Spotlight On Jerry Lee Lewis In 'Million Dollar Quartet'

DENVER (CBS4)- The highly-acclaimed show "Million Dollar Quartet" will open in Denver next week with the spotlight on one performer famous for his rattling the keys on the piano.

"Million Dollar Quartet" brings together four musical greats out of the past. On one special night in the Memphis studios of Sun Records, Elvis, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins and Jerry Lee Lewis got together.

The man portraying Lewis on stage, Martin Kaye, said capturing the outrageous personality on stage was a labor of love.

"I love the part. It is a great role because it is wild in its rawest form and I totally relate to that. That is who I am as a performer anyway," said Kaye.

Kaye said he tried to capture Lewis' unique personality.

"I studied Jerry Lee Lewis and watch the videos and all of that stuff to get a sense of who he is. And you know the essence of Jerry Lee Lewis but I don't necessarily feel like there is pressure because we just want to capture that moment in time, you know, where their soul was but we really don't want to imitate," said Kaye.

The performance is tough on the piano. A technician usually has to travel with the show to keep the piano functioning for each night of the performance.

"Million Dollar Quartet" opens at the Buell Theatre on Feb. 25 for a two week run.

LINK: denvercenter.org