All Shook Up

I make no secret of the fact that I’ve been a huge and dedicated fan of Elvis Presley since my teenage years, so when I received the invitation to review ‘All Shook Up’ at the Little Theatre in Donnington last Friday, I was excitedly counting down the days all week to my visit. The show is inspired by the songs of the big man himself and just like the expression Elvis used in the opening lyrics of his 1962 Billboard Hot 100 Hit ‘Good Luck Charm’ to indicate his joy and excitement at the prospect of having a love interest, there’s only one way to start my review - “Uh-huh-huh, Oh Yeah!”, And just like the sweet delight of his charm, the show was absolutely dazzling!

Set over a twenty-four-hour period during the summer of 1955 and loosely inspired by the comedy aspects of Shakespeare’s ‘Twelfth Night’, this hilarious jukebox musical follows the fortunes of leather-clad motor biker Chad as he rides into a small and dreary ‘you-never-heard-of-it town’ somewhere in the American Midwest. He quickly falls foul of the Sheriff with his own brand of love and rebellion which has quickly earned him a week in the town slammer!

And that’s from where the show takes off with a highly charged performance of ‘Jail House Rock’ featuring the guitar-playing, hip-swivelling Chad and his fellow inmates, all dressed in jail-numbered orange shirts and blue denim jeans, setting the blistering pace for the evening’s entertainment with very impressive singing, harmonies and choreography.

Chad has arrived in town looking for a mechanic to carry out some repairs to his bike and meets Natalie who is instantly attracted to him. It doesn’t take very long for Chad’s happy-go-lucky and almost rebellious influence to take effect on some of the town folk especially when he hears that Mayor Matilda Hyde together with Sheriff Earl have enforced the ‘Mamie Eisenhower Decency Act’ outlawing public necking, loud music, tight clothing and just about everything else that Chad stands for in his quest to bring some excitement to the town. Natalie, who is  dreaming of falling in love and seeking a new life on the open road, has already set her sights on Chad, unaware that her best friend Dennis has a crush on her. Chad recruits Dennis as his side kick and when the two of them meet up with Miss Sandra, the caretaker of the town’s museum, Chad is instantly attracted to her but despite his smooth talking, she’s not having any of it and retreats to the Honky-Tonk where Natalie’s widowed father, Jim also falls for her. Meanwhile Matilda’s son Dean declares his love for Sylvia’s teenage daughter Lorraine. Chad encourages their blossoming relationship much to the dismay of Sylvia herself. Desperate for Chad’s attention, Natalie cleverly disguises herself as a bearded man named Ed to get closer to him and eventually takes over as his side kick and wins his affections. And so the fun begins …

The pairing of Chad (Danny Clayton) and Natalie (Debra Nimmo) was a casting masterstroke. Both these roles are highly demanding and both Danny and Debra worked brilliantly together and gave exceptional performances of a standard you would be hard pressed to see in a professional theatre. In the first half alone, Danny led over seven musical numbers including his duets – ‘Follow That Dream’ and ‘Love Me Tender’ with Debra. Her own solo, ‘One Night With You’, was a real tear-jerker and for me a highlight of the evening.

I simply loved Alastor Clark’s portrayal of the love-sick Dennis who had no difficulty endearing himself to the audience. One minute he was quirky and comical and in other scenes quite serious and believably sincere especially in his love of Shakespeare in which he eventually discovered that he and Sandra had a common interest.

The role of the raunchy and sometimes petulant Miss Sandra was cleverly interpreted in an outstanding performance by Chrissy Eldridge while Vikki Lee brilliantly characterised the very conservative and a little bit bossy Mayor, Matilda Hyde. Always accompanied on stage in every appearance by Sheriff Earl (Simon Whitehouse), who hadn’t been able to get a word in edgeways during her many edicts to the town folk, he finally managed it in Act Two for the first time in fifteen years when he tells her to “shut up!” - much to the great amusement and applause of the audience.

The other great pairing in the show was of Dean (Simon Roberts) and Lorraine played by

Aggie Johnstone who both gave highly believable performances; Dean, keen not to disobey his mother but totally eclipsed by his love for Lorraine. Their trio with Chad and the ensemble ‘If I Can Dream’ was a highlight of Act Two.

Natalie’s father and widower, Jim Haller (Geoff Powell), gave a very assured and genuine performance, initially falling for Miss Sandra but eventually ending up with Sylvia, the no- nonsense owner of the Honky Tonk! His duet with Chad – ‘Don’t Be Cruel’ – was particularly good. As Sylvia, Kimberley Roberts was absolutely superb throughout the entire show and gave us another fantastic showstopper – ‘There’s Always Me’ – in Act Two.

Without exception, every one of the dancers and members of the ensemble were terrific and made a huge contribution to the toe-tapping, singalong melodies with consistently high-quality vocals, outstanding harmonies and breathtaking choreography. And when you consider that the show contains upwards of 25 musical numbers, there was a huge amount of talent and energy displayed.

The theatre has obviously moved with the times and installed an impressive amount of LED stage lighting which was well programmed and operated throughout the show. Apart from a few missed cues with the radio microphones, the sound too was well controlled and of good quality. Costumes too had been carefully designed and selected to enhance and give style and colour to each of the various scenes. I also admired the stage sets; simple but effective. Having appeared at the Little Theatre myself when we brought my Stone Little Theatre Company there with a new pantomime back in the late-eighties, I know that there is not a huge amount of space on or off stage for large and elaborate sets but the three-sided trucks and bridging flats that were used as backgrounds to the main scenes, including the garage, Honky Tonk, museum and even as a brick wall, were perfectly adequate. I also thought the use of the large and static tastefully decorated translucent corrugated sheets used as tab flats was a very clever idea.

But my final comments, and probably the most important, must go to Director - Ian Clark, Musical Director - CJ Allen, Choreographer & Assistant Musical Director - Nina Aver and Co-Choreographers - Jessie Bracken, Emma Finch and Chloe Mann, for their skills and talent in staging this production to such a high theatrical standard. And how lovely it was to see and hear CJ Allen and his four talented musicians on either side of the stage when many productions nowadays are forced by contractual obligations to use backing tracks!

So all ends happily and with a triple wedding between Jim & Sylvia, Matilda & Earl and Dennis & Sandra and a grand finale which had us all on our feet enjoying and applauding what had been an absolute magnificent performance. I can’t help thinking that ‘The King of Rock and Roll’ himself would have approved wholeheartedly of this truly outstanding and dazzling production! What say you Elvis? - “Uh-huh-huh, Oh Yeah!”,

Thank you Dale for inviting me to ‘All Shook Up’ and for the warm welcome from all your front of house staff. I greatly look forward to making the relatively short journey from Stone to see you all again in the New Year for ‘Alice In Wonderland’.

And just one very final comment -  “Chris is now leaving the building!”

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