Flat Rock Playhouse to Present CLASSIC NASHVILLE ROADSHOW This March

Remember when June fell for Johnny, and Loretta was just a coal miner's daughter? Well, Flat Rock Playhouse sure does, and the first Main Stage show of their 2017 season is reminiscent of just that.

To kick off the new year, The Playhouse will host nationally renown Jason Petty and Katie Deal in Classic Nashville Roadshow, a country tribute spectacular that features a live Nashville band, an authentic set, vintage costumes, classic Opry-style comedy and real country music.

From March 8th through the 18th some of country music's greatest hits like "Golden Ring", "Louisiana Woman", "Crazy", "He Stopped Loving Her Today", "Will The Circle Be Unbroken", and "Mississippi Man" will play live on the Flat Rock Playhouse Main Stage, just as they did for many, many years on radio stations across the country. Known for displaying the poetic simplicity of a generation of country music legends that blazed the path for those to come, Petty and Deal of Classic Nashville Roadshow also mix in family-style humor and tell the tales behind country's legendary songs and the singers who made them famous.

Hailing from Manchester, Tennessee, Petty has thrilled audiences across the United States, Canada and Europe with his veracious portrayal of country music legend, Hank Williams. From the famous Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee, to his Obie Award winning portrayal of Hank in the Off-Broadway Hank Williams' Lost Highway, Petty has delighted audiences with his storytelling, classic country twang and down-home charm.

A Georgia native, Deal has traveled the nation wowing audiences with her authentic portrayal of the late country great, Patsy Cline. After finding her voice as a country singer while working with a theatre company in Memphis, Tennessee, Deal has found success in numerous productions, including two sell-out national tours of A Closer Walk with Patsy Cline and her hit one-woman show, Katie Deal in Today, Tomorrow & Forever: A Tribute to Patsy Cline. She can also regularly be heard swinging with the Atlanta Pops Orchestra, crooning the blues or belting it out in theatres across the country.

Flat Rock Playhouse will take audiences back to the roots of country music with this unique tribute experience. Not to be confused with impersonation, Petty and Deal will honor the original artists by staying true to the heart behind the music. It is said that country music has always been about "three chords and the truth," and with the help of Classic Nashville Roadshow, Flat Rock Playhouse will also be able to share this genuine, poignant form of American storytelling with audiences in the mountains of Western North Carolina and beyond.

The Executive Producer of Classic Nashville Roadshow is DHG Wealth Advisors, LLC. Flat Rock Playhouse 2017 Mainstage Series Sponsors include Henderson County Tourism Development Authority and BMW of Asheville. The Flat Rock Playhouse Downtown Series Sponsor is Rug & Home.

Classic Nashville Roadshow will run from March 8th through the 18th at the Flat Rock Playhouse Main Stage in the Village of Flat Rock. Performances Wednesday and Thursday evenings at 7:30PM, Friday and Saturday evenings at 8:00PM, matinées Wednesday (3/15), Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sunday (3/12) at 2:00PM.

Tickets are available for ­$15 - $50 and can be purchased by calling The Playhouse box office at 828-693-0731, toll-free at 866-737-8008 or online at www.flatrockplayhouse.org. Flat Rock Playhouse is located at 2661 Greenville Hwy Flat Rock, NC 28731.

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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