Everyone falls in love in “All Shook Up” - even Shakespeare and Elvis.
Chet Susslin / The Citizen
Noel Molinelli, who plays Natalie, grabs David Sattler, who portrays Dean, in a rehearsal of “All Shook Up,” Merry-Go-Round Playhouse's season opener.
Noel Molinelli, who plays Natalie, grabs David Sattler, who portrays Dean, in a rehearsal of “All Shook Up,” Merry-Go-Round Playhouse's season opener.
The first show of the Merry-Go-Round Playhouse's 2008 season tangles the romantic web of the Bard's “Twelfth Night” with the rocking tunes of the King. The motorcycle-riding, loud music-loving charms of Chad sweep up a small midwestern town when he stops at a garage there to repair his bike. His refreshing zeal for fast-living attracts the affections of Natalie, the mechanic, who paints her cheeks with motor oil to befriend Chad as “Ed.”
Chad's arrival also sparks several more amorous quests among the townspeople, whose pursuits must conquer the conservative attitudes of the time if they're to win the hearts they covet.
Assistant choreographer Kate Swan believes this invigorating influence carried by Chad crystallizes most in “C'mon Everybody,” a show-stopping, company-wide rendition of the classic Elvis song.
“With just a touch of the hand or a bump of the hip, he rejuvenates everyone in town,” she said.
In “If I Can Dream,” the taboo interracial love between Dean and Lorraine invites the performers to ask why people can't live in peace and harmony despite superficial differences. Swan feels such potent marriages of music and story make “All Shook Up” the strongest of the jukebox musicals that have multiplied on Broadway this decade.
“Shoehorning songs into a story can be tricky, but this does the best job,” she said.
Also caught up in the romantic fervor is Dennis, Natalie's longtime best friend, whose love for her is left on hold when she chases Chad. As Dennis, Collin Leydon brings a classic touch of hopeless romanticism to “All Shook Up” with clownish but heartfelt gestures, such as sending Natalie a Shakespearean sonnet.
The vocally challenging role also asks Leydon to liven up his acting, which contrasts the straightforward lessons he is currently being taught as a theater student at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts. Beneath those eccentricities is a character swollen with emotions Leydon must balance.
“Dennis is a good example of theater characters that aren't flatlined and have arcs,” Leydon said.
Like the rest of the Playhouse cast and crew, Leydon threw himself into an intensive 10-day rehearsal schedule that demanded its talent commit to lengthy days with little rest. Though the soundtrack consists of seemingly unforgettable Elvis songs, ensemble performer Mark Roland notes that learning all 27 numbers is still a hurried challenge.
For Roland and fellow ensemble member Chris Lebeau, the work pays off during songs like “Jailhouse Rock” and “C'mon Everybody.”
“I'm genuinely smiling while I'm doing that one,” Roland said of the latter song.
Steering the cast and crew through their preparation is director David Swan, who previously directed Korean and Japanese productions of “All Shook Up.” Adapting the show to his first American audience required little adjustment, aside from a few jokes that lose their punch in the translation.
As a Buffalo native who grew up with the films of Elvis, David Swan feels the rock and roll icon - and Chad, as his embodiment- - exude an infectious cool that crosses cultural borders.
“It was a charisma and the magic he had; women wanted to be with him, men wanted to be him,” David Swan said.
David and wife Kate are the first husband-wife couple to direct a Playhouse show. Though David brings history with “All Shook Up” to this production, Kate - the child of an “anti-Elvis” household - had only seen the show prior to helping choreograph it. Learning those steps and movements, then acting as a conduit for the cast to also absorb them, was a tremendous challenge for her that paid off in the rehearsal process.
“It's nice having someone so prepared when you're doing the show in such a short amount of time,” Lebeau said of the Swans.
The couple feels the “Broadway caliber” cast is up to the task of presenting “All Shook Up” in all its frenzied romantic glory, and fans of Elvis, classic literature and musical theater will all find something to love.
