PSST! Presents “Million Dollar Quartet” May 25-July 14

VALDOSTA — The rock and roll of yesteryear will return to South Georgia when Peach State Summer Theatre kicks off a 13-performance run of “Million Dollar Quartet” at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, May 25, in Valdosta State University’s Sawyer Theatre. Tickets are on sale now.

Written by Colin Escott and Floyd Mutrux, “Million Dollar Quartet” is based on the night in December 1956 when rock and roll icons Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Carl Perkins gathered together for the first and only time at Sun Records in Memphis, Tennessee, for an impromptu recording session. The jukebox musical “brings that legendary December night to life with an irresistible tale of broken promises, secrets, betrayal, and celebrations that is both poignant and funny,” according to TheatricalRights.com. The show features hits such as “Blue Suede Shoes,” “Fever,” “Walk the Line,” “Sixteen Tons,” “Who Do You Love?,” “Great Balls of Fire,” “Folsom Prison Blues,” “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On,” “Hound Dog,” and more.

“The actors not only act and sing; they also play all the instruments,” said Hank Rion, director of the Peach State Summer Theatre production of “Million Dollar Quartet” and assistant professor of theatre at Gulf Coast State College in Panama City, Florida. “It’s just phenomenal. Your jaw drops at the talent that they have. It’s a great energy when you have all the actors singing and dancing and playing. It really gets the crowd going wild. It’s the best.” 

“Million Dollar Quartet” premiered at Florida’s Seaside Music Theatre in November 2006 before opening at Chicago’s Apollo Theater in October 2008. There the musical gained massive success, playing close to 3,000 performances before it closed in January 2016. The show debuted on Broadway in New York City at the Nederlander Theatre in April 2010, playing 489 performances before it closed in June 2011. This was followed by national tours and international productions, including at London’s West End and Canada’s Chemainus Theatre Festival. The show has earned a Tony Award and two additional Tony nominations; an Outer Critics Circle Award; and a Drama Desk Award nomination.

Peach State Summer Theatre’s production of “Million Dollar Quartet” is rated PG and is sponsored, in part, by VSU’s Harley Langdale Jr. College of Business Administration’s Master of Business Administration in Healthcare Administration Program and VSU’s Beta Gamma Sigma Business Honors Society.

Individual admission is $32 for adults, $28 for students and senior citizens, and $24 for Peach State Summer Theatre fans in groups of 10 or more, including taxes and fees.

Season memberships are available through Friday, May 25. The cost is $86.46 for adults and $83.25 for students and senior citizens, including taxes and fees. Each season membership includes three admissions to be used as desired by the member with advance reservations.

Patronages are also available at a variety of levels.

The Peach State Summer Theatre Box Office is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sundays. It is located on the first floor of the VSU Fine Arts Building, at the corner of Brookwood Drive and Oak Street, and can be reached by calling (229) 259-7770. The online box office at www.valdosta.edu/psst is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Peach State Summer Theatre, or PSST!, is Valdosta’s premiere professional summer stock theatre. Each summer, dozens of singers, dancers, technicians, managers, and creators gather on the campus of Valdosta State University for 10 weeks, and during that time, they rehearse, build, and present three musicals in rotating repertory. Disney’s “Newsies” opens on Friday, June 8, and “Hello, Dolly!” opens on Friday, June 22.

The 2018 Peach State Summer Theatre season marks the 29^th year of VSU producing professional theatre for the city of Valdosta, the state of Georgia, and beyond. From 1990 to 2004, VSU produced the Jekyll Island Musical Theatre Festival. In 2005, the summer theatre program was relocated to the university and renamed PSST! 

The Georgia Legislature designated Valdosta State’s summer stock theatre program the Official Musical Theatre of the State of Georgia.

VSU’s Jacque Wheeler serves as the artistic director of Peach State Summer Theatre. H. Duke Guthrie is the managing director.

Sawyer Theatre and the PSST! Box Office are located on the first floor of VSU’s Fine Arts Building, at the intersection of Oak Street and Brookwood Drive.

Visit www.valdosta.edu/psst for more information.

Visit www.facebook.com/vstatenews to view photos and learn more about the cast and crew.

"Million Dollar Quartet" Performance Schedule

• 7:30 p.m. Friday, May 25 

• 7:30 p.m. Saturday, May 26, Pay What You Can Performance

• 2 p.m. Saturday, June 2

• 3 p.m. Sunday, June 3

• 3 p.m. Sunday, June 10, Interpreted for the Deaf in American Sign Language

• 7:30 p.m. Friday, June 15

• 7:30 p.m. Saturday, June 23

• 7:30 p.m. Thursday, June 28

• 7:30 p.m. Saturday, June 30

• 7:30 p.m. Friday, July 6

• 2 p.m. Saturday, July 7

• 7:30 p.m. Thursday, July 12

• 7:30 p.m. Saturday, July 14