Nearly nine months after opening, Paramount Theatre’s smash hit, immersive restaging of Million Dollar Quartet, a “roof-rattling…rapturous celebration of early rock ‘n’ roll” (Daily Herald), is still packing audiences in at Paramount’s new Stolp Island Theatre in downtown Aurora, where performances have been extended through June 2025.
Meanwhile, traveling actor/musician Matt McClure has stepped into the “Blue Suede Shoes” of rockabilly legend Carl Perkins. McClure is widely known for playing the title role in another famous rock ‘n roll jukebox musical, Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story, at theaters around the country.
Matt McClure (top) has joined the cast as Carl Perkins in Paramount Theatre’s smash hit immersive staging of Million Dollar Quartet, still rockin’ at Paramount’s new Stolp Island Theatre through June 2025 (credit: Brett Beiner Photography). (archival photo, bottom) Carl Perkins, second from left in this original photo from their historic 1956 jam session at Sun Studios, would have turned 93 on Wednesday, April 9, so Paramount is honoring the day with a talkback featuring McClure and Sam Pearson.
Special Event Alert!
On Wednesday, April 9, what would have been Perkins’ 93rd birthday, Paramount Theatre will honor the occasion after the 1:30 p.m. matinee when cast members Matt McClure (Carl Perkins) and Sam Pearson (Sam Phillips) will join the audience for a post-show discussion.
Matt McClure (left) plays rock legend Carl Perkins and Garrett Forrestal is Jerry Lee Lewis in Paramount Theatre’s immersive production of Million Dollar Quartet. Credit: Brett Beiner Photography
Paramount’s Million Dollar Quartet is like none other, custom produced as an immersive experience in Paramount’s newest venue, Stolp Island Theatre, where it has been playing to sold-out audiences since inaugurating the space last July.
Paramount’s radically unique restaging of this three-time Tony Award nominee boasts incredible, up-close performances of some of the best songs of all time, including “Blue Suede Shoes,” “Folsom Prison Blues,” “I Walk the Line,” “Hound Dog” and “Great Balls of Fire.”
The Chicago Tribune’s Chris Jones wrote “this exuberant new take really is all about trying to include the audience in the jam session” calling out Million Dollar Quartet as “another example of how much the success of the nonprofit, audience-focused Paramount has transformed the center of Aurora into a live entertainment destination.” Dean Richards, WGN-TV/AM, said the experience is “like stepping into Sun Records where one special night took place."
McClure joins original MDQ cast members Garrett Forrestal as Jerry Lee Lewis, Bill Scott Sheets as Johnny Cash, Alex Swindle as Elvis Presley, Dan Leali as Fluke, Madison Palmer as Dyanne, Sam Pearson as Sam Phillips, Jake Saleh as Brother Jay and Haley Jane Schafer as Marion.
Watch the new sizzle video for Paramount's immersive new production of Million Dollar Quartet.
Cast members from Paramount Theatre’s smash hit immersive production of Million Dollar Quartet recreate an original photo from the historic 1956 jam session at Sun Studios: (from left) Garrett Forrestal plays Jerry Lee Lewis, Matt McClure is Carl Perkins, Alex Swindle is Elvis Presley, Bill Scott Sheets plays Johnny Cash and Madison Palmer plays Dyanne. Credit: Brett Beiner Photography
Performance times through June 29 are Wednesday at 1:30 p.m. and 7 p.m., Thursday at 7 p.m., Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 3 p.m. and 8 p.m., and Sunday at 1 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. Tickets remain just $65. For tickets and information, visit paramountaurora.com, call (630) 896-6666, or stop by the Paramount Theatre box office, 23 E. Galena Blvd., Monday–Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and until show time on show days.
Welcome to Sun Studios, December 4, 1956. Please step inside…
When audiences step inside Stolp Island Theatre’s lobby, they feel like they’ve stepped back in time to December 5, 1956, outside Sun Studio in Memphis, at Million Dollar Quartet at Paramount Theatre’s new Stolp Island Theatre, 5 E. Downer Place, Suite G, in downtown Aurora. Credit: Amy Nelson
As soon as audiences step inside Stolp Island Theatre’s inner lobby, they feel like they’ve stepped back in time to December 5, 1956, outside Sun Studio in Memphis. Credit: Amy Nelson
When audiences step into the lobby of Paramount’s new Stolp Island Theatre, they feel like they’ve stepped back in time to December 4, 1956, right outside the Sun Records recording studio in Memphis, Tennessee. They can take selfies in front of the Sun Studios entrance or astride a vintage motorcycle, check out displays revealing the history of the play, and step up to the Taylor’s Good Food concession counter to order an old-fashioned Moon Pie, a can of Elvis Juice IPA beer, or other snacks and beverages, all affordably priced.
They then walk through a replica of Sun Studio owner Sam Phillips’ office to enter a theatrical recreation of the actual recording studio, where music legends Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins came together and recorded one of the most historic jam sessions in rock ‘n’ roll history. The recording studio is lined on two sides with just 98 seats, where audiences are treated to a personal, intimate, one-of-a-kind live musical theater experience, fully immersed by amazing talent and the dazzling production values audiences have come to expect from Paramount.
