Broadway Watch: All Shook Up
Tue, 29 Mar 2005, 03:25 pmWalter Plinge1 post in thread
Broadway Watch: All Shook Up
Tue, 29 Mar 2005, 03:25 pmAll Shook Up
Inspired by and featuring the songs of Elvis Presley
Book by Joe DiPietro
Directed by Christopher Ashley
Opened 24th March 2005
Extracts from various reviewers:
“Some musicals really do go that extra mile to give relevance to their titles. However, in the case of All Shook Up, which just opened at the Palace, the title is less apropos to its subject matter of a Midwest town being introduced to rock music than to San Francisco following the 1906 earthquake.”
“If the destruction here isn't total, it's close enough for theatrical purposes. Never in the brief recent history of Broadway jukebox book musicals has this much established talent been involved in the creation of so little of consequence. The flagrant misuse of (to begin with) performers as gifted as Alix Korey, Sharon Wilkins, and Leah Hocking, and of set designer David Rockwell, is alone enough to make you want to weep at the present state of Broadway musicals.”
“Nonetheless, credit must be given where it's due, and Rockwell deserves the lion's share for his spectacular scenic designs, which are part Technicolor eye candy, part cartoon, and part skewed-perspective expressionism. Whether taking up the full stage (a ramshackle saloon, a church with a beguilingly imposing pipe organ) or only a part of it (the interior of a shoe store, a repair shop), his sets are intricately detailed and stunningly realized onstage. David C. Woolard's palette-spanning costumes and Donald Holder's lights, while less eye-catching, also make a strong impression.”
“When Bye Bye Birdie covered this same territory 45 years ago, Charles Strouse and Lee Adams were able to devise a charming original score that melded the beat of rock with the utility of theatre music and a solid, funny book. DiPietro's treatment is considerably less distinguished; he demonstrated solid talent in his writing for The Thing About Men and I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change, but his song cues here are jarring enough to set off seismometers on the West Coast. One example: Sylvia: "So where you been all morning?" Jim: "I took some flowers to the cemetery." Sylvia: "That's what I figured -" Jim (singing): "Well since my baby left me - / I found a new place to dwell -"”
“Of course, All Shook Up isn't about its performers, their characters, or whatever threadbare complications DiPietro has devised for them; it's about Elvis songs. If that's all you want, nothing of theatrical consequence will stand in the way of your enjoying them at the Palace for the foreseeable future. Otherwise, don't expect this flavorless musical martini to leave you either shaken or stirred.”
Talkin’ Broadway – Matthew Murray
“What resonates in this story of an Elvis-type hottie called Chad (Cheyenne Jackson) who bikes into a sleepy Midwest town and gets the citizenry's juices flowing despite the repressive call of Mayor Mathida Hyde (Alix Korey) for upright (read "uptight") behavior?”
“… what about the music, which is the major point of this cheerfully and patently commercial enterprise? Sometimes it's knock-your-socks-off effective, as when the entire cast is marched to the footlights… to perform "Can't Help Falling in Love," "Burning Love," and "Heartbreak Hotel." Some of the solos are potent, such as "Roustabout" and "There's Always Me." And "Jailhouse Rock," deliberately staged to be reminiscent of its look in the movie of the same name, is a song-and-dance powerhouse. Almost as often, though, the numbers are shoe-horned into the plot -- "Blue Suede Shoes," for instance -- and/or they're slightly altered or repeatedly interrupted. Presley fans who are partial to "Don't Be Cruel" and "Hound Dog," which brightened the summer of '56 for many teens, won't be pleased with the off-hand treatment that those room-rumblers get here.”
“It's the cast, with director Ashley propelling them, that truly shakes things up with Presley's sometimes memorable, sometimes forgettable canon.”
Theatermania – David Finkle
“By the end of this assemblage of Elvis Presley tunes linked by a silly plot, all I could think was: Look what Mamma Mia! hath wrought.”
“The story may sound vaguely Shakespearean, but that would be giving it too much credit.”
“Perhaps because there are so many characters--all in the throws of true love, unrequited love, or forbidden love--there is too much dialogue. Granted, DiPietro inserts some amusing lines, as when Sandra observes, "You mostly marry your cousins around here, don't you?" But most of the time, all of the talk just slows things down.”
“Fortunately, the show comes alive during the musical numbers. Director Christopher Ashley's staging is fun, as when he has pseudo flames rise from the orchestra pit and the box seats during "(You're the) Devil in Disguise."”
