MEMPHIS: THE MUSICAL to Launch 15th Season at Mason Street Warehouse

Celebrate 15 years of theatre with Mason Street Warehouse at the Saugatuck Center for the Arts (400 Culver St., Saugatuck). The Tony Award winning Memphis: the Musical opens the season and runs June 23 - July 9. Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased at sc4a.org, 269-857-2399, or at the box office.

Memphis: the Musical bursts off the stage with explosive dancing, irresistible songs, and a thrilling tale of fame and forbidden love. Inspired by actual events, Memphis is set in the places where rock and roll was born...underground nightclubs, radio stations, and recording studios of the 1950's. Romance sparks between a white radio DJ who wants to change the world, and a black club singer who is ready for her big break. Memphis is filled with roof-raising rock 'n' roll and a love story that will thrill you and break your heart.

"We're very excited to celebrate our 15th Anniversary season with the largest production in Mason Street's history," said SCA Executive Director Kristin Armstrong. "Memphis has a cast of nineteen, and we've brought incredible professional talent from New York City, Chicago, and across the country home to West Michigan for the production."

Lindsay Roberts plays the lead role of Felicia for Memphis: the Musical. She made her Broadway National Tour debut starring as Felicia, and reprises the role for Mason Street Warehouse. Roberts' Broadway credits include the role of Creole Love Call in After Midnight.

David R. Gordon plays the other lead: Huey Calhoun. The actor, who hails from Los Angeles, played the role of Roger in Flashdance the Musical during its first national tour.

Mason Street Artistic Director Kurt Stamm says that while the show is set in the 1950s, the story's themes are fresh and relevant. The lead character Huey Calhoun is loosely based on the late Memphis DJ "Daddy-O" Dewey Phillips - who gained a devoted multi-racial following by boldly spinning a mix of country, rhythm and blues, and the new rock 'n' roll on his "Red, Hot & Blue" radio show through most of the 1950s. And the message of Memphis, The Musical is the power music has to unite people across seemingly unbridgeable divisions.

"Memphis had a three-year run on Broadway, during which it won Tony Awards for "Best Musical," for the original score by David Bryan (a founding member of the Bon Jovi band) and for its "book" (story) by celebrated playwright Joe DiPietro," Stamm said. "The show features incredible singing and dancing - I can't think of a more exciting way to launch our 15th summer!"

The Saugatuck Center for the Arts, located at 400 Culver Street, Saugatuck, is a non-profit organization dedicated to creating a more vibrant lakeshore community in West Michigan and beyond. For more information about the SCA and upcoming events, visit www.sc4a.org or call 269.857.2399.