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The Bard and the King collide in ‘All Shook Up’ at Blind Brook High School.

By James Wortman

When considering iconic pairings in music history, the team of William Shakespeare and Elvis Presley probably doesn’t spring to mind. But believe it or not, they actually collaborated on a musical. “All Shook Up,” written by Joe DiPietro, combines the story of one of Shakespeare’s most famous comedies, “Twelfth Night,” with some of the King’s most memorable tunes. Students at Blind Brook High School will be staging the popular jukebox musical this weekend with performances on Friday night, Saturday night and Sunday afternoon.

Set in 1955, “All Shook Up” tells the story of Chad (Justin Gluck), a guitar-strumming “roustabout” who rolls into a small Midwest town in search of a motorcycle mechanic. Chad soon learns that under the town’s repressive decency laws, imposed by tyrannical killjoy Mayor Matilda Hyde (Alyssa Davis and Blythe Duckett), loud music, dancing and public displays of affection are strictly forbidden. After seeing how miserable the mayor’s harsh rules have rendered the townspeople, Chad vows to liberate them through the power of rock and roll.

“Chad brings an edge to the town that it definitely lacks,” said Gluck, a 16-year-old junior, of the play’s Elvis-esque protagonist during the Mar. 13 dress rehearsal. Meanwhile, Davis, who plays Matilda on Saturday night, said she enjoys playing Chad’s foil and the show’s scowling face of the establishment.

“Matilda is very straight-laced and very strict,” said Davis, an 18-year-old senior. “She’s almost like a ‘wicked witch’ type of character.” Duckett, who plays Matilda on Friday night and Sunday afternoon, added that while the self-described “moral compass” of the town might not necessarily be a crowd-pleaser in the same way Chad is, she’s one of the most important characters in “All Shook Up.”

“She’s kind of a driving force,” said Duckett, 17 and also a senior. “If she wasn’t there saying ‘this is wrong,’ then none of the characters would be learning anything.”

Shortly after his arrival, Chad also brings some romance to the middle-of-nowhere town. He meets Natalie (Elana Levy), a tomboyish mechanic who immediately falls in love with him. However, Chad falls for Miss Sandra (Gabi Schiz), the glamorous curator of the town’s museum. In order to get closer to Chad, Natalie disguises herself as a man named Ed who, in turn, strikes Sandra’s fancy. As is the case in many of Shakespeare’s comedies, love is hardly uncomplicated.

“Natalie completely transforms into this guy and no one knows, except for her best friend Dennis (Nick Brasesco),” said Levy, a 17-year-old senior. “And then Sandra falls in love with her [as Ed], and she’s like ‘Oh, God, what’s happening?’ It’s just crazy.”

Director Christina Colangelo last staged “All Shook Up” in the summer of 2008 for the Port Chester Council for the Arts/Port Chester Recreation Department. And while she’s grown to love the show, she wasn’t the biggest Presley fan when she was introduced to it.

“When I first heard about it, I thought ‘Ugh, Elvis music,’” she admitted. “But it’s very well done. Usually in these jukebox musicals, the music isn’t rearranged, which is why many of them don’t work. But with ‘All Shook Up,’ they clearly had the story in mind when they were adapting the music.”

The show features a number of Presley classics, including “Jailhouse Rock,” “Burning Love,” “Heartbreak Hotel” and, of course, “All Shook Up.” But it was up to choreographer Jason Summers to help the cast recreate Presley’s signature hip-shaking dance moves.

“Stylistically, they don’t necessarily have a frame of reference for this kind of dance anymore,” said Summers. “So even things like swiveling your hips the way Elvis used to do seems strange and unnatural to them. So the challenge is getting the cast comfortable with the moves.”

Some cast members said they studied clips of Presley’s live performances on YouTube to get a grasp of his onstage persona.

“Everyone knows who Elvis is; some would say he’s the father of rock and roll,” said Gluck. “His persona and his stage presence made him who he was. Watching those videos helped me get into that character and understand why people love him.”

And the cast expects that audiences this weekend will similarly love and appreciate the effort they’ve put forth since rehearsals began in January.

“The scale of this show is just amazing,” said Levy. “It’s going to blow people away.”

“All Shook Up” will be performed Friday, Mar. 19 at 7:30 p.m., Saturday, Mar. 20 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, Mar. 21 at 2 p.m. All tickets are $12.

Cast and Crew

Natalie Haller............................................................ Elana Levy
Chad....................................................................... Justin Gluck
Jim Haller..........................................................Tyler Ketchabaw
Sylvia.......................................................................Ali Hartman
Lorraine (Double Cast)...Sarah Ackerman - Thursday/Saturday
Olivia Weinshank – Friday/Sunday
Dean Hyde............................................................... Will Whalen
Dennis.................................................................Nick Brasesco
Miss Sandra.............................................................. Gabi Schiz
Mayor Matilda Hyde (Double Cast).....Alyssa Davis -Thurs./Sat.
Blythe Duckett – Friday/Sunday
Sheriff Earl.............................................................. Jacob Kupin
Dance Captain.................................................... Melanie Mauro

COMPANY

Jaime Ketchabaw, Lindsay Nuckel, Eric Handelman, Zach Streichler, Nicole Heney, Melanie Greenwald, Jackie Ciraldo, Kira Helberg, Barrie Schneiderman, Nikki Weisblum, Karina Fernandes, Tami Kadmon, Renee Mango, Dana Kadmon, Alexa Dayan, Brielle Farruggio, Samantha Miller, Stephanie Blumenthal, Rebecca Lurie, Casey Linder, Sydney Grau, Cynthia Segal, Nora Fisher, Jacob Visoky, Sharon Appelbaum, Jason Rosenzweig, Julia Newman, Ryan Seguljic, Amanda Sorkin, Karen Rind-Siegel, Alyssa Piperis, Dylan Symonette, Madison Lieberman, Joe Joyce, Katie Hanson, Ben Broch, Marlee Topkis, Ross Schinik, Rachel Joseph, Julia Joseph, Mari Diamond, Nick Megdanis

STAGE CREW

Jason Kaye, Sal Scappatura, Jared Liga, Danny Fishman, Ben Seguljic, Jamie Zaslav, Scott Bass, Jonathan Newmark, Brian Lorys

STUDENT MUSICIANS

Adam Weingarten, Zachary Held, Justin Cohn, Samantha Langstein, Michael Zingman, Amanda Saxe, Melissa Blanco, Molly McBride, Matthew Christal

Christina Colangelo.................................Director and Producer
Nora Fisher....................................... Student Assistant Director
Thomas Ferrer................................................... Stage Manager
Howard Levy..................................................... Musical Director
Cindy Moore..............................................Vocal Music Director
Jason Summers..................................................Choreographer

This is part of the March 19, 2010 online edition of Rye Brook Westmore News.

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