BOALSBURG — “All Shook Up,” a musical comedy inspired by and featuring the songs of Elvis Presley, is running at Nittany Theatre at the Barn through Saturday, July 23.
Directed and choreographed by Broadway performer and legendary-area director Courtney Young, “All Shook Up” is a musical comedy that tells the story of a small-town girl who dreams of hitting the open road and the guitar-playing roustabout who brings romance, rebellion and rock ‘n’ roll into her life. With a cast of 19, “All Shook Up” features such Elvis Presley classics as “Heartbreak Hotel,” “Burning Love,” “Love Me Tender,” “Can’t Help Falling in Love,” “Jailhouse Rock,” “Blue Suede Shoes,” “A Little Less Conversation,” “Hound Dog,” “Don’t Be Cruel” and, of course, “All Shook Up.”
“All Shook Up” could have been subtitled “Elvis Meets Shakespeare,” as it weaves Presley’s songs with the plot of William Shakespeare’s comedy “Twelfth Night.” A musical with a bang, the show tells a tale, set in the 1950s, of love, tolerance and laugh-out-loud gender-bending disguises.
At the center of the show, Chad, an Elvis-inspired character, is a guitar-playing, motorcycle-driving roustabout who shows up in a small town and gets everybody, well, “all shook up.” When Natalie falls for the rebel, she disguises herself as a man in order to get closer to him, leading to hilarity, confusion and love.
For Nittany Theatre’s production, Dave Saxe, the producing artistic director, teams with his favorite clutch of creative talents: Young as director/choreographer, Julie and Will Snyder as costume and set designers and Andy Saxe as lighting designer.
The original production of “All Shook Up” opened at Broadway’s Palace Theatre in 2005.
