Theatre Memphis Honors Priscilla Presley for Memphis Contributions

Theatre Memphis is hosting a celebratory evening, Honoring Priscilla Presley: The Artist, The Woman, at 7pm on July 22, 2022. The black-tie gala event will feature music, dinner, dignitaries, open bar beginning at 6:30 pm, and surprise guests.

This year marks the 40th anniversary of Priscilla's opening of Graceland, the mansion and grounds of Elvis Presley's home. In doing so, Priscilla has made Memphis the epicenter of rock 'n roll for musicians and Elvis fans and a destination for more than 22 million international tourists. Co-Chairs of the event are Dabney Coors and Elizabeth Coors. Tickets are available for $300 per person by calling 901.682.8601.

A formal tribute at 7:30 pm in the Lohrey Theatre will be dedicated to Priscilla and includes performances by Gary Beard, Kallen Esperian, Mario Monterosso, Brennan Villines, and John Paul Keith. Patrons will adjourn to dinner, drinks, and rock 'n roll, and Sponsors and VIP ticket holders will gather to meet Priscilla personally. As a national leader among community theaters, and one of the oldest in the United States, Theatre Memphis is announcing at the event the following scholarship partially funded with a portion of the evening's proceeds:

The Theatre Memphis - Priscilla Presley Scholarship, established 2022, will be awarded annually to an individual for up to $2500 to make an artistic dream come true when the aspiring designee is working to advance an aspect(s) of performance art through education or training, and will, thereby, foster the ongoing growth of community arts in Memphis and the MidSouth.

Applications for the scholarship will be open online at www.theatememphis.org/scholarship, beginning July 25, 2022. Theatre Memphis Executive Producer Debbie Litch elaborates, "We are so pleased to be the designated venue for this event honoring Priscilla for our shared passion and for her contributions to the community and the arts."

Dabney Coors, event Co-Chair says, "Priscilla has been guided always by her internal sense of artistic integrity. This is evident not only in her television work on the hit series Dallas, and in her work on the silver screen in the Naked Gun Trilogy, among many of her personal artistic pursuits, but in her creative vision of preserving, organizing, and presenting to the public the professional and personal possessions of Elvis Presley at Graceland in such a way as to share with the world the story of his achieving the American Dream through his multifaceted artistic talent. Recently at the premiere of the new Elvis movie on July 10, 2022, with her daughter and granddaughter, Priscilla hosted Director Baz Luhrmann and the entire cast of the movie, including Austin Butler and Tom Hanks, at Graceland in Memphis. She was instrumental on the following day in hosting Warner Brothers international press release of the movie in Memphis- not New York or Los Angeles, the customary cities for international releases."

Priscilla has made tremendous contributions to the area's cultural and economic development. She eagerly greets fans in Memphis and around the world. Her plan of opening Graceland as a museum is an international success in tourism and the music industry. For her global promotion of Elvis' music and her many other artistic contributions to Memphis Music, Priscilla will be inducted into the Memphis Music Hall of Fame later this year.

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