photography courtesy elvis presley enterprises
Elvis Week
Graceland
Through Saturday, August 17
Feel your temperature rising? Higher and higher? It’s not just the August heat. It’s your spidey (Elvis?) senses tingling, burning through to your soul ’cause here in Memphis we know that August means more than hot weather: It means Elvis Week.
Graceland’s Elvis Week, which started on Wednesday, wraps up on Saturday. Tonight (Thursday) is the annual Candlelight Vigil, during which fans are invited to walk up the driveway to Elvis' gravesite and back down carrying a candle in quiet remembrance. It’s free and open to all to attend. (More info here.)
On Friday at 7 p.m., you can celebrate the magic of Elvis Presley’s return to the stage in Las Vegas on the big screen, accompanied by his live vocals and backed by a live band on stage. Tickets ($65-$95) can be purchased here.
On Saturday at 2 p.m., guests can take part in Elvis: Behind the Music, hosted by Elvis Radio DJ Argo, who will take a deep dive into Elvis’ Memphis recordings and hear from those who shared both the stage and studio with him. Guests such as Grammy-winning music historian Robert Gordon, Elvis’ recording engineer Mike Moran, and Imperials Terry Blackwood and Jim Murray will share stories of their experiences with the King of Rock-and-Roll. Tickets ($32) for that event can be purchased here.
Another weekend highlight is Saturday night’s ’50s Flashback: Drive-in, Dinner & Sock-Hop, where attendees will enjoy Elvis’ 1957 movie Loving You, a Beale Street buffet, and dancing. Tickets are $100.
More information on these events and more can be found here.
photography by Megan Christoferson
Waitress
Playhouse on the Square
Opens Friday, August 16 – September 15
Oh, my love, my darling, I’ve hungered for some pie … a long, lonely time. Time goes by so slowly, and time can do so much, so I can’t wait any longer for Playhouse on the Square to open its production of Waitress.
As Playhouse writes, “Jenna, a skilled pie-maker and waitress, finds herself trapped in a loveless marriage and a small town. With an unexpected pregnancy, she worries that her dream of owning a pie shop might never materialize. However, a baking contest in a neighboring county and the arrival of the town's charming new doctor present her with a chance at happiness. Encouraged by her unique group of fellow waitresses and devoted customers, Jenna discovers the one thing she's been lacking — courage.”
This is one of my personal favorite musicals that I’ve ever seen. The music is top-notch, and the story — oh my, you’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll get warm and fuzzy.
Tickets are $25 and can be purchased here. Performances are Thursdays through Saturdays at 8 p.m. with Sunday matinees at 2 p.m.
photography by abigail morici
Yellow Jack 1878
Woodruff-Fontaine House Museum
Friday, August 16, 6 – 8 p.m.
Elvis once sang, “You give me fever when you kiss me,/ Fever when you hold me tight,/ Fever in the morning,/ Fever all through the night./ Everybody’s got the fever./ That is something you all know./ Fever isn't such a new thing./ Fever started long ago.”
Whether Elvis is talking about the yellow fever that started long ago in the late 1800s is neither here nor there because that’s what I’m here to talk about. Specifically the yellow fever epidemic of 1878 that wreaked havoc on Memphis. To honor one of the darkest chapters in the city’s history, the Woodruff-Fontaine House Museum is hosting a lecture and presentation of the horrific and tragic events that unfolded during the late summer of 1878. Afterward, explore the mansion, fully staged for the yellow fever epidemic. Fever-cooling refreshments will be served prior to the presentation, which will begin promptly at 6:15pm.
Tickets ($25) are limited and must be purchased online here. Tickets will not be sold at the door.
The “Yellow Jack” exhibition will be on display through August 25.
photography courtesy orpheum theatre
Wurlitzer Silent Movie: The Phantom of the Opera (1925)
Orpheum Theatre
Friday, August 16, 7 p.m.
Apparently, the King of Rock-and-Rock sometimes borrowed from classical music, at least according to Classic FM. Take “Can’t Help Falling In Love” — you can hear some similarities in its melody with “Piacer d'amor,” a classical French love song written in 1784 by Jean-Paul-Égide Martini.
Now was Elvis as much into classical music as, say, a certain Phantom living under the Paris Opera House? Who’s to say?
As it so happens, the Phantom is taking over the big screen at the Orpheum Theatre this Elvis Week. In the silent horror classic, The Phantom of the Opera, aspiring young opera singer Christine Daaé discovers that the Phantom, her mysterious admirer, is intent on helping her become a lead performer. For this screening, Orpheum house organist Tony Thomas (above) will breathe new life into this haunting tale as the theater’s Mighty Wurlitzer Organ will transport audiences to the heart of the Phantom's mysterious world.
Donations of $10 are recommended.
photography by abigail morici
On Paper Community Night
The Dixon Gallery and Gardens
Saturday, August 17, 5 – 8 p.m.
There’s an Elvis made of paper now on display at the Dixon. Not in an effigy kind of way, but in a way that celebrates paper “as a material, a communication tool, and a creativity and innovation initiator.” It’s a part of the “On Paper!” interactive exhibit, which will be on display through September 29.
To coincide with the exhibit, the Dixon is hosting a community night full of stories, artmaking, performances, and a special highlight of the plants and natural resources used to make paper. The night will include live poetry, gelato from Zio Matto, snacks from La Antojería, a book giveaway, and more. The event is free to attend.
