All Shook Up: Infectious Fun a Treat to Watch

Combining the gender-switching shenanigans of Twelfth Night, with a mighty swag of Elvis tunes, All Shook Up is a production that, like The King himself during his glory days, is a phenomenon, exceptional and electrifying.

Set in Smalltown, USA, people's humdrum existences are rocked by the arrival of roustabout Chad.  From the moment he arrives on his motorcycle - a beautiful two-dimensional homage to Brando from The Wild One - Chad begins to shake things up.

He's a man who follows his hips wherever they lead, never getting attached, moving from town to town.

Natalie, daughter of the local mechanic, instantly falls for Chad, kicking off a chain of funny and sweet unrequited loves.  Lik colour spreading in the monochromatic world of the film Pleasantville, blue suede begins to spread until most characters are wearing blue suede shoes, boots or heels.

Natalie loves Chad, Dennis loves Natalie, Chad loves Miss Sandra, Jim loves her too but Sylvia loves him.  Dean and Lorraine love each other, but unfortunately Dean's mother is the town mayor, who would love nothing more than to see Chad run out of town for good.  While the promotional material quotes comparisons to Grease, All Shook Up - with its humour style, and winks to the audience - clearly takes its lead from the lesser-knownCry Baby.

In frontorf a backdrop that shuffled like a deck of cards, there were plenty of great performances.  Liam Taylor was fantastic as poindexter Dennis, stealing the show from his first lines.  Despite the music drowningout her voice in places, Edan Hunt was stellar as Natalie, sharing some great chemistry with Andrew Jamieson as Chad (disturbingly more so when disguised as a man).  Jamieson was a first-rate Elvis-bot, inhabiting the role as the roustabout with great enthusiasm.

While there was a good balance between story and song - with numbers ranging from the well-known to the obscure - unfortunately the music was often too loud with too many lyrics and dialogue getting lost underneath the mix.  Backed by a smoking-hot ensemble - from nerd to grease-monkey, rebel or puritan - all had a rousing time on stage.

This was a real treat to watch, infectious and fun that has me singing the title song still.