All Shook Up Reviews — Page 2

huh. Brantley says very little about Cheyenne. I hope that's not a bad sign, though I think it is. Very few specifics on the cast in general, for that matter.

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you guys wanted commentary on Cheyenne and the actors...

Variety.com:

As the sheriff of the newly invigorated squaresville town in "All Shook Up""All Shook Up" says near the final curtain, "Sometimes a little indecent behavior is good for you." If jukebox musicals, in the muddy wake of "Good Vibrations," represent indecency to musical theater purists, then this buoyantly energetic confection stitched together from the Elvis Presley songbook makes them safe to embrace. OK, so it ain't Kander & Ebb, but this frothy show cracks the formula with at least as much wit and panache as "Mamma Mia!," the benchmark by which all such ventures tend to be measured. Enormously appealing leads and knockout production values don't hurt, either, making this an unexpected, shameless good time.

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Almost outlandishly tall, with big, impossibly handsome features, Jackson is a magnetic presence and a natural for musicals, a confident comedy performer with a seductive singing style marred only by the production's nagging tendency to overmike the performers. While Jackson is not the most skilled dancer -- the vigorous dance action often takes place around him -- he has the scissoring legs, twitching shoulders and motoring pelvis down to a fine art.

The quietly radiant Gambatese, who made a fine Penny in "Hairspray," graduates to a lead role with charm to burn.

As straitlaced Dean, who shrugs off discipline to follow his heart, Holbrook is the standout of the young supporting cast (and a mean dancer), nicely paired with the engaging James. Price is funny as the nerd striving to be cool, particularly in his rubber-legged dance moves; Hocking, Hadary and Korey all hit the right comic notes, while Wilkins displays potent lung power. And John Jellison emerges with brio from silence in the final act as the sheriff, ensuring nobody in this unabashedly fanciful loveland goes unpartnered.

Updated On: 3/24/05 at 11:35 PM

Daily news is good!


http://www.nydailynews.com/03-25-2005/entertainment/col/story/293291p-251047c.html

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Updated On: 3/24/05 at 11:40 PM

eek, youre not supposed to copy the whole thing! copyright & all that! i didnt think that review was that good tho, the AP one was better.

how was the show tonight?

Updated On: 3/24/05 at 11:44 PM

Am I the only one that hates Mamma Mia and can name 15 jukebox musicals she likes better... including ASU and GV?

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soo if my math is up to par so far I see 3 goo, 2 mixed and 2 bad.. That's not horrible.. I mean of course I want all good but still that's not to shabby

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It was fun the show went great! The audience seemed to eat it up! I persanaly really enjoy it as everyone knows...

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Although I have no problem with ASU in particular, I AM SO SICK of jukebock 'musicals' For serious.

Plum, I absolutely agree with you that musical comedies can get great reviews and that The Producers is one such example, but I still regard jukebox musicals as their own genre and I guess one might venture that they aren't new in respects that caberets, revues, etc have been around a long time and used many existing songs in their shows; however, to say that jukebox musicals are musical comedies might be generalizing too much, because I doubt that the upcoming Lennon will be a comedy, then again...the way some recent musicals have been going, it might be. :) I don't mean to offend or snipe back or anything and I always appreciate any direct response to one of my postings, so thanks. Oh well, I just think it will be a little light and fun piece that will be enjoyed by many. But, what do I know, I'm one of those Wicked fans. LOL Thanks again for the feedback!

TheatreMania:

Faced with the daunting challenge of providing a storyline to accommodate 25 Presley-anointed ditties with some semblance of logic -- logic being a loose term these musical-comedy days -- DiPietro turned to the Shakespeare comedies Twelfth Night and As You Like It, wherein women dress up as men to woo the guys they desire and love letters are sent by way of go-betweens. Obviously on a roll, DiPietro also threw in references to the tragedies Hamlet and Romeo and Juliet, and to the notion of music being the food of love.

Then, in a continuing fit of lifting from other sources, DiPietro -- who's still raking in the shekels from his long-running, international cash cow I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change -- helped himself to bits and pieces of Footloose, Bye Bye Birdie, Mamma Mia!, and even the Arthur Laurents-Stephen Sondheim musical Anyone Can Whistle, whose villain is mayoress. But, hey, Shakespeare himself was only too pleased to raid previous works for helpful ideas. We should also keep in mind the old remark about there being only seven plots in all of literature. DiPietro may be doing nothing worse than paying homage to already successful and sorta-successful entities. The question is whether he's merely shaken the ingredients that he's gathered or whether what he's done is shakin'. It's a bit of both.

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It's the cast, with director Ashley propelling them, that truly shakes things up with Presley's sometimes memorable, sometimes forgettable canon. (Most of the movie songs are trifles.) Cheyenne Jackson, who's got the same sort of piercing eyes that Elvis flashed, thrusts himself pelvis first into the Tony sweepstakes with his self-mocking Chad. The boy's got it all: looks, voice, moves. He's matched by Jenn Gambatese, the always-amazing Alix Korey, Sharon Wilkins, Nikki M. James, the blonde and Diana Dors-y Leah Hocking, the rubber-legged Mark Price, and Curtis Holbrook, a whiz of a hoofer who should have even more to do here. A-well-a, bless their souls!

not so much a review I guess, but a good read:
Peter Filichia's Diary

NJ Star Ledger:

So it's an unexpected delight to discover that "All Shook Up" proves to be a terrifically entertaining time. You ain't nothin' but a hound dog if you don't dig this fun show.

Opening yesterday at the Palace, this assortment of 25 songs that Elvis Presley made famous has been matched to a nifty story. Performed by a splendid cast, designed with wit and sharply staged, the result is a happy return to the mythical, musical '50s.

No, it's not "Grease," but rather a humorous homage to the sort of movies that Presley used to make when he was still a handsome young hero.

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Making the most dynamite Broadway impression since Hugh Jackman, Cheyenne Jackson is a hugely talented, 6-foot-3 hunk of burnin' love as the irresistible Chad. Singing up a storm and agitating his torso with seismic force, Jackson invests his Elvis-type hottie with a subtle streak of humor that adds to his rakish appeal.

A sparky Jenn Gambatese portrays the yearning Natalie with a genuine sense of urgency. Leah Hocking's Sandra is a classy vamp. Splits-splaying Curtis Holbrook and pert Nikki M. James are an adorable salt-and-pepper duo. Sharon Wilkins' powerhouse singing, Mark Price's nerd-with-a-vengeance nonsense and Alix Korey's scandal-snooping mayor are perfectly in tune with the show's spirits.

Of course, "All Shook Up" is intended by its makers to be a Broadway diversion rather than momentous musical theater. As such, this gleaming jukebox resounding with Elvis evergreens is a pleasure to visit -- and with no guilt about it, either.



Star Ledger

Updated On: 3/25/05 at 02:00 AM