Flat Rock Playhouse to Present THE MUSIC OF JOHNNY CASH AND ROY ORBISON

After a month's hiatus, the Flat Rock Playhouse Music on the Rock Series returns celebrating two of the most influential artists in the history of American Popular Music, Johnny Cash & Roy Orbison.

A musical journey featuring the country & rock 'n' roll hits they performed together and on their own, this Music on the Rock will pull from the full range of their repertoire that began in Memphis, TN and travelled across the country and beyond. Jeremy Sevelovitz ("Carl Perkins" from The Playhouse's 2016's hit musical Million Dollar Quartet) and Eric Anthony (recent Music of the Beatles favorite) will star in this brand-new Music on the Rock: The Music of Johnny Cash & Roy Orbison, running from May 4th - 14th, at the Flat Rock Playhouse Downtown on Main Street in Hendersonville.

"Interestingly enough, Johnny and Roy were next-door neighbors in TN," explained Anthony. "Both Johnny & Roy spent time in their early careers at Sun Studios in Memphis, under the wing of Sam Phillips. We will highlight some of the early songs at Sun, as well as their later hits of the 60's, 70's & 80's." Though Anthony hints that there will be a few surprises, The Music of Johnny Cash & Roy Orbison will include hits such as: "Only the Lonely", "Blue Bayou", "Crying", "And I Walk the Line", "Folsom Prison Blues" and "Hey Porter". Sevelovitz & Anthony will also highlight hits from Cash & Orbison's days of performing with their respective "Super Groups," including The Traveling Wilbury's and The Highway Men.

Playing alongside Anthony & Sevelovitz will be Flat Rock Playhouse favorite, Ryan Guerra, on bass, as well as Jon Brown on drums and Andrew Rogleberg on keys. Anthony will also serve as Music Director.

Johnny Cash, one of the most influential and best-selling music artists of all time, has sold over 90 million records worldwide and holds the unique honor of being inducted into the Country Music, Rock and Roll, and Gospel Music Hall of Fame. Roy Orbison is considered (by Rolling Stone) the 13th Greatest Singer of All Time and also holds multiple inductions into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame. There is no doubt that the music and legacy that these two artists left behind provides Anthony, Sevelovitz and their band with a substantial and significant story to tell. And it just so happens that Flat Rock Playhouse's Music on the Rock is just the perfect platform from which to tell it, featuring two hours jam-packed with The Music of Johnny Cash & Roy Orbison.

The Music Johnny Cash & Roy Orbison will run May 4th through the 14th at The Flat Rock Playhouse Downtown. Performances Thursday evenings at 7:30PM, Friday and Saturday evenings 8:00PM, matinees Thursday, Saturday and Sunday at 2 PM. Tickets are $28 and can be purchased by calling The Playhouse box office at 828-693-0731, toll-free at 866-732-8008 or online at www.flatrockplayhouse.org. The Flat Rock Playhouse Downtown is located at 125 South Main Street in Hendersonville, NC.

In 1937, a group of struggling performers, led by Robroy Farquhar, organized themselves as the Vagabond Players. The Vagabonds worked in a variety of places over the course of three years, and in 1940 found themselves in the Blue Ridge region of Western North Carolina. The local and tourist community welcomed them with open arms when they presented their first summer season of plays in a 150-year-old grist mill they converted into The Old Mill Playhouse at Highland Lake. So successful was that summer, they returned in 1941. After WWII, the Vagabond Players reorganized, came back to the region and opened a playhouse in nearby Lake Summit. The Lake Summit Playhouse thrived during the post war years and soon the Vagabond Players were looking for a larger and permanent home. In 1952, the troupe of performers, and a newly formed board of directors, made an offer to buy an 8-acre lot in the Village of Flat Rock. This new home made the Vagabonds "locals" and a rented big top gave birth to Flat Rock Playhouse. As the beautiful Western Carolina region continued to grow, so did The Playhouse and in 1961, by Act of the North Carolina General Assembly, Flat Rock Playhouse was officially designated The State Theatre of North Carolina. What began as a few weeks of summer performances in 1940 is now a nine-month season of plays including Broadway musicals, comedy, drama, and theatre for young audiences. The Playhouse's dual mission of producing the performing arts and providing education in the performing arts includes a professional series; a summer and fall college apprentice and intern program; and Studio 52, family focused programming that provides immersive, hands-on theatrical experiences for children in kindergarten through adults. Flat Rock Playhouse now hosts over 98,000 patrons annually and is a significant contributor to the local economy and the Arts in North Carolina.

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