“At the heart of the show is the message that if you open your mind and your heart,” David Swan said, “you'll find happiness where you don't expect it.”
Staff writer David Wilcox can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 245 or david.wilcox@lee.net
If you go
What: “All Shook Up”
When: Opens at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, June 4; performances continue through Saturday, June 21
Where: Merry-Go-Round Playhouse, 6861 E. Lake Road, Owasco
Cost: $25 to $39
Info: Call 255-1785 or visit www.merry-go-round.com
Chad's arrival also sparks several more amorous quests among the townspeople, whose pursuits must conquer the conservative attitudes of the time if they're to win the hearts they covet.
Assistant choreographer Kate Swan believes this invigorating influence carried by Chad crystallizes most in “C'mon Everybody,” a show-stopping, company-wide rendition of the classic Elvis song.
“With just a touch of the hand or a bump of the hip, he rejuvenates everyone in town,” she said.
In “If I Can Dream,” the taboo interracial love between Dean and Lorraine invites the performers to ask why people can't live in peace and harmony despite superficial differences. Swan feels such potent marriages of music and story make “All Shook Up” the strongest of the jukebox musicals that have multiplied on Broadway this decade.
“Shoehorning songs into a story can be tricky, but this does the best job,” she said.
Also caught up in the romantic fervor is Dennis, Natalie's longtime best friend, whose love for her is left on hold when she chases Chad. As Dennis, Collin Leydon brings a classic touch of hopeless romanticism to “All Shook Up” with clownish but heartfelt gestures, such as sending Natalie a Shakespearean sonnet.
The vocally challenging role also asks Leydon to liven up his acting, which contrasts the straightforward lessons he is currently being taught as a theater student at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts. Beneath those eccentricities is a character swollen with emotions Leydon must balance.
“Dennis is a good example of theater characters that aren't flatlined and have arcs,” Leydon said.
Like the rest of the Playhouse cast and crew, Leydon threw himself into an intensive 10-day rehearsal schedule that demanded its talent commit to lengthy days with little rest. Though the soundtrack consists of seemingly unforgettable Elvis songs, ensemble performer Mark Roland notes that learning all 27 numbers is still a hurried challenge.
For Roland and fellow ensemble member Chris Lebeau, the work pays off during songs like “Jailhouse Rock” and “C'mon Everybody.”
“I'm genuinely smiling while I'm doing that one,” Roland said of the latter song.
Steering the cast and crew through their preparation is director David Swan, who previously directed Korean and Japanese productions of “All Shook Up.” Adapting the show to his first American audience required little adjustment, aside from a few jokes that lose their punch in the translation.
As a Buffalo native who grew up with the films of Elvis, David Swan feels the rock and roll icon - and Chad, as his embodiment- - exude an infectious cool that crosses cultural borders.
“It was a charisma and the magic he had; women wanted to be with him, men wanted to be him,” David Swan said.
David and wife Kate are the first husband-wife couple to direct a Playhouse show. Though David brings history with “All Shook Up” to this production, Kate - the child of an “anti-Elvis” household - had only seen the show prior to helping choreograph it. Learning those steps and movements, then acting as a conduit for the cast to also absorb them, was a tremendous challenge for her that paid off in the rehearsal process.
“It's nice having someone so prepared when you're doing the show in such a short amount of time,” Lebeau said of the Swans.
The couple feels the “Broadway caliber” cast is up to the task of presenting “All Shook Up” in all its frenzied romantic glory, and fans of Elvis, classic literature and musical theater will all find something to love.
“At the heart of the show is the message that if you open your mind and your heart,” David Swan said, “you'll find happiness where you don't expect it.”
Staff writer David Wilcox can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 245 or david.wilcox@lee.net
If you go
What: “All Shook Up”
When: Opens at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, June 4; performances continue through Saturday, June 21
Where: Merry-Go-Round Playhouse, 6861 E. Lake Road, Owasco
Cost: $25 to $39
Info: Call 255-1785 or visit www.merry-go-round.com
