How did "All Shook Up" fail?

All Shook Up is one of the few jukebox musicals that really worked for me. I had a great time and thought it was adorable. But the Palace is a tough theatre to fill, and while the music should have been all they needed, it was a cast of unknowns.

(PS, the plot is an adaptation of Twelfth Night.)

---

" Honestly, I think it just came at a bad time."

Well, I don't mean to be catty but weren't we trying to recover from Good Vibrations at the time?

---

I left at intermission...and I so wanted to like it as I had attended a workshop with the creators earlier in the day and they had me really excited about it.

I remember adoring the opening number and then quickly wanting to DIE.

(And I adore 12th Night!)

---

Eris, when I saw it, "Jailhouse Rock" opened the second act. It seemed by the recording that by opening night, that was moved to the middle of the act and the title number opened act two. I actually liked the way act one opened, because it allowed the show to really take off during the glorious "Heartbreak Hotel."

I went in expecting to hate the show as well, but was very pleasantly surprised. I still play the CD all the time because the arrangements are so great. Being in such a big theatre really didn't help things - if they could've gotten one of the mid-size houses like the Hirschfeld, Shubert or Rodgers I think it might've had a better chance.

Does anyone remember why this and the 2005 La Cage revival swapped theatres? Originally La Cage was supposed to open at the Palace (where the original production was) and All Shook Up had the Marquis, but they switched places not too long before La Cage went into rehearsals.

I have to admit that I am in the crowd that has absolutely zero interest in jukebox musicals. In general, they just don't work well, and the book feels forced. This isn't true in all cases, obviously there are a few that really catch on, but I do think that a lot of people are like myself and are just turned off by the idea. Perhaps the ones that really do have something to offer are the ones that have succeeded. I think it is a lot harder for a jukebox musical to catch on.

Okay, but still, the Marquis would have been too big too.

---

Well, folks, I just got back from doing the damn show this evening.

This is my second time doing the show and I can honestly say that everyone in the theatre cast, crew, and audience go home with a smile on their face. Last night was our opening and I had countless folks tell me they could barely sit still in their seats they were having so much fun. It's incredibly rewarding to look out at 500 people jumping, singing, and dancing in the aisles during the curtain call reprise. I saw the show on tour, and had a very similar experience.

Having seen a bootleg of the Broadway production, I can see why it didn't quite take off. The story line and song placement are disjointed. The re-tooled version that went on tour and is now licensed to theaters has a much better ebb and flow to it.

Thank goodness they were able to preserve Steve Oremus's fabulous vocal arrangements on the cast recording. Can't Help Falling in Love and Burning Love give me goosebumps.

Another factor for it's failure is it came out in 2005, the year Spamalot beat out DRS, Piazza, and Spelling Bee for the best musical tony.

---

My only gripe with the new version is "Devil." It always turns into a conceptual nightmare.

---

I love(d) 'All Shook Up' so much.

The arrangements of Elvis's hits were fantastic, plus they fit very well into the events of the show. I really thought the show was completely adorable and charming, never once taking itself too seriously.

I saw the show twice on Broadway and once on the national tour. I felt the national tour changes were unnecessary, but the show still had it's charm and those gorgeous arrangements.

Honestly, the timing of the show was what really did it in. With 'Good Vibrations' and 'Lennon' opening around the same time as 'All Shook Up', they all kind of just got lumped in together.

However, I am so glad to have seen this show and will always love it.

---

Updated On: 7/15/10 at 04:12 AM

I really enjoyed it, i was in NY when this was in its last week so got tickets and had a great night. It had a few issues but nothing major. I would say it was in the wrong theatre, it did not need to play somewhere that big.

I adored the act 1 closing.

I also watched Good Vibrations months before, now that was funny lol

---

It was a combination of a book that was OK, but not first-class, no stars, and standard unispired arrangements of old songs. Perfectly fine, for what it was, but what it was was second-tier entertainment.