“Roadhouse, Where the Rhythms Rock and the Blues Roll” will be presented as part of the Stokes County Arts Council’s 2013 Winter Dessert Theatre Series on March 1, 2, and 3 at South Stokes High School Auditorium, 1100 South Stokes High Drive, Walnut Cove.

Tickets are $14 general audience, $12 seniors 60 and older, and $10 for Stokes Arts members and students 18 and under, and includes dessert and the performance. March 1 and 2 performances begin at 7 p.m., and the March 3 performance begins at 3 p.m., with dessert served beginning one hour prior to the performance. Reservations are highly recommended, as only 225 seats will be sold for each performance. For tickets or information, contact the Stokes County Arts Council at 336 593-8159 or visit www.StokesArts.org

This stunning, foot-stomping musical tale of redemption follows the story of Matthew Porter, proprietor of the once famous Blues and Rock & Roll juke joint. The Roadhouse has been deteriorating for more than a decade, and Matthew has been declining along with it. When he receives a letter from the government claiming eminent domain for a new interstate highway, Matthew reaches the depths of despair and begins to mourn the loss of a historic landmark. Hope walks in – in the form of New York Times reporter Dawson Edwards, who has come to write an article on famous juke joints in the South.

Matthew transports the reporter and the audience back in time to when the Roadhouse was booming, and transforms into the most electrifying performers of all time: Ray Charles, Little Richard, Elton John, Sam Cooke, Muddy Waters, Jelly Roll Morton, Big Joe Turner, Lionel Richie, and Jerry Lee Lewis. Together, Matthew and Dawson launch a plan to save the Roadhouse by earning the building a place on the National Register of Historic Places. Van Leer, a trained musician, brings to stage live music. With 21 on stage costume changes and 115 different sound effects, the audience will laugh, sing, and be inspired in this one-hour and thirty-five minute feel-good production.