The sounds of Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins and Jerry Lee Lewis are coming to life on stage this fall with ‘Million Dollar Quartet’ at the Walnut Street Theatre.
Inspired by the actual events that took place on Dec. 4, 1956 at Sun Records in Memphis—where the four powerhouse musicians came together under the direction of Sam Phillips to create music as a group for the first and only time in their careers, the show will feature a ton of classic tunes from the “Golden Era” of music, including ‘Blue Suede Shoes,’ ‘Fever,’ ‘Walk the Line,’ ‘Sixteen Tons,’ ‘Who Do You Love?,’ ‘Great Balls of Fire,’ ‘Hound Dog,’ and more.
The jukebox musical first premiered on Broadway in 2010 and shortly after, earned Tony nominations for Best Musical and Best Book. The show later made its West End debut at the Noël Coward Theatre in 2011. This rendition of the show features a book by Colin Escott and Floyd Mutrux, with its original concept and direction also by Mutrux.
As a release notes, portraying the four legends commonly referred to as the Quartet are Matteo Scammell (Jimmy Buffett’s ‘Escape to Margaritaville’) as Elvis Presley, Brian Micheal Henry and Paul Harrold in their Walnut debuts as Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins respectively, and Ken Sandberg (‘Jersey Boys’) as Johnny Cash.
WST’s production will be directed by longtime Walnut collaborator and favorite Fran Prisco, who is making his directorial debut at on the mainstage after 42 productions as an actor. Prisco has also previously directed WST’s productions of ‘A Steady Rain’ and ‘My Way’ in Walnut Street Theatre’s Independence Studio on 3, and most recently directed at the Fulton Theatre.
‘Million Dollar Quartet’ at Walnut Street Theatre (825 Walnut St.) begins previews on Sept. 30, opens Oct. 8, and runs through Nov. 2. As a release notes, open captioning will be available on Sunday, Oct. 12 for the 7 p.m. performance; audio description will also be available on Thursday, Oct. 23 for the 2 p.m. performance.
Walnut Street Theatre’s 2025-26 season will also include: ‘A Christmas Story The Musical’, ‘Sherlock Holmes: The Great Detective’, Edward Albee’s ‘A Delicate Balance’, and ‘1776 The Musical’. Locals can find more information and tickets for the show by visiting WalnutStreetTheatre.org, Ticketmaster.com or by calling 215-574-3550.
