Catch Elvis 'Back in the Building' at The Gateway for New Year's Eve

Elvis Presley – the man, the myth, the mystery!

Elvis grasped the spotlight and never let go. Girls swooned; guys emulated him.

He was an anomaly, so titillating that on the nationally syndicated Ed Sullivan Show, the cameras were directed to only shoot from waste up keeping those swiveled hips off the screen.

But who was this man with the bedazzled jumpsuits, shades, blue suede shoes, black leather, shaking leg, the most stunningly sexy voice and, yes, those tantalizing swiveled hips?

Now, you can get an up-close and personal look at the man, his life and his music when The Gateway Playhouse kicks off 2025 by presenting Legends in Concert’s hit tribute musical Back in the Building. This limited engagement opens on New Year’s Eve and runs through January 5, so start the new year off right with this sparkling celebration of the king of rock and roll. This is a multi-media and live musical journey through the life of Elvis Presley including his film career and his movies with Ann-Margret. The show starts with an exuberantly youthful Elvis and early songs like “Shake Rattle and Roll”, “Blue Moon of Kentucky” and “Teddy Bear,” then goes on to cover his vast catalogue of hits from the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s performed by four tribute artists who portray Elvis in one of four eras of his career and during his movie career into his final concert years.

Back in the Building is an off shoot of the hit Elvis Lives which premiered in Las Vegas, Nevada in 2009 at Harrah’s, then moved to The Flamingo in 2013 before becoming a touring production. This show, which was created by the joint venture of Legends in Concert and Elvis Presley Enterprises, Inc., went on to become a full-scale national touring production. Legends in Concert is owned and operated by On Stage Enterprises and debuted in 1983 in Las Vegas with its first Legends show opening at the Imperial Palace Hotel. The brand has expanded its production to shows year-round at five United States locations, aboard Norwegian Cruise Lines and global touring productions.

Executive Artistic Director at Gateway, Paul Allan, whose family started the theater in the 1950s, spoke about teaming up with Legends in Concert. “We’ve worked with Legends in Concert for many years. Their main base of operation is Vegas, but they have residencies in certain theaters around the country. I have known Fred Ordower, the president of Legends in Concert/On Stage Enterprises, a long time and we talked about making Gateway one of the homes of Legends in Concert. So, we’ve done probably a dozen different shows with the company over the years. A lot of their shows are typically six different tribute artists all connected together in one show. That’s what their main casino brand is. Then they did Elvis Lives which was similar to the show we’re doing now. It was an introspective of Elvis. I think they wanted to take the show one step further with Back in the Building. It sort of feels like The Million Dollar Quartet, but it’s Elvis’s story.”

The coming year of 2025 is special for Elvis as well as The Gateway. Had Elvis lived, he would be celebrating his 90th birthday on January 8. As for The Gateway, this theater is on the threshold of change as enthusiastically described by Allan. “We’re in the midst of a big building expansion and renovation with a brand new lobby three times the size it is now, new bar and bigger bathrooms. We are planning a whole new front entrance, new driveways, parking and sidewalks. There’s a lot coming in the next couple of years. We got a grant from Suffolk County and we’re about to apply to New York State, so hopefully it’s going to be a $4 million renovation. We have half of the funding already, so we’re definitely breaking ground next summer.”

In the meantime, Gateway continues to bring first class theater to LI audiences as it ushers in 2025 with the electrifying Back in the Building. Allan’s final thought on this show is, “I think it’s a great opportunity for people who don’t know much about Elvis, but certainly heard all the hype, to understand a little bit more about where he came from and everything he did against a backdrop of so many of his hit songs packed into the show.”

So, for a phenomenal musical experience, come see Back in the Building opening December 31, New Year’s Eve, and running through January 5. Next up is the comedy musical based on the classic kooky, spooky cartoon family, The Addams Family opening January 24.

Gateway Playhouse, 215 S. Country Road, Bellport, thegateway.org, 631-286-1133