MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET National Tour Plays the Merrill Auditorium Tonight

Portland Ovations presents the national tour of the Broadway musical Million Dollar Quartet, inspired by the electrifying true story, at Merrill Auditorium tonight, February 21 at 4pm and 8pm.

The international Tony Award-Winning musical, Million Dollar Quartet is set on December 4, 1956, when an auspicious twist of fate brought Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins and Elvis Presley together. Sam Phillips, the "Father of Rock 'n' Roll" who was responsible for launching the careers of each icon, gathered the four legendary musicians at the Sun Records storefront studio in Memphis for the first and only time. The resulting evening became known as one of the greatest rock 'n' roll jam sessions in history.

Million Dollar Quartet brings that legendary night to life with an irresistible tale of broken promises, secrets, betrayal and celebrations featuring timeless hits including "Blue Suede Shoes," "That's All Right," "Sixteen Tons," "Great Balls of Fire," "I Walk the Line," "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On," "See Ya Later, Alligator," "Fever," "Folsom Prison Blues," "Hound Dog" and more.

This Broadway national tour features Maine native Scott Moreau as Johnny Cash. Scott is from Litchfield and his experience is not limited to performing; he made his professional directorial debut with Ring of Fire at the Round Barn Theatre in 2011. In 2013 he released a Johnny Cash tribute, Home Of The Blues: A Tribute to Johnny Cash at Sun Studio and most recently, Scott finished shooting the final episode of HBO's Emmy award winning show, Boardwalk Empire.

The show is directed by Eric Schaeffer and features a book by Colin Escott and Floyd Mutrux. The design team includes: Derek McLane (scenic design), Howell Binkley (lighting design), Jane Greenwood (costume design), Kai Harada (sound design) and Chuck Mead (musical arrangements and supervision).

When the Broadway production opened in April 2010, critics and audiences leapt to their feet in unanimous praise. The New York Times called the show, "a buoyant new musical that whips the crowd into a frenzy," New York Magazine labeled it, "a dazzling raucous spectacle that sounds like a million bucks," and NY1 called it, "90 minutes of platinum grade entertainment." The musical continued its successful New York engagement at New World Stages through June 2012.

Million Dollar Quartet won a Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical and received a Tony Award nomination for Best Musical and Best Book of a Musical (Colin Escott & Floyd Mutrux). The show received an Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical, a Drama Desk nomination for Outstanding Musical Revue and three Drama League nominations including Distinguished Production of a Musical and Distinguished Performance.

Tickets for Million Dollar Quartet range from $40.50 to $63 for Ovations' Members and $45 to $70 for the general public. Million Dollar Quartet is sponsored locally by Baker Newman Noyes and media support is provided by WGME 13. To purchase tickets, visit www.portlandovations.org, contact PortTix at 207-842-0800 or visit the box office window at Merrill Auditorium.

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