All Shook Up

As a rule I am not a fan of Jukebox Musicals and had no real expectations as to what All Shook Up, a show inspired by and featuring the songs of Elvis Presley, would deliver, but tonight BMTG’s production excited and delighted me in many ways.

At the heart of the production were the performances of all the Principals who, together as an ensemble of 10, brought the whole show to life.  They kept the action constantly moving, the atmosphere light, and the quality of both their acting and musical delivery at the highest level. Two key performances were delivered by an excellent Chris Bryan, as Chad the roustabout travelling from town to town in the search for ‘Burning Love’ who literally drove the show throughout the night, and Laura Such as Natalie / Ed.  This was Laura’s first Principal role since school although you would never know it as this was a performance of great maturity, apparent ease and great humour.  Nathalie initially falls for Chad but more importantly, through the various Shakespearian twists and turns of the plot, grows to ‘love’ the strong person she becomes.

Another tour de force was delivered by David Hurt as Dennis who wore his heart on his sleeve throughout the show as Chad’s sidekick.  Dennis had no malice or anything other than love and sympathy for his fellow man and woman and David ensured that Dennis grew in confidence and presence throughout the night  and blew the doors off the theatre with his amazing delivery of ‘It Hurts Me’.  Keli Wain brought just the right level of Sass to Sandra the museum curator with an apparent indifference to the opposite sex.  Keli’s acting delivery was superb throughout the night and was reminiscent of Stockard Channing’s Rizzo in Grease coupled with a significantly stronger singing performance from Keli.

Abby Riddell brought exactly the right combination of humour, frustration and sarcasm to the role of Sylvia and her earthy vocals, with their exceptional dynamic range captivated the audience throughout the night and especially in ‘There’s Always Me’.   Simon Owen’s Jim, Nathalie’s father, provided a very convincing foil for Abby.  This included his rather desperate attempts to emulate Chad by returning to the biker dress of his youth.  Simon’s naturalistic acting performance won the sympathy of all ‘men of a certain age’ in the audience ensuring Jim was at all times very believable.

John Hand’s Dean, the son of the Town’s overpowering Mayor is a new member of BMTG but you would not have known that from his relaxed interactions with all other members of the principal cast and ensemble.  John ensured that Dean developed a backbone through the show putting his love for Lorraine (Claire Rybicki) ahead of his mother’s approval.  Claire herself delivered an assured performance throughout the night – her vocals were excellent and her character development a pleasure to watch.

Cat Tuckey gave the role of Matilda, the sexually repressed Mayor of the town, every ounce of her vocal and acting prowess.  So much so that at the end of the night when the ‘worm turned’ (another excellent almost silent performance from Rob Holsman as Earl), a large slice of the audience were cheering their approval.

Although the Principals drove this production the work of the chorus is not to be overlooked.  Their comic timing, energy and dance performance in Jailhouse Rock, Devil in Disguise, All Shook Up, and Burning Love to name just a few all added to the enjoyment of the audience throughout the night.

The individual and ensemble performances and indeed the whole performance were clearly the result of a significant amount of work from the production team.  The quality of the lighting, sound (which was crystal clear), the band (who delivered a great rock accompaniment without every challenging the vocals) and the rapid set changes ensured that the cast had a great platform to launch their performances.  The innovative ideas, attention to the smallest detail in movement, actions/reactions, and harmonies that lifted every number, were all a testament to the hard work and talents of Jodie, Nathan, Lisa and Christopher. 

Well done to all – a very impressive show and a credit to you all.

© NODA CIO. All rights reserved.