Award-winning, independent musician and actor Levi Kreis will be spending some time in the Windy City, helping Chicagoans relive a legendary moment in rock 'n' roll history.
The openly gay singer-songwriter, who just finished a tour promoting his last two albums ( One of the Ones and The Gospel According to Levi ) , is starring in the Chicago production of the new musical Million Dollar Quartet. Million Dollar Quartet is about Sam Phillips' 1956 legendary jam session featuring Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins and Elvis Presley. This spur-of-the-moment recording session embodied the birth of rock 'n' roll. The musical, inspired by this historical moment, brings the audience back to that December night through memorable '50s tunes such as 'Blue Suede Shoes' and 'Great Balls of Fire.'
Kreis, who starred in the original Seattle production, plays the role of Jerry Lee Lewis in this limited engagement and Midwest debut, which runs through Sunday, Oct. 26, in Goodman's Owen Theatre, 170 N. Dearborn.
Kreis sat down with Windy City Times after a rehearsal to chat about the show, being true to himself and more.
Windy City Times: I can imagine how it's a lot of fun to be involved in this production.
Levi Kreis: Oh, yeah! There are less fun jobs. [ Laughs ]
WCT: What is your favorite song to perform during Million Dollar Quartet?
LK: 'Peace in the Valley,' which is a group number. We all perform that together. It's one of those few moments in the play where everyone gets to reflect on their past. The great thing about these four characters is they come from that religious background, so there's a still sacredness that they all know from growing up with this reverence for family who is God-fearing, going to church. It's one of those reflective moments where I think they all had an inner conflict about rock 'n' roll and what that means, versus [ slips into a thick Southern drawl ] what the Bible says about rock 'n' roll. It's a really nice, tender moment that happens, where we all can come together and have that moment. Plus, it's my granddaddy's favorite song.
WCT: That, right there, seems like something you can relate to so much, given your background. [ Kreis grew up in Eastern Tennessee and was raised by a deeply religious family. He got his start as a Christian singer-songwriter, and even put himself through six years of reparative therapy before becoming true to himself and moving to Los Angeles ] .
LK: My background is the background of these characters. I was one of a graduating class of five people. I was actually a singing Evangelist by the time I was 12 years old, and touring different churches every weekend and having altar calls—that whole thing. I stayed in that world until evil rock 'n' roll got a hold of me! [ Laughs ] My parents are fundamentalists, and being back in the country like that, I had a very similar upbringing to these guys.
WCT: Of these four legends, which musician do you think you relate to the most?
LK: Musically, I relate to Jerry Lee more, because I grew up playing him. One of the 45's I remember hearing as a kid was 'Great Balls of Fire.' When I was 12 years old, I was already playing that song, so that is very much a part of my story. As far as personally, I guess who I can relate to the most is maybe Johnny Cash, only because he ... had a conviction about going back to gospel music. Coming from the church, and also being a singer-songwriter in my own right, it's very important to me—having cut my teeth on gospel music—to make music that makes a difference and inspires people. I can see a little bit of that, at least in the story line they created.
WCT: Is it hard to relate to Jerry Lee Lewis at times because of his fall from grace? He was a great musician, but his career was really marred by this one thing [ marrying his 13-year-old cousin ] .
LK: There's a lot of enjoyment playing him during this period in time.
WCT: Because it is before all that?
LK: Yes. I don't have to factor that stuff in. He's a new guy, and just playing the piano during this session. He auditioned that day, and all of that blossomed from there. It's fortunate I get to keep him light and cocky, and not too intense.
WCT: Does this show make you miss back home a little bit, because it's touching on your roots?
LK: It does make me miss back home, but my mom and dad come often to see the show. They'll be coming from Tennessee, and it's even closer than Seattle, which was where last year's run was. Yeah, it does, it does. When you get to a certain age, you start to see that your family is growing older and you really should be there more often, but you can't. It is a definite connection to home, and I think it's actually influenced my own music. I spent all last summer working on a new album, which is coming out in January. I found during the last run of the show that all this roots and stuff was finding its way in my own music, which was probably the most important bleed over from doing this role into my own life.