“After the curtain call, the cast naturally does an encore ("C'mon Everybody") that is meant to get the audience on its feet clapping its hands and dancing. But this kind of send-the-audience-on-its-way-happy-so-they-tell-their-friends-to-buy-tickets finale is getting awfully tired. Like much of All Shook Up, it feels derivative.”
“While All Shook Up is a mindless, harmless, fun musical that certainly deserves to run longer than Good Vibrations, it never offers a hint of the sex appeal that made Elvis an icon. That's probably because the show has been carefully designed to appeal to families with tweens and teens.”
“And since Times Square already feels like a theme park, the family-friendliness is hardly surprising. As far as Broadway tourist attractions go, All Shook Up isn't terrible, but it could have been a lot better.”
Broadway.Com – William Stevenson
Next Broadway Musical opening – The Light in the Piazza – 18th April
Inspired by and featuring the songs of Elvis Presley
Book by Joe DiPietro
Directed by Christopher Ashley
Opened 24th March 2005
Extracts from various reviewers:
“Some musicals really do go that extra mile to give relevance to their titles. However, in the case of All Shook Up, which just opened at the Palace, the title is less apropos to its subject matter of a Midwest town being introduced to rock music than to San Francisco following the 1906 earthquake.”
“If the destruction here isn't total, it's close enough for theatrical purposes. Never in the brief recent history of Broadway jukebox book musicals has this much established talent been involved in the creation of so little of consequence. The flagrant misuse of (to begin with) performers as gifted as Alix Korey, Sharon Wilkins, and Leah Hocking, and of set designer David Rockwell, is alone enough to make you want to weep at the present state of Broadway musicals.”
“Nonetheless, credit must be given where it's due, and Rockwell deserves the lion's share for his spectacular scenic designs, which are part Technicolor eye candy, part cartoon, and part skewed-perspective expressionism. Whether taking up the full stage (a ramshackle saloon, a church with a beguilingly imposing pipe organ) or only a part of it (the interior of a shoe store, a repair shop), his sets are intricately detailed and stunningly realized onstage. David C. Woolard's palette-spanning costumes and Donald Holder's lights, while less eye-catching, also make a strong impression.”
“When Bye Bye Birdie covered this same territory 45 years ago, Charles Strouse and Lee Adams were able to devise a charming original score that melded the beat of rock with the utility of theatre music and a solid, funny book. DiPietro's treatment is considerably less distinguished; he demonstrated solid talent in his writing for The Thing About Men and I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change, but his song cues here are jarring enough to set off seismometers on the West Coast. One example: Sylvia: "So where you been all morning?" Jim: "I took some flowers to the cemetery." Sylvia: "That's what I figured -" Jim (singing): "Well since my baby left me - / I found a new place to dwell -"”
“Of course, All Shook Up isn't about its performers, their characters, or whatever threadbare complications DiPietro has devised for them; it's about Elvis songs. If that's all you want, nothing of theatrical consequence will stand in the way of your enjoying them at the Palace for the foreseeable future. Otherwise, don't expect this flavorless musical martini to leave you either shaken or stirred.”
Talkin’ Broadway – Matthew Murray
“What resonates in this story of an Elvis-type hottie called Chad (Cheyenne Jackson) who bikes into a sleepy Midwest town and gets the citizenry's juices flowing despite the repressive call of Mayor Mathida Hyde (Alix Korey) for upright (read "uptight") behavior?”
“… what about the music, which is the major point of this cheerfully and patently commercial enterprise? Sometimes it's knock-your-socks-off effective, as when the entire cast is marched to the footlights… to perform "Can't Help Falling in Love," "Burning Love," and "Heartbreak Hotel." Some of the solos are potent, such as "Roustabout" and "There's Always Me." And "Jailhouse Rock," deliberately staged to be reminiscent of its look in the movie of the same name, is a song-and-dance powerhouse. Almost as often, though, the numbers are shoe-horned into the plot -- "Blue Suede Shoes," for instance -- and/or they're slightly altered or repeatedly interrupted. Presley fans who are partial to "Don't Be Cruel" and "Hound Dog," which brightened the summer of '56 for many teens, won't be pleased with the off-hand treatment that those room-rumblers get here.”
“It's the cast, with director Ashley propelling them, that truly shakes things up with Presley's sometimes memorable, sometimes forgettable canon.”
