The production, which was a roaring success last year, features the towering talents of Tony Franks who has the mammoth task of playing the role of The King. “We went through a very rigorous audition process last year, Shkuratov recalls. “It was very difficult to find the right person. It took us a really long time because there were people that could sing, but they couldn’t act, and there were people that could act but they couldn’t sing. What we found with Tony Franks was, not only does he have an amazing knowledge of Elvis, but he is a method actor and I have never heard someone belt out an Elvis song the way he does. We are very lucky to work with him.”
Acting skills are essential in a show that is designed to propel the audience into a truly absorbing experience. As Shkuratov explains, Frank’s role wasn’t to imitate the performer. “The idea behind [the production] was not to do an impersonation, but actually do a full theatrical production based on the final televised concert. You don’t just get a guy in a costume singing Elvis’ greatest hits. You get a whole ensemble of talented actors reprising roles of various characters on the night, you have the full orchestra, you have the full eight-piece band [and] the harmony section.
“We have tried to build an experience from the beginning to the end. As soon as you walk in there you are going to jump straight into Rapid City, South Dakota. There’s going to be police officers walking around patrolling the lobby.”
The soon-to-be-demolished Dallas Brooks Centre plays a key role in the conjuring of this multi-sensory time-travelling experience. “It’s a great venue,” Shkuratov exclaims. “It’s a shame they are knocking it down. We are very honoured to be chosen as the final show at the Dallas Brooks Centre before they shut down. It’s got that old school feel. It actually looks like Rapid City in South Dakota in ’77. That was the kind of stage they had, to recreate the production we went down to the very last detail. We made sure that the speakers looked old school and that the sound was authentic to the age. We have set up an Elvis memorabilia museum in the lobby of the venue, we have got some of the rings that Elvis wore, we have also got some secret things that people are going to enjoy seeing.”
Although Elvis in ‘77 didn’t have the fresh-faced movie-star aura and healthy vigour of his early years, Shkuratov says there’s still something to love about the star. “There’s a certain beauty about this Elvis,” he enthuses. “This is one of the greatest entertainers of our time putting everything he had into another performance.”
Elvis fans may be surprised by the selection of songs performed on the night. “[Elvis in ‘77] was a different sounding Elvis [as] he has more of a gospel sound to him,” Shkuratov explains. “The song list is exactly the same as the song list [at the original concert in ‘77]. The song list choice is very different, to what [many audiences] are used to seeing. You have your well-known hits like Hound Dog and Unchained Melody, but you have a whole bunch of great songs in the set list that you wouldn’t guess Elvis would have performed in his show.”
BY GRAHAM BLACKLEY
