins in the "Million Dollar Quartet Christmas," based on the popular "Million Dollar Quartet" musical. It's a fictional retelling of an impromptu jam session by four of Sun Studio's biggest names.
"The first 'Million Dollar Quartet' ends with Sam Phillips, the producer of Sun Records, taking the picture. That's kind of where the show ends," explains Kurt Jenkins, who has portrayed Carl Perkins since 2016. He says that the Christmas show is sort of a soft sequel.
"The sequel takes place, literally, the moment after the picture is taken. It's like you just start where you left off. The only difference is that they're dealing with Christmas themes. It's essentially a revisiting of the characters and a revisiting of the environment of Sun Records. But there's just a layer of Christmas, on top of it, and there's a lot more talk of why we find Christmas important, the celebration of family -- family that you're born into, family that you create, and the difficulties that come with family and also the beautiful things that come with family. It deals with those things a little bit. But at the end of the day, it's not super heavy. It's a light-hearted, good-time show."
The show also features holiday favorites with a rockabilly twist performed by the actors, who actually play their own instruments on stage.
"It goes without saying that the music is fantastic. Everyone in the cast is super-talented. All great musicians, great actors," Jenkins says. In combination with the set and the lights, he says, "you have times when it feels like a play. And then times when it feels like a rock concert. And so it's got a little bit of everything. ... you'll be able to jump on your feet and clap and dance in the aisles."
Prior to becoming Carl Perkins, Jenkins was quite the guitarist and even shared finger picking tips on his Instagram page. He says that he had to adapt his style of playing to portray Perkins, the rock 'n' roll pioneer known for "Blue Suede Shoes," "Honey Don't," "Matchbox," "Everybody's Trying to Be My Baby," and so many more.
"The thing about the '50s itself and '50s music was there was only so much knowledge and exploration of guitar in that era," Jenkins says. "There was innovation, but it wasn't the exponential innovation that you got in the '60s, in the '70s, and '80s." As someone who was learning guitar techniques from the likes of Jimi Hendrix, Eddie Van Halen and Jimmy Page, that meant not playing licks the way that he learned. Jenkins says to remain loyal to the sound, "it usually means the more simple -- it's simple, but effective. If you try to play with modern technique over this music, it just doesn't sound right.
"At the end of the day, story wins out, accuracy wins out," Jenkins goes on. "All guitar players want to play loud and fast. You just have to humble yourself before the the work and what's appropriate."
While Perkins wasn't the flashiest of the Million Dollar Quartet, he was persistent in his career. Jenkins points out that unlike his peers, his sound never really changed despite his career's longevity, unlike Elvis, who veered into pop music, or the way that Cash's sound evolved from his early days. Instead Perkins eventually played in Cash's band, even performing "Blue Suede Shoes" during Cash's infamous "Live At San Quentin" concert. He later worked with the Beatles, Bob Dylan, The Judds and even recorded with the Kentucky Headhunters.
"Carl never was able to ride a cultural trend. He wrote great songs that fit within a genre of music that people liked," Jenkins says. "He never was able to represent a cultural or social movement the way Elvis was able to or Jerry Lee Lewis or Cash."
His persistence and dedication helped Jenkins relate to Perkins as a character.
"He had some unfortunate things happen in his career, but he had grit. He made a name for himself. He ended up overcoming a lot of obstacles in his career -- accidents or substance abuse problems, things like that, but he had the grit to always give it another shot.
"He ended up having his version of an impact, and I feel that my life has followed a similar path. I know people who I grew up with who are much more quote 'successful' than me, but they chose different paths. They played different games than I wanted to play, but here I am still in the arena, still dreaming.
"There's a lot of Carl's character in this version of the show, that when I really thought about it, I was like, I don't really even have to act."
FAQ
‘Million Dollar Quartet Christmas’
WHEN — 8 p.m. Dec. 2; 2 & 8 p.m. Dec. 3
WHERE — Walton Arts Center, 495 W. Dickson St., Fayetteville
COST — $32 to $62
INFO — waltonartscenter.org or 443-5600