By Marilyn Jozwik
Get out your bobby socks and poodle skirts and be prepared to be all shook up as Sunset Playhouse travels back to the glorious days of rock and roll.
The vehicle taking audiences to those carefree days is the jukebox musical “All Shook Up,” which, not surprisingly, features an Elvis-like character and a bevy of The King’s popular tunes.
Sunset goes all in on the toe-tapping tunes with hip swivels and fancy footwork and turns sweet and mushy with Elvis’s enduring tender love songs like “Love Me Tender.” Tommy Lueck directs.
The year is 1955 and a small Midwest town is stuck in a sea of blandness until the young, good-looking, leather-wearing Chad (Brad Skonecki) roars in on his motorcycle, fresh from prison, and suddenly the town is all shook up and love is everywhere.
The town’s repressed teens swoon over Chad’s good looks, swiveling hips, and music but their hysteria is chastised by the town’s mayor (Barb Zaferos), who adheres to strict rules of morality. This makes it nearly impossible for young love to bloom, especially that of the mayor’s son Dean (Seamus Schwaba) and Lorraine (Vindhya Vasini Srikanth), the daughter of the town’s favorite eatery’s owner Sylvia (Eliza Dominguez Lambert).
Chad (Brad Skonecki) rocks out in a scene from Sunset Playhouse’s “All Shook Up.”
Among Chad’s admirers is Natalie (Sarah Jean Mergener), the daughter of the town’s mechanic Jim (Corey Klein), who works in her dad’s shop. When Chad comes into the shop complaining of a “wiggly jiggly” noise on his bike – which prompts Chad to perform a similar hip movement – Natalie is enthralled and hopes he will take a liking to her and her expertise with repairs. He doesn’t.
But in a sort of “Twelfth Night” mistaken identity ploy, Natalie executes a plan she hopes will change Chad’s feelings toward her. Instead, it sets off a whole series of hilarious misunderstandings.
In the meantime, Chad’s charisma and music has awakened all sorts of latent feelings in the town that end up with a quintet of love matches.
Mergener checks all the boxes as Natalie (and later as she takes on the persona of Ed, to try to entice Chad) with strong vocals and a charming, engaging manner. She rocks out with the girls in “A Little Less Conversation,” but gets soft and dreamy with Chad in “Love Me Tender.”
Skonecki exudes Chad’s hunka-hunka flair as he struts through the uptight town with his let-loose attitude, playing up the script’s many opportunities for laughs.
The cast and crew of Sunset Playhouse’s “All Shook Up.”
Chad looks right through the adoring Natalie while fixating on the town’s museum curator Sandra (Madeline Goodwill), who rebuffs his every advance. Goodwill gives her Sandra a very cool, cultured Marilyn Monroe sort of vibe, which she maintains even in her postures. Her sultry “Let Yourself Go” with Ed and the statues at the museum is cleverly staged and wonderfully executed.
I really enjoyed Nick Sweet’s portrayal of Dennis, the best bud of Natalie who wants nothing more than to be more than a best bud. Sweet has a beautiful voice and his Dennis character is such a lovable, sweet Teddy Bear you can’t help but root for him.
There are lots of pops of colorful characterizations here and musical highlights, including Klein. He is just right for Natalie’s dad and has some fun moments with Chad and Lambert’s Sylvia, who delivers a lovely “There’s Always Me.” Tom Flanagan with his booming bass voice has a small but memorable role as the Sheriff who must deal with the irascible mayor, played effectively over-the-top by Zaferos. Schwaba and Srikanth are a nice pairing for the young lovers, who are relegated to the shadows.
The eight-piece orchestra delivers a big, balanced sound under the direction of Mark Mrozek, who gets great vocals from all performers and a wall of luscious sound from the ensemble. Light Designer Mike Van Dreser adds energy and excitement with some dynamic lighting that at times covers the walls of the entire theater.
“All Shook Up” is two-and-a-half hours of a rollicking good time that can’t help but make you wanna get up and dance.
Sunset’s “All Shook Up” is a rollicking two-and-a-half hours of music, dance and good times that will leave yearning for the Gool Ol’ Days of rock and roll.
If you go:
Who: Sunset Playhouse
What: “All Shook Up”
When: Through May 10
Where: 700 Wall St., Elm Grove
Info/Tickets: SunsetPlayhouse.com/262-782-4430