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Duluth Playhouse opens season with rock ‘n’ roll smash ‘Million Dollar Quartet’

The cast features Trevor Lindley Craft as Elvis Presley, Wyatt Andrew Brownell as Jerry Lee Lewis, Davis Wood as Johnny Cash and Drew Black as Carl Perkins. Tyler Railey plays Dyanne, the sharp-witted singer, while Dan Prevette takes on Sun Records founder Sam Phillips.

Trevor Lindley Craft, Tyler Railey. Submitted

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The Duluth Playhouse is turning up the volume on its 2025-26 season with Million Dollar Quartet, the Tony Award-winning jukebox musical that brings Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins together for one unforgettable night.

The show runs Sept. 12-28 at the historic NorShor Theatre, a fitting backdrop for a production that blends the energy of a live concert with the heart of musical theater.

Set on Dec. 4, 1956, the story reimagines the impromptu jam session inside Memphis’ Sun Records when four legends crossed paths. The score is stacked with rock ‘n’ roll, gospel, R&B and country standards, including “Blue Suede Shoes,” “Great Balls of Fire,” “Walk the Line,” and “Hound Dog.”

“For me, Million Dollar Quartet is like digging up an amazing, long-forgotten piece of music history,” said Charlie Sutton, the Playhouse’s new associate artistic director, who is directing the show. “For Duluth audiences, it’s a chance to step back into a time when rock ’n’ roll was just being born … and to fall in love with the hits all over again.”

The cast features Trevor Lindley Craft as Elvis Presley, Wyatt Andrew Brownell as Jerry Lee Lewis, Davis Wood as Johnny Cash and Drew Black as Carl Perkins. Tyler Railey plays Dyanne, the sharp-witted singer who shares the spotlight with the quartet, while Dan Prevette takes on Sun Records founder Sam Phillips.

Additional cast members include Mark Glenn and Kurt Savela, with covers Joe Meichsner, Aaron Dumalag, Tanner Rex Longshore and Mackenzie Ammon.

The NorShor, once a hub for live music in downtown Duluth, has hosted performers from Trampled by Turtles to Ani DiFranco. That legacy makes it a natural fit for a musical that celebrates the raw, unpolished electricity of rock’s early days.

Tickets are on sale now through the Duluth Playhouse box office.

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