Would you like a Moon Pie with your Rusty Nail? That could be a question patrons hear when they attend a showing of “Million Dollar Quartet” at the new Stolp Island Theatre in downtown Aurora. As the theater nears its mid-July opening, officials are gearing up for all the different parts of the experience of an immersive theater, and that includes the food and drink. An immersive theater is about the entire experience, according to Tanya Jarvis, of the Aurora Civic Center Authority.
“When a patron walks into the theater, they are kind of in the show,” she said. Jarvis spoke recently at a City Council Public Health, Safety and Transportation Committee meeting, where the Civic Center Authority was seeking authority for a liquor license at the new theater. “Million Dollar Quartet” takes place during one evening in which four iconic musicians – Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis, Elvis Presley and Johnny Cash – meet during their formative musical years at Sun Records in Memphis.
They played their music, jammed together and chatted, with some of the performances captured in recordings. The play relives part of that evening, and the immersive theater seeks to transport people back to that time, right down to the refreshments being served. “You are so close to the stage,” Jarvis told aldermen, describing the immersive theater experience.
“Nobody participates, but you feel like you are living that day.” Which is why the refreshments will include period drinks like .
