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‘All Shook Up!’ @ Fox Theatre
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
THEATER REVIEW. Grade: C
An old jukebox in a generic, Eisenhower-era American small town hasn’t lifted its needle in years. Then one day a handsome stud with a guitar and a pair of blue-suede shoes roars into view on a motorcycle, and suddenly, as if by magic, the sleepy burg is transformed into a tangle of romantic misadventures whipped up by the songs of Elvis Presley.
Thank you vurray much, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to “All Shook Up!” — the inanely concocted, endlessly derivative jukebox musical by Joe DiPietro playing the Fox Theatre through Sunday.
Mercifully, the flat-footed 2005 Broadway show can’t claim a single Elvis impersonator. Nor can the hodgepodge of familiar farcical devices and references to pre-existing musicals summon anything like an original idea or bit of insight. Borrowing heavily from such disparate sources as “Mamma Mia!” and Shakespeare, this tale of unrequited love, mistaken identities and last-minute revelations is as crisscrossed as a plate of spaghetti and as easy to see through as display window at Macy’s.
What redeems this tediously constructed exercise in 1950s nostalgia are the incandescent performances of a hard-working ensemble of character actors, dancers and singers — plus the striking visual handiwork of director Christopher Ashley and designers David Rockwell (sets), David C. Woolard (costumes) and Donald Holder (lighting).
On opening night, understudy Josh Franklin stepped into the lead role of bike-ridin’ roustabout and disciple of love Chad (normally played by Joe Mandragona) and wore it as securely as he did his tight-fitting black jeans. Franklin was ably assisted by the wonderfully twangy Jenny Fellner as lovestruck grease monkey Natalie; Wally Dunn as her sadsack father, Jim; and Beth Glover as the repressive Mayor Matilda Hyde. “Fools Fall in Love” is the conceit of this over-embroidered plot, which makes “Twelfth Night” seem as simple as “Alice and Jerry.”
Just released from the slammer (“Jailhouse Rock”), Chad discovers his motorcycle is making “jiggly-wiggly noises” and seeks the help of girl mechanic Natalie, who is suddenly making little involuntary squeals of delight. Meanwhile, sweet-nerdy Dennis (Dennis Moench) is enamored of Natalie — but also making little involuntary squeals of delight over the sparky newcomer. Chad takes a shine to curvaceous museum director Miss Sandra (Susan Anton), who goes gaga over Ed, who is actually Natalie in disguise as Chad’s latest sidekick.
Got all that? Hold on. There’s more.
The mayor’s son Dean (Brian Sears) drops out of military school to pursue his sweetheart, Lorraine (Tracee Beazer), while Lorraine’s mom, Sylvia (Jannie Jones), goes after Natalie’s dad. Along the way, we get shades of “Hairspray” (an overcoiffed villainess and a theme of interracial harmony), “Mamma Mia!” (a paternal mystery and a blizzard of nuptials) and “Grease” (leather jackets and sockhops).
On the plus side, there are nifty sequences involving life-size statues (“Let Yourself Go”), a chapel bursting with brides and grooms in sartorial splendor and Sergio Trujillo’s giddy and infectious choreography.
Sitting through “All Shook Up!” is like chewing bubble gum and inhaling cotton candy at the same time. Binging on silliness and empty glee, you find yourself warmly surrendering to the nonstop nonsense. You won’t burn a lot of intellectual calories, but you won’t do yourself any harm, either. In the end, love conquers all — with a little help from blue-suede shoes.
THE 411: 8 p.m. Thursday-Saturday. 2 p.m. Saturday. 1 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. Sunday. Through Sunday. $19-$55. Broadway Across America, Atlanta, Fox Theatre, 660 Peachtree St. N.E., Midtown. 404-817-8700; ticketmaster.com
THE VERDICT: Elvis-inspired jukebox nonsense.
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