Snoop's Theatre Thoughts

All Shook Up
Book by Joe DiPietro
Directed by Dan Knechtges
Choreographed by Jessica Hartman

Caroline Bowman, Tim Rogan
Photo: The Muny

All Shook Up is certainly a crowd-pleaser. A “jukebox” musical featuring many songs famously associated with Elvis Presley, this is the latest show in the Muny’s season. Inspired and rather loosely based on Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, this production has a somewhat convoluted plot and entirely too many characters. Still, it’s an entertaining show, and its greatest strengths are its strong cast and energetic choreography.

This show, which had a short Broadway run, is being presented at the Muny for the first time this season. With its 1950s setting, Elvis music, and slightly Shakespeare-influenced plot, it does have some fun moments, including a basic premise and a few scenes that pay homage to classic Elvis films. Still, there’s a whole lot going on here and a few too many thinly drawn characters and implausible romantic plots. Basically, everyone seems to be falling in and out of love a lot over the course of one day, and sometimes it’s difficult to keep track of who is interested in who. The Elvis-like figure is the cool, charismatic Chad (Tim Rogan), newly released from jail, who rides into a small Midwestern town to get his motorcycle fixed and causes a stir. He attracts the attentions of young mechanic Natalie (Caroline Bowman), who is instantly smitten even though he ignores her, choosing to set his sights on local museum owner Miss Sandra (Felicia Finley), who does not welcome his attentions. There’s Dennis (Barrett Riggins), Natalie’s best friend, who harbors feelings for her that he is too nervous to confess. Also featured is Natalie’s widowed father Jim (Lara Teeter), who is also smitten with Miss Sandra, and Jim’s longtime friend Sylvia (Liz Mikel), a diner owner who has feelings for Jim. And that’s not all. There’s also the town’s conservative mayor, Matilda (Hollis Resnik), who has made strict rules against certain types of music, clothing and behavior, and who is out to drive Chad, who she sees as a bad influence, out of town and back to jail. And then there’s the mayor’s teenage son Dean (Paul Scwensen), who is newly returned from military school and who becomes instantly smitten with Sylvia’s daughter Lorraine (Ciara Alyse Harris), who likes him back. The plot involves a whole lot of “love at first sight”–mostly unrequited–which leads to a series of events including Natalie’s dressing up as a man and calling herself “Ed” as a way of getting closer to Chad, as well as Jim’s taking lessons from Chad in trying to look and act more cool, as well as the Mayor’s efforts to apprehend Chad, Dean and Lorraine trying to hide from both of their mothers, and much more. And of course, there’s lots and lots of Elvis music.

This show does have its fun moments, and the songs are used in clever ways in some scenes, such as the juxtaposition of “Teddy Bear” and “Hound Dog” when Chad is trying to woo Miss Sandra and she is trying to get rid of him. The Elvis music is fun, and it’s well sung by the cast, but there really is too much going on here, for the most part, and the characters don’t really have enough time for their relationships to develop believably. There are some strong performances, particularly by the excellent ensemble, performing choreographer Jessica Hartman’s high-energy dance numbers with style. The leads are strong as well, led by Bowman and Mikel who both have extremely strong voices that carry off the Elvis numbers well. Riggins is also a standout as Dennis, with particularly strong tenor vocals, and there’s a good supporting performance from Jerry Vogel as the mostly silent Sheriff Earl, who is bossed around by the Mayor until he finally has a reason to speak up. For the most part, this is an excellent cast, and they make the most of what they are given.

Technically, the show is impressive, mostly, except for a few sound mishaps on opening night that I imagine will have been fixed in later performances. There’s a bold, colorful set by Luke Cantarella that captures the 50s atmosphere, and the “Elvis movie” mood extremely well, with locations from Sylvia’s diner, to Jim and Natalie’s garage, to an old abandoned fairground. There are also some vibrant, versatile costumes by Leon Dobkowski and striking lighting by John Lasiter, as well as some goofy but fun videos designed by Greg Emetaz.

Overall, this is a fun, tuneful show, but without a whole lot of substance and way too many characters and subplots. The Shakespeare adaptation is extremely loose, as well. Still, the music is great, and the dancing is great, and there’s a great cast, and it’s worth seeing for those elements.

Cast of All Shook Up
Photo: The Muny