REVIEW: Return to Grace offers best of an authentic Elvis concert

ST. JACOBS – Do you remember when you heard Elvis Presley died? 

I was 15 and although it was shocking, I admit I wasn’t a fan back then. 

While I was familiar with some of his biggest hits, I was too young to remember him as that hip-swivelling rock and roll icon in the 1950s. 

Looking back, it’s especially tragic that he was only 42, and one wonders how much more amazing music we could have had from him.

Many of us never had the opportunity to see Elvis perform in person, but the third show of the season at the St. Jacobs Country Playhouse, Return To Grace, makes it seem like you are.

Most of your Elvis favourites are included, and that begs the question: what is your favourite Elvis song? 

My husband and I discussed this at dinner before the show and surprisingly, we both said Suspicious Minds. 

I asked Drayton Entertainment CEO Alex Mustakas the same question and he also chose that one. 

When we said we hoped it would be included in the show that night, he assured us that it certainly was. 

And was it ever – but more on that later.

To stage an Elvis tribute show, you need a great Elvis tribute artist, and Drayton Entertainment struck gold with Matt Cage. 

He has an incredible resume of performances as the King and his success is not surprising. 

Not only does he look and sound like Elvis, he captures all the little mannerisms and moves that make an imitation look authentic.

And what a voice! 

The show kicks off with high energy, giving us Hound Dog, Teddy Bear, That’s All Right, and others, before quieting down with the powerful In The Ghetto. 

That is followed by a focus on Elvis’s affinity for gospel, the only music for which he won a Grammy.

Cage’s rendition of How Great Thou Art (one of the greatest gospel songs ever written) produced collective goosebumps and brought down the house. 

Narrator Kent Sheridan interspersed Elvis stories between sets, giving Cage time to change into the assorted quintessential Elvis outfits. 

Cage joked about the tight black leather ensemble that Elvis favoured in the late ‘60s, and yes, that is my favourite Elvis era.

The show is augmented with a talented ensemble of musicians, backup singers and dancers. 

Whether enhancing Cage’s renditions or performing as a group of three or four, their delicious harmonies had the audience swaying and humming along all evening.

The aforementioned Suspicious Minds was an opportunity for Cage to really become the Elvis we saw in concert: riffing with the audience, tossing out sweaty white scarves and flirting with women. If you want to be his focus lady of the show, buy a seat in the middle of the front row. You can thank me later.

The grand finale was the memorable My Way, written by Canadian Paul Anka and made famous by Frank Sinatra. 

But it was the Elvis Presley version that charted highest, possibly because he sang it for a TV special in June 1977 just months before his death, and the lyrics seemed sadly prophetic. 

Cage’s magnificent performance of My Way was a fitting and triumphant end to the show.

Though I wasn’t an Elvis fan when I was a teenager, I grew to appreciate his iconic music over the years. I still have an Elvis Greatest Hits CD and an Elvis gospel CD, just because. Return To Grace was an opportunity to finally (sort of) experience Elvis in concert, and it was an absolute delight.

Directed by David Connolly, Return To Grace runs until Aug. 8 with various afternoon and evening shows Tuesday to Sunday, at the St. Jacobs Country Playhouse. It then moves to the King’s Wharf Theatre in Penetanguishene.

For tickets contact the box office toll-free at 1-855-drayton (372-9866) or online at draytonentertainment.com.