Theatermania – David Finkle
“By the end of this assemblage of Elvis Presley tunes linked by a silly plot, all I could think was: Look what Mamma Mia! hath wrought.”
“The story may sound vaguely Shakespearean, but that would be giving it too much credit.”
“Perhaps because there are so many characters--all in the throws of true love, unrequited love, or forbidden love--there is too much dialogue. Granted, DiPietro inserts some amusing lines, as when Sandra observes, "You mostly marry your cousins around here, don't you?" But most of the time, all of the talk just slows things down.”
“Fortunately, the show comes alive during the musical numbers. Director Christopher Ashley's staging is fun, as when he has pseudo flames rise from the orchestra pit and the box seats during "(You're the) Devil in Disguise."”
“After the curtain call, the cast naturally does an encore ("C'mon Everybody") that is meant to get the audience on its feet clapping its hands and dancing. But this kind of send-the-audience-on-its-way-happy-so-they-tell-their-friends-to-buy-tickets finale is getting awfully tired. Like much of All Shook Up, it feels derivative.”
“While All Shook Up is a mindless, harmless, fun musical that certainly deserves to run longer than Good Vibrations, it never offers a hint of the sex appeal that made Elvis an icon. That's probably because the show has been carefully designed to appeal to families with tweens and teens.”
“And since Times Square already feels like a theme park, the family-friendliness is hardly surprising. As far as Broadway tourist attractions go, All Shook Up isn't terrible, but it could have been a lot better.”
Broadway.Com – William Stevenson
Next Broadway Musical opening – The Light in the Piazza – 18th April
Walter PlingeTue, 29 Mar 2005, 03:25 pm
All Shook Up
Inspired by and featuring the songs of Elvis Presley
Book by Joe DiPietro
Directed by Christopher Ashley
Opened 24th March 2005
Extracts from various reviewers:
“Some musicals really do go that extra mile to give relevance to their titles. However, in the case of All Shook Up, which just opened at the Palace, the title is less apropos to its subject matter of a Midwest town being introduced to rock music than to San Francisco following the 1906 earthquake.”
“If the destruction here isn't total, it's close enough for theatrical purposes. Never in the brief recent history of Broadway jukebox book musicals has this much established talent been involved in the creation of so little of consequence. The flagrant misuse of (to begin with) performers as gifted as Alix Korey, Sharon Wilkins, and Leah Hocking, and of set designer David Rockwell, is alone enough to make you want to weep at the present state of Broadway musicals.”
“Nonetheless, credit must be given where it's due, and Rockwell deserves the lion's share for his spectacular scenic designs, which are part Technicolor eye candy, part cartoon, and part skewed-perspective expressionism. Whether taking up the full stage (a ramshackle saloon, a church with a beguilingly imposing pipe organ) or only a part of it (the interior of a shoe store, a repair shop), his sets are intricately detailed and stunningly realized onstage. David C. Woolard's palette-spanning costumes and Donald Holder's lights, while less eye-catching, also make a strong impression.”
“When Bye Bye Birdie covered this same territory 45 years ago, Charles Strouse and Lee Adams were able to devise a charming original score that melded the beat of rock with the utility of theatre music and a solid, funny book. DiPietro's treatment is considerably less distinguished; he demonstrated solid talent in his writing for The Thing About Men and I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change, but his song cues here are jarring enough to set off seismometers on the West Coast. One example: Sylvia: "So where you been all morning?" Jim: "I took some flowers to the cemetery." Sylvia: "That's what I figured -" Jim (singing): "Well since my baby left me - / I found a new place to dwell -"”
“Of course, All Shook Up isn't about its performers, their characters, or whatever threadbare complications DiPietro has devised for them; it's about Elvis songs. If that's all you want, nothing of theatrical consequence will stand in the way of your enjoying them at the Palace for the foreseeable future. Otherwise, don't expect this flavorless musical martini to leave you either shaken or stirred.”
Talkin’ Broadway – Matthew Murray
“What resonates in this story of an Elvis-type hottie called Chad (Cheyenne Jackson) who bikes into a sleepy Midwest town and gets the citizenry's juices flowing despite the repressive call of Mayor Mathida Hyde (Alix Korey) for upright (read "uptight") behavior?”
