Playhouse on the Square to Premiere New Musical MAY WE ALL, Featuring the Music of Kenny Chesney, Miranda Lambert & More

Playhouse on the Square, in partnership with super sponsor Dr. Thomas Ratliff has collaborated with producers Lively McCabe Entertainment, music giants BMG, as well as Florida Georgia Line's Brian Kelley and his CuzBro Productions, to produce a new musical celebrating the genre of country music and capturing the American spirit.

MAY WE ALL is a story of disappearing small-town America as seen through the hopeful eyes of its youth. Jenna Coates, a fledgling country singer, reluctantly comes home after a rough start in Nashville, ultimately to discover that her roots may take her a lot further than her dreams.

The production was originally set to be the second production of the season at the theatre's The Circuit Playhouse, slated for October 2020. Based on the local spread of Coronavirus cases in Memphis and surrounding areas, Playhouse on the Square's executive leadership made the difficult decision to cancel performances beginning in March 2020 and to postpone in-house performances until the end of fall 2020, reopening with this World Premiere. The production will now be held on the theatre's main stage auditorium at Playhouse on the Square due to its larger capacity to accommodate social distancing.

The book for MAY WE ALL is written by Troy Britton Johnson, Todd Johnson, and Eric Pfeffinger. Music Arrangements and Orchestrations are by Brian Usifer. The production's design team includes: scenic design by Lauren Helpern, costume design by Lindsay Schmeling, lighting design by Justin Gibson, and sound is designed by Jason Eschhofen. The production is being locally overseen by Playhouse on the Square Executive Producer, Michael Detroit. The production is musical directed by Nathan McHenry, choreographed by Courtney Oliver, and Shelley Butler is directing the musical. The creative team will be participating remotely from across the country, just one of many accommodations taken on by the theatre as safety precautions due to the impact of COVID-19.

The production will not only be presented in their state of the art main stage auditorium, but will also undergo a mostly-virtual rehearsal process with final rehearsal weeks in the auditorium versus rehearsal studios in order to meet required social distancing mandates from both the Shelby County Health Department as well as the standards established by previous successful professional productions within the United States.

These standards include a scenic design and staging to accommodate the recommended 15 feet of spacing between performers, with a minimum of 150 square feet of space for each performer on stage. The in-person audience will be limited to only 111 people, and be seated in pods with 6 feet of distance between groups, and each attendee must wear a mask for the duration, and have their temperature taken prior to admission. Beyond these in-person attendees, the additional ticket capacity will be made available for online live streaming of each performance from the theater, via the ShowTix4U platform.

The production proceeds after a detailed reopening plan was submitted and ultimately approved by local health authorities. The plan is dependent on the continued trajectory of reduced transmission. The producers reserve the right to cancel the production should the infection rate in Shelby County veer off of its current downward trajectory, or to move to fully live-streamed performances, with full understanding and support of all parties involved.

The musical celebrates small town America and features the music of such diverse country greats as Tim McGRaw, Sara Evans, Kenny Chesney, Keith Urban, Brooks and Dunn, Shania Twain, Kacey Musgraves, Chris Stapleton, Little Big Town, Miranda Lambert, Rascal Flatts, John Denver, Patsy Cline, Johnny Cash, Loretta Lynn, Dolly Parton, The Chicks, Old Dominion, Jessica Andrews, and LoCash, among others. Two original songs that were co-written by Brian Kelley and Tyler Hubbard of FGL are also featured in the score, which will debut exclusively in this show. The musical is being presented for the first time ever here in Memphis, with the producers looking to subsequently bring the show to Nashville and then tour North America. A feature film adaptation is also in development by Kelley's CuzBro and Lively McCabe.

Streaming and in-person tickets go on sale Monday October 5th, 2020. Performances will run Thursday - Saturday with an 8:00 pm curtain and with a 2:00 pm curtain on Sunday. Special ticket pricing for the opening weekend is $27. For tickets, call the Box Office at (901) 726-4656 or visit our website www.playhouseonthesquare.org. Follow on social media using #MWAMemphis and #TheSing901.

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