The Paramount Theatre in west suburban Aurora announced its next season of locally produced musicals on Monday morning.
The slate kicks off with a new production of Million Dollar Quartet (September 13–October 29), the rock & roll jukebox musical about the real-life jam session between Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins and Jerry Lee Lewis that took place on December 4, 1956 at Memphis's Sun Studios. The show began its life in Chicago in 2008 and moved to Broadway in 2010, where it ran for 15 months, but it was a more persistent success here, with an open run at the Apollo Theater that didn't end until January 2016. Paramount artistic director Jim Corti will direct Paramount’s production.
For the holidays, Amber Mak will stage Elf: The Musical (November 22–January 7), based on the Will Ferrell movie. Katie Spelman then makes her Paramount directing debut with an all-too-timely revival of Kander & Ebb’s Cabaret (February 7–March 18), set in Weimar Berlin. Finally Corti returns to helm the first area production of Once (April 25–June 3), the musical based on the Irish indie film about street musicians in Dublin.
The next show in Paramount’s current season, Jesus Christ Superstar, begins performances in April.
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