As the understudy for the role of Elvis Presley in the national tour of “Million Dollar Quartet,” 2006 Warsaw Community High School graduate Skye Scott doesn’t always get to take the stage. So when the hit Broadway show makes its way to the Ford Theatre in the Honeywell Center later this month, Scott will have some big blue suede shoes to fill. “I am the standby for the role of Elvis in the show. I get to go in when he’s sick or on vacation. In Wabash, I am going to be in the role,” Scott said in a telephone interview from Buffalo, N.Y., Feb. 5. “I am one of the first actors in New York to play Elvis. Most are Elvis tribute actors. It’s early Elvis, he’s 21. So I’ve been watching his older movies,” Scott said. “It’s interesting to find out he was nervous and shy and (Sun Studios producer) Sam Phillips produced it out of him. He was just goofy and funny. It’s been amazing to work with people who were there. Two nights ago, I got to be on stage as Elvis, and Jerry Lee Lewis’s drummer was (at the show) and told us stories.” “Million Dollar Quartet” will be at the Ford Theatre, Wabash, Feb. 26 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $24, $38 and $54 and can be purchased through the box office or online at honeywellcenter.org “Million Dollar Quartet” is the hit musical inspired by the famed recording session that brought together rock ’n’ roll icons Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins for the first and only time, according to the musical’s official website at milliondollarquartetlive.com On Dec. 4, 1956, the four then-young musicians gathered at Sun Records in Memphis for what would be one of the greatest jam sessions ever, the website states. “Million Dollar Quartet” brings that night to life, featuring a score of rock hits including “Blue Suede Shoes,” “Great Balls of Fire,” “Walk the Line,” “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On” and more. Scott said the show is more like a rock ’n’ roll show than a Broadway musical. They’re traveling all across the country, playing rock music. The show played the South the last couple of weeks including Florida Feb. 4, then New York Feb. 5. He said being on tour with the show is like living the rock star life. There are only eight roles in the show. Besides the four rock legends, there’s Phillips, a drummer, bass player and Presley’s girlfriend at the time. Six other actors wait off stage in case they need to take over a role. “It’s a very unique show in that aspect,” Scott said. The music is all live and very demanding, with Scott playing the guitar when he gets to be Presley. “It’s got to be good. People expect to see Elvis Presley and Johnny Cash. It’s a unique story,” Scott said. The show producers want each actor to do the roles a couple of times a month so they don’t forget their lines. Scott said it was very nice of the people behind the show to let him be Presley for the Wabash show as it’s the closest performance to his hometown. “It’s the most fun I’ve ever had in the theater,” Scott said. “I wish we were playing more than one night so I could see more people, but it’s nice to be close to home,” he added. About four years ago, Scott said he saw a production of “Million Dollar Quartet” on Broadway. He saw it because he’s always played instruments, and he thought he looked like the guy playing Presley. He auditioned for the show and it was his first major audition. While he did get a callback, he was told he was too young and inexperienced to land the role. This past August, he left the tour of “Jersey Boys,” and thought he would take a break before doing any more tours. His agent called and asked him if he wanted to do “Million Dollar Quartet.” “This would be the only show I would go back on the road for so quickly,” Scott said. “All the performers are musicians. It’s just a very amazing, unique experience. I thought the opportunity had passed me, but ‘Jersey Boys’ helped me get it. It was like fate.” Scott said the show takes place at Sun Studios in Memphis, Tenn. Presley was just 21 and his fame was just beginning to skyrocket. Perkins just had a huge hit, and the careers of Cash and Lewis also were just starting to take off. Phillips got all four of the men to come to his studio to jam, but none of them knew the others would be there, Scott said. They ended up jamming all night, with Phillips recording the session. “I’ve actually been to Sun Studios in Memphis,” while with “Jersey Boys,” Scott said. The studio is still open and artists still record there. Pictures of famous people hang on its walls. The musical features all the songs from the artists you’d want to hear, he said. The approximate 100-minute show has no intermission. By the end of it, Scott said it turns into a big rock show. The actors love when the audience gets rowdy and has fun. “People expect a concert when they show up ... the show tells Sam Phillips’ story. But the encore is a rock concert,” he said. Rehearsals started in December, with the show officially opening just after Christmas. Lots of the cast and crew are returnees, except for Scott and three others. They were flown to Las Vegas for a couple of weeks to see the Vegas performance of it and rehearsals. In addition to “Jersey Boys,” Scott previously toured with “Miss Saigon,” according to his provided biography. Off-Broadway, he was in “Love In The Time of Chanukah” at Ars Nova; played the Giant in “The Selfish Giant” for Firebone Theater Co.; and had a stint as the funny-man host of “The Ride.” Besides the Wagon Wheel Theatre in Warsaw, regionally he has performed at The Pittsburgh CLO, the Marriott Lincolnshire Theater, West Virginia Public Theater and at the Eugene O'Neill National Theater Conference. He appeared in the films “Summer Nuts” and “American Teen,” according to his biography. He is a graduate of the Carnegie Mellon School of Drama and his website is www.theskyescott.com
