•July 20, 2016•

By Cheryl Murphy
NP Columnist

If you’re a true Elvis fan, you’ll have fun. Even if you’re not, as several patrons expressed, you’ll still have fun as this is NOT a showcase for an Elvis impersonator.

True, “All Shook up” is inspired by and features the songs of Elvis Presley; it’s a jukebox musical full of 50’s and 60’s hit songs from ballads to blues to rockabilly. Some of Presley’s biggest hits are performed such as “Jailhouse Rock,” “Love Me Tender,” “Blue Suede Shoes,” and the title’s song. But you’ll find quite a diverse group, too; these come from Presley’s soundtracks and LPs that would be unfamiliar to non-Elvis fans.

Amongst all this vintage singing and dancing there is a story that has a host of characters all searching for love. It is set in the 1950’s, somewhere in the Midwest where one girl’s dream and a surprise visit from a leather-jacketed, guitar-playing, motorcyclist helps a small town discover the magic of romance and the power of Rock N Roll.

One critic commented the dialogue seems to just set up the next song, 24 in all, and it’s too much music to make it on Broadway or with the general theatre audience. I disagree; I saw a complex plot to completion with lots of amazing singing and dancing in the normal time frame.     Login or Subscribe to read the rest of this story.