WCT: Where do you find the time to be writing new material and doing this show? It has to be crazy!
LK: Yeah, I sort of feel like I just don't stop! I did actually, for the first time, got to spend some time at home this summer. I got a good three or four months where I got to chill out. I had just finished over 300 cities in 16 months, so I needed a break.
WCT: What made you first consider acting, because I know music is your thing?
LK: I never considered acting. It absolutely just happened. I had a friend in Los Angeles, who happened to be Southern, which is probably why we were friends, because I needed some Southern friends there. She ended being a manager for some actors, and got a great job for this independent film Rockabilly, strangely enough. It was the lead in an independent film, and I randomly auditioned for fun. I ended up getting the role, and the film won some awards. Shortly after, I was like, 'Wow, I kind of dig this.' Then, I ended up doing Roger in Rent for a little while. Then I got an agent, and landed a role as Matthew McConaughey's brother in Frailty. It's not like I've really done a lot of acting, but it's something that sort of keeps coming back to me, and I'm grateful for that, because over time, I've fallen very much in love with it.
WCT: Would you say music is still your first love, or have they evened out?
LK: They are sort of getting even. They are getting equal at this point, even though music is what pays my bills and keeps me on the road. The love is pretty equal.
It's been nothing but a positive experience.
WCT: We are an LGBT publication, so we think it's really cool that you are out and open. At this point, do you think it's more difficult to be out and completely yourself in the music scene or in Hollywood?
LK: Undoubtably, acting. This is where I could launch into having lived in Los Angeles for eight or nine years. I've seen, not only casting directors, not only producers of films, but actors, as well, who, when it gets right down to it, there is still that wall. I know of actors who are successful in Hollywood right now, who unfortunately, except for three or four people in their lives, have to have a girl by their side for the paparazzi. But music, it seems, has really opened up a lot. It doesn't surprise me that's the case, because rock 'n' roll was birthed out of rebellion. So, it just seems like it would make sense to happen earlier in music, whereas movies have always had a reputation to uphold, at least in Hollywood.
WCT: You decided to go independent, which allows you be completely be yourself. What brought you to that decision? Was it your move to Los Angeles?
LK: I had just been released from Atlantic Records in early 2005. I had realized at that point, that the reason I had gone though so many record labels is they really didn't know what to do with me, which is because I wasn't letting them know who they were working with. I was guarding myself and presenting to them what I thought they wanted—and what they said they wanted, which was 'Let's make this guy into a new MTV heartthrob singer-songwriter.' In actuality, I wasn't being honest with anybody, so nobody knew what to really do with me. When I left Atlantic Records, I said to myself, 'You know, I am never going to get anywhere and own my journey, unless I can say this is important. These experiences are here for a reason. I am who I am, and as an individual expression of God. Who am I to be shameful of that?' That's why I went back to cutting my teeth on gospel music. I had a passion to say something that makes a difference. I couldn't readily to that and pretend to be something else. That's why with $200 in my pocket and a favor from a friend, recording One of the Ones, and just sat down at a piano and played from beginning to end and hoped that it happened. And thousands of CDs later, it did! I think the reason it is because it was such an outburst of honesty from me. That had been bottled up for a while, waiting to come out. To just say, 'This is who I am, and I finally embrace it.'
We all want that for ourselves, so I think anyone in life who exhibits that, we are attracted to and inspired to do the same.
WCT: For young LGBT aspiring musicians and actors out there, what is your advice?
LK: If you hide your journey, you have nothing to say. That's number one. And two, it ain't about you. I believe we all have very specific gifts, whether it be music or like my mom, who is an amazing caregiver. That is what we are intended to do—to just serve the world around us. It is our service. When we approach our career from that way, we find that everything that we need begins to just be there and support us in that endeavor. If you really want to know the secret, it's not about us.
See www.levikreis.com . Million Dollar Quartet runs through Sunday, Oct. 26, in Goodman's Owen Theatre, 170 N. Dearborn; call 312-443-3800 or visit www.goodmantheatre.org .
