Hank Williams: Lost Highway Opens at Hayes Center August 21

The Blowing Rock Stage Company will perform a musical biography of the late country singer Hank Williams beginning Friday, August 21, through Sunday, September 6.

In what Rolling Stone magazine describes as “exhilarating! A rare achievement in musical theatre!,” Hank Williams: Lost Highway is a tender paean to the brash pioneering country star Hank Williams, who stands among the greatest innovators of American popular music. The Blowing Rock Stage Company presents Hank Williams: Lost Highway at the Hayes Performing Arts Center from Friday, August 21, through Sunday, September 6.

Show times are 8:00 p.m. on Fridays, 2:00 and 8:00 p.m. on Saturdays, 2:00 p.m. on Sundays, 8:00 p.m. on Wednesdays, and 2:00 and 8:00 p.m. on Thursdays.

Documenting his rise from obscure hillbilly to country and western superstardom to his tragic early demise in the back of his baby blue Cadillac, dead at 29 from an overdose of pills and booze, Lost Highway underscores Williams’ unique magic as a performer and the unbreakable spell of his haunting songs.

Lost Highway, written by Mark Harelik and Randal Myler, is a plaintive tribute to the resiliency and the fragility of the human spirit and a touching ode to Grand Ol’ Opry star Williams, who fused the blues with a yodel and a backwoods twang to create the silky, sobbing warble of heartbreak. Laced with humor and chockfull of tunes from Williams’ impressive but stunted catalog, the play is both thought-provoking and entertaining, with the cast of musicians/actors parading through such Williams stalwarts as “Hey, Good Lookin’,” “Cold, Cold Heart,” “Your Cheatin’ Heart” and the immortal classic “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry.”

On opening night, the Hayes Center will offer heavy hors d’oeuvres courtesy of Glidewell’s restaurant in the outside courtyard at the Hayes Center on Friday, August 21, from 6:30 to 7:45 p.m. In the event of rain, a tent will be erected or the event will be moved into the lobby. Cost is $10 per person, and patrons can pay in advance or at the door. Additional dinner and show packages starting at $82 per couple are also available at Glidewell’s, Bistro Roca, Crippen’s and the Manor House at Chetola.

Tickets are $30 for adults and $14 for students and are available now by calling the box office at 828-295-9627. Special group rates are also available (10 person minimum). The Hayes Performing Arts Center is located at 152 Jamie Fort Road off Highway 321 in Blowing Rock. For more information, call 828-295-9627.

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