Column: Paramount’s ‘Million Dollar Quartet’ and new theater boost the fortunes of downtown Aurora

Even as commercial theater producers continue to struggle in Chicago, the Paramount Theatre in Aurora has invested more than $3 million in a new immersive environment for a cool new staging of the long-popular jukebox show, “Million Dollar Quartet.” The all-new Stolp Island Theatre, which opened last weekend under a parking garage in the southern reaches of the west suburban city’s downtown area, is another example of how much the success of the nonprofit, audience-focused Paramount has transformed the center of Aurora into a live entertainment destination, and benefitted from the well-documented traffic and other problems affecting the marketability of downtown Chicago.

And I suspect that, even with four busy theaters (including an outdoor summer operation), Paramount is far from done. Certainly, Aurora’s  enthusiastic Mayor Richard C. Irvin and city manager Alex Alexandrou told me in no uncertain terms there was more in the works.

Already, it’s hard to overstate Paramount’s economic centrality to this old and large downtown, especially since the sagging Hollywood Casino is about to exit for a new building closer to the tollway. Casinos don’t do as much for downtowns as live entertainment, Alexandrou said to me, given their interest in keeping gamblers on the premises. People who go to shows, he said, patronize restaurants and stores. Hence Aurora’s enthusiastic financial support for its endeavors. Irvin was on his feet all night long.

In what was once a restaurant and a cable access TV station, Paramount and its skilled designer Jeffrey D. Kmiec have built out a replica of Sam Phillips’ famed Sun Studio in Memphis, Tennessee. This includes a lobby that feels like a theme park environment and is based on the studio’s Union Avenue exterior; it comes complete with a curbed sidewalk, traffic signal and retail outlets selling concessions. Audience members then walk into the recording studio itself, through an outer lobby decked out in detail like Phillips’ office. The show, directed by Jim Corti and Creg Sclavi, is experienced by sitting among Elvis Presley (Alex Swindle), Jerry Lee Lewis (Garrett Forrestal), Johnny Cash (Bill Scott Sheets) and Carl Perkins (Christopher Wren) as they wander in and out, playing, chatting and singing, even as Phillips (Sam Pearson) looks on and Elvis’ visiting girlfriend, known in the show only as Dyanne (Madison Palmer) sings a couple of numbers herself.

The lobby space of the Paramount's new Stolp Island Theatre for its production of "Million Dollar Quartet" in Aurora. (Amy Nelson)

As penned by Colin Escott and Floyd Mutrux, “Million Dollar Quartet” is a familiar title, especially in Chicago where it first found its feet. I first reviewed it at the Goodman Theatre in 2008 and then again at the Apollo Theatre, where it ran for an astonishing eight years , meaning I went back for cast changes and the like . That initial production, produced by Gigi Pritzker, also moved to Broadway in 2010 (it did well) and there have been numerous regional productions thereafter both around here and elsewhere. But despite a dozen or so viewings, I’d never seen “Million Dollar Quartet” in this kind of immersive environment, a concept that surely could be replicated elsewhere and is ideal for this material which is, after all, predicated on wanting to hang out with a collection of deceased musical geniuses. The show sells musical nostalgia and hit songs and it never made the mistake of getting hung up on too much plot.

The new, Equity staging benefits from four notably energetic and proficient central performances, but this exuberant new take really is all about trying to include the audience in the jam session. Smart.

I chatted with some folks around me. All had seen this title before; the show’s success these last 15 years or so has been widely predicated on its ability to attract repeat business. You can, after all, enjoy “Walk the Line” many times. And in Aurora, so they were. It’s loud in there, and I found the sound a bit top-heavy, given the lack of baffling, but you don’t come to this show wanting to strain to hear.

The Stolp Island Theatre could be de-themed without too much difficulty and a new show moved in. But don’t expect that to happen any time soon. “Million Dollar Quartet” is already on sale through the end of the year and when I asked Tim Rater, Paramount’s executive director, on how long he thought it could last, he said with all seriousness that he hoped it would never have to close.

And with this title and just 98 available seats in the recording studio, that’s a good bet for a long while. The show’s first eight weeks sold out in 48 hours and performances already are on sale through the end of the year. By the way, tickets are no more than $65.

“Million Dollar Quartet” plays at the Stolp Island Theatre, 5 E. Downer Place #G, Aurora; tickets $65 at paramountaurora.com

Chris Jones is a Tribune critic.

cjones5@chicagotribune.com