All Shook Up

All Shook Up is packed with Elvis hits and they just don’t stop coming. With an impressive 29 musical numbers it certainly kept MD Andrew and Choreographer Aly busy, busy, busy!!  This number of songs was perfect for also keeping the ensemble on their toes with lots of harmonies which were excellent. The singing was strong throughout from both ensemble and principals and the overall musical direction was fabulous.  The orchestra sounded wonderful throughout and were a great compliment to both the action and the scene changes. Another highlight for me was the effective use of the dancers to cover the scene changes. The choreography throughout was cleverly reflective of the time-period and it enabled the ensemble to be showcased in a way that was appropriate without distracting from the action.

For Director Paola, there are a lot of characters involved in this story to control and highlight. With a lot of interweaving attractions and love affairs it was all go. That said I managed to keep up and enjoyed how the story quickly progressed with slick scene changes and lots of lovely character work.

Some of the standout performances for me started with the leading man. Reece Folan made a great Chad – the good looking and self-assured young roustabout who arrives in a sleepy and boring town to stir up rebellion and lots of love! His vocals and characterisation were excellent. Sophie Anderson gave a polished performance as Natalie, equally at home as either persona; girl Natalie or boy Ed, with lots of comic moments in the later. Reece and Sophie had a strong connection, and their character development was lovely.

Bringing more comedy to the principal line up was Jen McNair as the formidable Sylvia who gave a great performance with amazing vocals especially in her solo number “There’s Always Me”. The development in her relationship with Marcus Littlejohn’s Jim was great to watch and both complimented each other well. Comedy was shining through from Ross Pollock as Dennis, Rebecca Baillie as Lorraine, and Bryan Jamieson as Dean. All three gave flawless performances and Ross in particular had the audience laughing out loud a lot … I apologise for anyone sitting next to me.

Kerry Burley’s take on the sultry and sophisticated Miss Sandra was fab, and I loved the physicality and comedy she brought to this role and her comic timing and strong vocals especially in her rendition of ‘Let Yourself Go’ was excellent.

The duo of Debbie Main as Mayor Matilda and Raymond Caffrey as Sheriff Earl was genius, both working well together and even without saying much Raymond was doing well to steal some scenes.

The central characters were supported by a strong ensemble who had great energy and looked like they were thoroughly enjoying themselves. Another great success for the club.

© NODA CIO. All rights reserved.