All Shook Up

A good time was had by all, cast and audience, at the opening of this rarely performed Juke Box musical last night. It’s fitting that it opened on July 4^th, for what could be more American than a musical with the songs made famous by Elvis Presley?

The plot is simple…. Elvis type is released from prison and winds up in a small town where all the girls swoon for him and he doesn’t see his one true love. It’s slight, but very witty, and more than enough to hang the Presley songs on.

ARC (Amateur Repertory Company) is a young company in terms of the age of its committee and performers, and the energy and enthusiasm of youth infuse the production with an infectious sense of fun. Fortunately that isn’t all the production has to offer, for the stage is filled with talent and some spectacular voices. Director Liam Kilgour, himself a fine and engaging performer, has stamped his debut with some crisp blocking, fine comic moments, and excellent handling of the large cast on a relatively small stage. He’s let the dancers spill off the stage and into the audience on several occasions, which simply adds to the sense of involvement for those watching.

Ryan Purdy channels his inner Fonz to play Chad and is a delight to watch. He’s the winner of three Lyrebird awards and it’s easy to see why. He adds great stage presence to a terrific voice and a good sense of comic timing, particularly evident in Act Two. It’s a terrific performance. Shannon Pendrey (Natalie/ED) is a delight to watch. Extraordinarily pretty (she’s a part time model) and with high shine hair (as the programme tells us), she manages to make us believe that she is a plain tomboy – no mean feat in itself. She actually spends over half the show disguised as a bloke…to get closer to Chad….and we happily suspend disbelief. Shannon is a powerhouse performer with an amazing voice and an endearing personality, and the show is at its best in the scenes where she and Purdy perform together, especially when she is Ed.

It’s interesting to note that most of the committee of ARC are also performing on stage and the President, Nathan Slevin, is especially appealing as the nerdy Dennis. It’s potentially a role that could be overplayed to the point of Burlesque, but Slevin makes Dennis a three dimensional sympathetic character we can really care for. Add to the mix Johnathon White’s gawky Dean, a crowd pleasing performance, alongside  Ashleigh Psaila’s full on (but never confronting) Lorraine and the terrific performances just keep coming. Felicity Eastwood (Sylvia) uses her incredible voice to advantage in a show-stopping performance of “There’s Always Me”; Steven Kent (Jim) and Merryn Degnan (Miss Sandra) give solid engaging performances throughout and the larger than life and twice as talented Verity Brown makes an indelible impression as Mayor Matilda Hyde – yet another fabulous voice to add to the mix. Nick Durbridge (Sheriff Earl) doesn’t speak a word until late in the second act, yet manages to make his presence felt throughout. It takes a skilled performer to do that, and when Durbridge does speak, he is even more impressive.

The ensemble is vocally very strong, and a few bars of a remarkable solo by Sasha Hennequin really enforces that. There are also some skilled dancers in the ensemble, and some who struggled a bit with the huge amount of choreography (whilst still singing) in what is a very production number driven show. Catherine Spanti has done an amazing job in keeping all the numbers fresh and different, and it really didn’t matter that she drew on dance styles all the way from the 1930s to the 1970s. She found a way to integrate steps from different styles seamlessly. The only thing the dancing lacked, for me, was a really full on Rock and Roll/Jive routine. Rebecca Dupuy-Purcell excelled as musical director with such a full score. There were a few squeaky pitchy moments but these will undoubtedly iron out during the run. The set was adequate, and some of the costumes impressive, but it is a pity there wasn’t more money in the budget for something more elaborate.

In the long run, though, it really doesn’t matter. All Shook Up is a delight and the audience (including myself and my grand-daughter) were blessed with a terrific night’s entertainment. Rock On and God save “The King”

Coral Drouyn

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