All Shook Up - School Edition

A cast of some 50 youngsters took to the stage to bring to life this rock and roll tale of love. Based on Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night” and incorporating the music of Elvis Presley it tells us that love can be found no matter what side of the track you come from and no matter what age you are. Playing the lead role of rebel roustabout Chad, Jacob Knight gave an excellent performance with a strong singing voice equally at home in the rousing “Roustabout” solo and in the quieter “Love Me Tender” duet with his love interest Natalie. Kyla Falconer playing mechanic Natalie, who morphs into “Ed” to get closer to Chad, was outstanding as she did whatever it took to get Chad’s attention. She had very strong acting skills and a superb singing voice whether in her solo numbers such as “One Night” as Natalie or “A Little Less Conversation” as her alter ego Ed and in the ensemble numbers. Miranda Serrano and Harris O’Donnell as the teenage lovers Lorraine (Natalie’s friend) and Dean (the overbearing Mayor Matilda Hyde’s son) were an excellent pairing both with strong singing voices shown to their best in the duet “It’s Now or Never” and good acting skills. Bella Ferrell as the crusading Mayor Matilda Hyde was another strongly played character commanding the stage at her every entrance and proclaiming her beliefs in the “Devil in Disguise” number with the angel and devil chorus. Ciara Harrison as Jim Heller (Natalie’s garage owner father) and Cameron Craib as Sylvia (Lorraine’s diner owner mother) were another good pairing as they slowly realised their love for each other and Sylvia’s rendition of “There’s Always Me” was heart wrenching. Dennis, Natalie’s long time admirer, was beautifully played by Isla Jack and had the audience on his side from the start hoping he would get his happy ending which he did with Sandra, the museum curator, extrovertly played by Farida Nasser. Ailsa MacLennan as the Mayor’s ever present - couldn’t get a word in - side kick Sherriff Earl gave very strong support and when he did eventually declare his love for the Mayor got a cheer from the audience. The singing from the enthusiastic chorus was very strong from the opening “Jailhouse Rock” through to the “Burning Love” finale. The chorus movement was kept simple and so was delivered step perfect by the young people. The set was colourful and kept simple too to accommodate the large chorus in the full company numbers. The 5 piece band certainly earned their fees as there were 31 numbers in the score but were always supportive but never overpowering the youthful voices. Costuming was true to the characters and to the era. Well done everyone for delivering such an enjoyable evening.

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