Directors Jim Corti and Creg Sclavi worked with a “million dollar” production team including Kory Danielson, music director; Jeffrey D. Kmiec, scenic designer; Matt Guthier, costume designer; Greg Hofmann, lighting designer; Adam Rosenthal, sound designer; Mike Tutaj, projections designer; Katie Cordts, wig, hair and makeup designer; Jonathan Berg-Einhorn, properties designer; Ethan Deppe, electronic music designer; Susan Gosdick, dialect coach; Max Fabian, fight and intimacy director; Devon Hayakawa, dramaturg; Bill Scott Sheets, associate music director; Rebecca J. Lister, stage manager; and Emily Hanlon, assistant stage manager. Book by Colin Escott and Floyd Mutrex. Original concept and direction by Floyd Mutrix. Understudies include Michael Kurowski, Roy James Brown, Brian Grey, Jordan Golding, Drew Mitchell and Haley Jane Schafer.
Stolp Island Theatre received a multi-year funding commitment from Verano, a leading multi-state cannabis company that operates Zen Leaf Aurora, located at 740 Illinois Route 59, and nine additional Zen Leaf dispensaries across Chicagoland.
(from left) Garrett Forrestal is Jerry Lee Lewis, Bill Scott Sheets plays Johnny Cash, Alex Swindle plays Elvis Presley and Matt McClure plays Carl Perkins in Million Dollar Quartet, an immersive jukebox musical experience at Paramount Theatre’s new Stolp Island Theatre. Credit: Brett Beiner Photography
Bill Scott Sheets plays Johnny Cash in Million Dollar Quartet, the smash hit immersive production at Paramount Theatre’s new Stolp Island Theatre. Also pictured (behind, from left): Madison Palmer as Dyanne and Alex Swindle as Elvis Presley. Credit: Liz Lauren
Alex Swindle plays Elvis Presley in Million Dollar Quartet, the smash hit immersive production at Paramount Theatre’s new Stolp Island Theatre. Credit Brett Beiner Photography
Garrett Forrestal (center) plays Jerry Lee Lewis in Million Dollar Quartet at Paramount Theatre’s new Stolp Island Theatre. Credit: Liz Lauren
Sam Pearson (left) plays Sam Phillips, founder of Sun Studio, and Alex Swindle plays Elvis Presley in Million Dollar Quartet at Paramount Theatre’s new Stolp Island Theatre. Credit: Liz Lauren
Cast members from Paramount Theatre’s immersive production of Million Dollar Quartet recreate an original photo from the historic 1956 jam session at Sun Studios: (from left) Garrett Forrestal plays Jerry Lee Lewis, Matt McClure is Carl Perkins, Alex Swindle is Elvis Presley, Bill Scott Sheets plays Johnny Cash and Madison Palmer plays Dyanne. Credit: Brett Beiner Photography
Meet the band
Garrett Forrestal (Jerry Lee Lewis) is making his Paramount debut. Since his first production of Million Dollar Quartet in 2022, Forrestal has dreamt of doing the show in an intimate space. He has performed all over the country and is especially excited to call Chicago home for the next bit of time. GarrettForrestal.com
Matt McClure (Carl Perkins) is originally from Kennesaw, Georgia. He has traveled the country working both on and off the stage. Favorite credits include Buddy Holly, RED, Noises Off and The Elephant Man.
Bill Scott Sheets (Johnny Cash) returns to Paramount after playing Johnny Cash in its acclaimed 2017 Broadway Series production of Million Dollar Quartet. His credits include Million Dollar Quartet Christmas (2021, 2022, 2023 national tour and original cast album), Million Dollar Quartet (Norwegian Cruise Line and more) and Ring of Fire (Drury Lane, Palace Theater). Concert performances include Cash vs. The King, Million Dollar Reunion and December of ‘63. billscottsheets.com
Alex Swindle (Elvis Presley) is a singer, musician, National Grand Champion and 2015 Ultimate Elvis Top Ten World Finalist from Birmingham, Alabama. Growing up in a household of musicians, Swindle discovered his passion for performing at a very young age. After twelve years of performing as an Elvis tribute artist, he brings to the stage the thrill and charged atmosphere that’s reminiscent of young Elvis in his Sun record days of 1956. A genuine southern gentleman, Swindle presents to his audience a raw talent and compelling charm much like Elvis at the beginning of his career.
