Elvis & Co. Hit the Road! Million Dollar Quartet Sets National Tour Dates

Rockabilly musical Million Dollar Quartet will kick off a national tour on October 11 at PlayhouseSquare in Cleveland. Cities and dates through July 2012 have been set, but no casting for the tour has been announced.

The current tour schedule is as follows: Cleveland, OH (PlayhouseSquare Theatre), 10/11 - 10/23; Rochester, NY (Auditorium Theatre), 10/25 - 10/30; Pittsburgh, PA (Benedum Center), 11/1 - 11/6; Buffalo, NY (Shea’s Performing Arts Center), 11/8 - 11/13; Milwaukee, WI (Marcus Center for the Performing Arts), 11/15 - 11/20; Charlotte, NC (The Knight Center ), 11/22 - 12/11; Indianapolis, IN (Clowes Hall), 12/13 - 12/18; Naples, FL (The Philharmonic), 12/20 - 12/23; Miami, FL (Adrienne Arsht Center), 12/27 - 1/1/12; Tampa, FL (Straz Center), 1/3 - 1/8; East Lansing, MI (Wharton Center), 1/10 - 1/15; Grand Rapids, MI (DeVos Performance Hall), 1/17 - 1/22; Detroit, MI (Fisher Theatre), 1/24 - 2/5; Appleton, WI (Fox Cities Performing Arts Center), 2/7 - 2/12; Memphis, TN (Orpheum Theatre), 2/14 - 2/19; Fayetteville, AR (Walton Arts Center), 2/21 - 2/26; Houston, TX (Hobby Center) 2/28 – 3/4; Dallas, TX (Music Hall at Fair Park) 3/6 - 3/18; Kansas City, MO (Kaufman Center), 3/20 - 3/25; Minneapolis, MN (The State Theatre), 3/27 - 4/1; Sacramento, CA (Community Center Theatre), 4/17 - 4/22; Costa Mesa, CA (Segerstrom Center for the Arts), 4/24 - 5/6; San Jose, CA (Civic Center), 5/8 - 5/13; Seattle, WA (The Paramount), 5/15 - 5/20; Portland, OR (Keller Auditorium), 5/22 - 5/27; Salt Lake City, UT (Capitol Theatre), 5/29 - 6/3; Tempe, AZ (ASU Gammage), 6/5 - 6/10; Las Vegas, NV (Smith Center), 6/12 - 6/17; Los Angeles, CA (Pantages Theatre), 6/19 - 7/1.

Inspired by the December 4, 1956, recording session that brought together four rock icons, Million Dollar Quartet recreates the historic day in the Memphis Sun Records studio when Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins took part in an impromptu jam session. The show includes some of the actual songs that were performed on the day as well as“Blue Suede Shoes,” “Who Do You Love?,” “Great Balls of Fire,” “I Walk the Line,” “Folsom Prison Blues” and “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Going On.”

The New York production of Million Dollar Quartet, which re-opened at off-Broadway’s New World Stages on July 28, 2011 after closing at Broadway's Nederlander Theatre on June 12, currently features original stars Eddie Clendening as Elvis Presley, Lance Guest at Johnny Cash and Robert Britton Lyons as Carl Perkins, with Quartet vets James Moye as record producer Sam Phillips, Victoria Matlock as Dyanne and David Abeles as Jerry Lee Lewis.

Million Dollar Quartet is directed by Eric Schaeffer and features a book by Colin Escott and Floyd Mutrux. The design team for the national tour includes Derek McLane (scenic design), Howell Binkley (lighting design), Jane Greenwood (costume design), Kai Harada (sound design) and Chuck Mead (musical arrangements and supervision). In addition to the New York production, Million Dollar Quartet is currently running at Chicago’s Apollo Theatre, where the show began life in 2008.