By Madeleine Burns, Development Associate
Jim Helsinger is no stranger to PA Shakespeare Festival. Regular attendees may remember his performances as Lady Bracknell in The Importance of Being Earnest, Dogberry in Much Ado About Nothing, and most recently, Justice Shallow in The Merry Wives of Windsor (2024).
Helsinger’s long history with PA Shakes dates back to its second season, where he played Malvolio in Twelfth Night in 1993, and includes directing The Hound of the Baskervilles, Lend Me a Tenor, and many others.
During Orlando Shakespeare Theater’s off-season, Jim—the company’s Artistic Director—trades his executive hat for a director’s chair to helm PSF’s Main Stage musical, Million Dollar Quartet. We sat down with him virtually to learn more about the show, his process, and what audiences can look forward to.
Madeleine Burns: What excites you about Million Dollar Quartet?
Jim Helsinger: I love that it’s based on a real event that actually happened. There was an evening when Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Carl Perkins were all in the same room jamming together. That’s just cool to begin with, and there’s a recording of it you can get online. They mostly just jam and don’t really play full songs. The musical actually gives you a much broader, bigger experience because they play full songs.
MB: Were you familiar with the show before PA Shakes Artistic Director Jason King Jones invited you to direct it?
JH: This is my first time directing it. I produced it here at Orlando Shakes and it was a giant hit for us. Audiences loved it!
MB: The action in the musical unfolds over the course of one night in December in 1956, the same as when this event happened in real life. How did these four legends—Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, and Jerry Lee Lewis—come to be in the same studio at the same time?
JH: This is the very beginning of getting radio airplay for rock’n’roll. You’re going to meet Jerry Lee Lewis when he’s really young. You’re going to meet Johnny Cash when he’s not the “Man in Black” yet. These are all musicians who right now, tonight, are on the edge of greatness. They’ve had a hit, or a couple hits, but they’re not yet the first titans of the rock’n’roll industry. This all happens because of Sam Phillips at Sun Records, which was basically a two-man operation at the time.
MB: Wow. I didn’t know Sun Records was that small.
JH: It’s a very, very small operation. Sam’s just driving in his car, literally handing the forty-fives out to DJs to play. In the show, each one of them has a deal with Sun Records, and they’re at the end of that deal. And now they’re signing to bigger labels like RCA and Capitol. But Sam doesn’t know that. He’s called them all together to celebrate how well they’re doing, and to sign a new contract. The conflict is that they’re leaving Sam, who’s given them all their start.
MB: What was the casting process like for this
unique show?
JH: Our group of actors is awesome, and they are all great musicians who have done this show before. One of the exciting things for me will be how we make this particular production with these actors who have all performed it—some with each other, some not with each other—gel together in this exciting event. In a normal casting process, you’re not usually bringing so many people to the table who have already done the show, and that’s really a leg up. I had actor musicians to recommend from the Orlando Shakes cast, some of whom were available, some of whom were not. Dominique Scott, who plays Jerry Lee Lewis and is the musical director, had people that he’d worked with previously he wanted to put forth. Plus, there were the people who auditioned for PA Shakes in September. We had this nice amalgamation come together. This will be a different show from every other production—a new stage, a new audience, and a cast of veterans of this musical.
MB: Do you think the audience will be surprised by anything in the show, given how prolific these artists are?
JH: I think there’ll be “aha” moments for the audience throughout. For our audience, when you hear “Blue Suede Shoes,” that’s an Elvis song, right? But it’s not. That’s a Carl Perkins song. Carl Perkins wrote it and had a hit. He was supposed to play it in New York on a television show, but he was in a car accident and didn’t play. A couple weeks later, Elvis is on The Ed Sullivan Show and he plays “Blue Suede Shoes.” Then it’s an Elvis song. In the musical, Carl Perkins says, “Of all the things for you to choose, did you have to pick my hit? Did you have to do that?”—which Elvis says wasn’t up to him. But I think that’s an “aha” moment for the audience when they realize Elvis may have ripped off this song.
MB: I certainly see the appeal for people who have grown up with this music or already love these iconic songs. What can this show offer for people who didn’t grow up listening to these legendary artists, or might look at the title and think, “Oh, that’s not really something for me?” I imagine that they would enjoy it as well. What would you like to let those people know?
JH: I think if you enjoy popular music today, it’s cool to see where it came from. This is it. This is the roots of rock’n’roll. This is the beginning of the pattern of verse, chorus, verse, chorus, verse, chorus, chorus, chorus, end of song. This is where all these things are starting to happen. The three-chord blues is going to dominate all the way through to now. Also, I would say if you don’t know what this is, that’s great for you because in 1956, they’re all new artists then too. They’re not famous yet. They’re on the edge of becoming super famous. So, come see them before then, as you would a new band.
MB: Without giving too much away, what else can the audience look forward to?
JH: If you are in the audience of Million Dollar Quartet, you’re a part of that live concert energy. Jerry Lee Lewis might come out in the audience and dance with you. Elvis might come out into the audience and touch you. It’s an extravaganza of fun for the audience. Come with your rock’n’roll shoes on! ■