Paramount Theatre’s smash hit Million Dollar Quartet, a “roof-rattling…rapturous celebration of early rock ‘n’ roll” (Daily Herald), won’t stop rockin’ anytime soon at Paramount’s new Stolp Island Theatre, where performances have just been extended an additional six months through January 4, 2026, by popular demand.

Paramount’s Million Dollar Quartet is like none other. Both Stolp Island Theatre and the production itself are custom built as an immersive experience inside a replica of the original Sun Records recording studio in Memphis, Tennessee, where music legends Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins came together on December 4, 1956, and recorded one of the most historic jam sessions in rock ‘n’ roll history. 

Paramount’s Sun Studio is lined with just three rows on either side, a total of 98 seats, so audiences are treated to an intimate, one-of-a-kind live musical theater experience anchored by incredible, up-close performances of some of the best songs in rock ‘n’ roll history, like “Blue Suede Shoes,” “Folsom Prison Blues,” “I Walk the Line,” “Hound Dog” and “Great Balls of Fire.”  As a result, audiences, including repeat ticket buyers, can’t get enough of this radically unique restaging of one of the most popular jukebox musicals of all time, fully immersed by amazing talent and the dazzling production values audiences have come to expect from Paramount. 

Dean Richards, WGN-TV/AM, said the experience is “like stepping into Sun Records where one special night took place."  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.”

The current production stars Garrett Forrestal (Jerry Lee Lewis), Matt McClure (Carl Perkins), Bill Scott Sheets (Johnny Cash) and Alex Swindle (Elvis Presley), with Madison Palmer (Dyanne), Sam Pearson (Sam Phillips), Brandon Pollard (Fluke), Jake Saleh (Brother Jay), and Haley Jane Schafer (Marion).

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. In July, the new performance schedule through October 2025 is Wednesday at 1:30 p.m., Friday at 7 p.m., Saturday at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m., Sunday at 1 p.m. and 5:30 p.m., with an added 7 p.m. performance, rotating each week, on either Wednesday or Thursday evening (check the website for alternating dates). Starting in November, the performance schedule will be Wednesday at 1:30 p.m. and 7 p.m., Thursday at 7 p.m., Friday at 7 p.m., Saturday at 3 p.m. and 7 p.m., and Sunday at 1 p.m. and 5:30 p.m.

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 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: 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 Mutrux. Original concept and direction by Floyd Mutrix. Current 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.