Director bios
Jim Corti (Paramount Artistic Director, co-director, Million Dollar Quartet) most recently directed Paramount’s 13th Broadway Series opener, The Full Monty. Corti inaugurated Paramount’s Broadway Series with President and CEO Tim Rater in fall 2011 with the critically acclaimed My Fair Lady and a subscriber base of 12,500 patrons. In 2015, Paramount’s Broadway Series became Jeff Award eligible. Since then, Paramount has garnered 115 nominations with 29 wins, including three consecutive Best Large Musical awards for Les Misérables, West Side Story and Sweeney Todd. Corti helmed all three, and won Best Director for two of them, Les Misérables and Sweeney Todd. Corti also directed Paramount’s Fiddler on the Roof, Miss Saigon, RENT, The Who’s Tommy, Oklahoma!, Mamma Mia!, Million Dollar Quartet, Once, The Producers, Newsies, Groundhog Day: The Musical, Next to Normal, and co-directed Into the Woods, A Streetcar Named Desire, Fun Home and Beautiful: The Carole King Musical. A Broadway veteran, he appeared in the original New York casts of Ragtime and Candide, joined the long running A Chorus Line, and toured nationally in Urinetown, Cabaret and Bob Fosse’s Dancin’. Other highlights include being the only director to have two productions in the same year in the Chicago Tribune’s 2009 list of 10 Best Shows for Drury Lane’s Cabaret and Writers Theatre’s Oh, Coward! He remains the sole honoree to have won Jeff Awards as an actor (Marriott’s Grand Hotel), choreographer (Drury Lane’s Singin’ in the Rain) and director (Paramount’s Sweeney Todd and Les Misérables, Drury Lane’s Sweet Charity and Northlight’s Blues in the Night).
Creg Sclavi (Paramount Artistic Associate & Marketing Liaison, co-director, Million Dollar Quartet) has spent the past year project-managing the construction of the new Stolp Island Theatre. His credits include associate director, The Full Monty (Paramount’s Broadway Series), associate director, Next to Normal (Paramount’s BOLD Series), assistant director, Murder on the Orient Express (Maltz Jupiter), and Dead Man’s Cell Phone (FSU/Asolo). Sclavi earned a BFA in Musical Theatre at UW-Stevens Point, and a MFA in Acting at FSU/Asolo Conservatory). cregsclavi.com
(from left) Alex Swindle plays Elvis, Matt McClure is Carl Perkins and Bill Scott Sheets is Johnny Cash in Million Dollar Quartet, the smash hit immersive production at Paramount Theatre’s new Stolp Island Theatre. Credit: Brett Beiner Photography
Sam Pearson (right) plays Sam Phillips, founder of Sun Studio, and Hayley Jane Shafer plays his studio assistant, Marion, in Million Dollar Quartet at Paramount Theatre’s new Stolp Island Theatre. Credit: Liz Lauren
Madison Palmer plays Dyanne in Million Dollar Quartet at Paramount Theatre’s new Stolp Island Theatre. Credit: Brett Beiner Photography
Dan Leali (left) plays Fluke, Jake Saleh is Brother Jay, (behind in the booth, from left) Hayley Jane Shafer is studio assistant, Marion, and Sam Pearson plays Sun Studio founder Sam Phillips in Million Dollar Quartet at Paramount Theatre’s new Stolp Island Theatre. Credit: Liz Lauren
Buy a Moon Pie, Cracker Jacks, a Schlitz beer, or an affordably priced cocktail at Taylor’s Good Food. It’s part of the Memphis streetscape lobby experience, and doubles as concessions, at Million Dollar Quartet at Paramount Theatre’s new Stolp Island Theatre. Credit: Amy Nelson
Authentic 1950s favorites like Moon Pies and Schlitz are popular concessions and part of the experience at Million Dollar Quartet at Paramount Theatre’s new Stolp Island Theatre. Credit: Amy Nelson
About Paramount Theatre
Paramount Theatre, 23 E. Galena Blvd., is the center for performing arts in Aurora, the second largest city in Illinois. The beautiful, 1,843-seat theater, graced with a strong 1930s Art Deco influence and original Venetian décor, nationally known for its high-quality productions, superb acoustics and historic grandeur, has been downtown Aurora’s anchor attraction since 1931.
Since launching its own Broadway Series in 2011, Paramount has amassed more than 35,000 subscribers, making it the largest subscription house in the U.S.
For over 50 years, the Joseph Jefferson Awards has recognized excellence in Chicago area theater. Paramount has been honored to earn 124 Jeff nominations and 31 wins over the last nine years of eligibility, including six Jeff Awards in 2022 for Kinky Boots, including Best Musical-Large, Paramount’s fourth win in that category following Sweeney Todd (2017), West Side Story (2016) and Les Misérables (2015).
Paramount Theatre is one of five live performance venues overseen by the Aurora Civic Center Authority (ACCA). ACCA also programs and manages the 165-seat Copley Theatre, home to Paramount’s BOLD Series, at 8 E. Galena in the North Island Center; Stolp Island Theatre, now open at 5 E. Downer Place, Suite G, with a critically acclaimed immersive production of Million Dollar Quartet; RiverEdge Park, downtown Aurora’s outdoor summer concert venue at 360 N. Broadway; and the Paramount School of the Arts, all located in downtown Aurora.
Paramount Theatre continues to expand its artistic and institutional boundaries under the guidance of Tim Rater, President and CEO, Aurora Civic Center Authority; Jim Corti, Artistic Director, Paramount Theatre; a dedicated Board of Trustees and a devoted staff of live theater and music professionals.
For the latest updates, visit ParamountAurora.com or follow @paramountaurora on Facebook and Instagram, and Paramount Theatre on LinkedIn.