Filled with songs we already love, Muny’s ‘All Shook Up’ is a charmer
by Judith Newmark, St. Louis Post Dispatch
The Muny continues this exceptionally polished season with a show that’s never been here before, “All Shook Up!” It’s a jukebox musical — a show (such as “Mamma Mia!” or “Buddy — The Buddy Holly Story”) that incorporates songs that were already hits on their own.
![All Shook Up](https://muny.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/ASU_ProductionPhotos.jpg)
And in this case, the jukebox comes loaded with Elvis Presley hits.
Could the Muny offer us a better guarantee?
We already know these songs. We already like these songs. We never have to wait too long between any two songs.
Throw in a crazy, complicated romantic comedy that writer Joe DiPietro loosely (loosely, loosely) based on Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night,” and you have a charmer.
Caroline Bowman, a delight with a vivacious singing style, plays Natalie, a mechanic who works in her father’s garage. She’s a tomboy who eschews the flirty full skirts other girls wear (it’s the 1950s) for practical overalls. (Think of Shakespeare’s Viola, disguised as a boy in Illyria.) But when a roustabout named Chad (Tim Rogan) rolls into town on a motorcycle that needs work, he awakens something in Natalie and most of the other women in town.
Handsome Rogan is a terrific dancer who opens the show with swiveling hips that get right to the point. He also smiles a lot — did Elvis do that? Didn’t he mostly pout?
No matter. Chad — who is definitely not Elvis; no, no, no, no, no — is just one character among many in “All Shook Up!” It’s a true ensemble piece, and director Dan Knechtges never forgets that. He gives everyone his or her chance to shine.
Categories: 2017 Shows, Muny News