“… what about the music, which is the major point of this cheerfully and patently commercial enterprise? Sometimes it's knock-your-socks-off effective, as when the entire cast is marched to the footlights… to perform "Can't Help Falling in Love," "Burning Love," and "Heartbreak Hotel." Some of the solos are potent, such as "Roustabout" and "There's Always Me." And "Jailhouse Rock," deliberately staged to be reminiscent of its look in the movie of the same name, is a song-and-dance powerhouse. Almost as often, though, the numbers are shoe-horned into the plot -- "Blue Suede Shoes," for instance -- and/or they're slightly altered or repeatedly interrupted. Presley fans who are partial to "Don't Be Cruel" and "Hound Dog," which brightened the summer of '56 for many teens, won't be pleased with the off-hand treatment that those room-rumblers get here.”
“It's the cast, with director Ashley propelling them, that truly shakes things up with Presley's sometimes memorable, sometimes forgettable canon.”
Theatermania – David Finkle
“By the end of this assemblage of Elvis Presley tunes linked by a silly plot, all I could think was: Look what Mamma Mia! hath wrought.”
“The story may sound vaguely Shakespearean, but that would be giving it too much credit.”
“Perhaps because there are so many characters--all in the throws of true love, unrequited love, or forbidden love--there is too much dialogue. Granted, DiPietro inserts some amusing lines, as when Sandra observes, "You mostly marry your cousins around here, don't you?" But most of the time, all of the talk just slows things down.”
“Fortunately, the show comes alive during the musical numbers. Director Christopher Ashley's staging is fun, as when he has pseudo flames rise from the orchestra pit and the box seats during "(You're the) Devil in Disguise."”
“After the curtain call, the cast naturally does an encore ("C'mon Everybody") that is meant to get the audience on its feet clapping its hands and dancing. But this kind of send-the-audience-on-its-way-happy-so-they-tell-their-friends-to-buy-tickets finale is getting awfully tired. Like much of All Shook Up, it feels derivative.”
“While All Shook Up is a mindless, harmless, fun musical that certainly deserves to run longer than Good Vibrations, it never offers a hint of the sex appeal that made Elvis an icon. That's probably because the show has been carefully designed to appeal to families with tweens and teens.”
“And since Times Square already feels like a theme park, the family-friendliness is hardly surprising. As far as Broadway tourist attractions go, All Shook Up isn't terrible, but it could have been a lot better.”
Broadway.Com – William Stevenson
Next Broadway Musical opening – The Light in the Piazza – 18th April
Inspired by and featuring the songs of Elvis Presley
Book by Joe DiPietro
Directed by Christopher Ashley
Opened 24th March 2005
Extracts from various reviewers:
“Some musicals really do go that extra mile to give relevance to their titles. However, in the case of All Shook Up, which just opened at the Palace, the title is less apropos to its subject matter of a Midwest town being introduced to rock music than to San Francisco following the 1906 earthquake.”
“If the destruction here isn't total, it's close enough for theatrical purposes. Never in the brief recent history of Broadway jukebox book musicals has this much established talent been involved in the creation of so little of consequence. The flagrant misuse of (to begin with) performers as gifted as Alix Korey, Sharon Wilkins, and Leah Hocking, and of set designer David Rockwell, is alone enough to make you want to weep at the present state of Broadway musicals.”
“Nonetheless, credit must be given where it's due, and Rockwell deserves the lion's share for his spectacular scenic designs, which are part Technicolor eye candy, part cartoon, and part skewed-perspective expressionism. Whether taking up the full stage (a ramshackle saloon, a church with a beguilingly imposing pipe organ) or only a part of it (the interior of a shoe store, a repair shop), his sets are intricately detailed and stunningly realized onstage. David C. Woolard's palette-spanning costumes and Donald Holder's lights, while less eye-catching, also make a strong impression.”
“When Bye Bye Birdie covered this same territory 45 years ago, Charles Strouse and Lee Adams were able to devise a charming original score that melded the beat of rock with the utility of theatre music and a solid, funny book. DiPietro's treatment is considerably less distinguished; he demonstrated solid talent in his writing for The Thing About Men and I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change, but his song cues here are jarring enough to set off seismometers on the West Coast. One example: Sylvia: "So where you been all morning?" Jim: "I took some flowers to the cemetery." Sylvia: "That's what I figured -" Jim (singing): "Well since my baby left me - / I found a new place to dwell -"”
“Of course, All Shook Up isn't about its performers, their characters, or whatever threadbare complications DiPietro has devised for them; it's about Elvis songs. If that's all you want, nothing of theatrical consequence will stand in the way of your enjoying them at the Palace for the foreseeable future. Otherwise, don't expect this flavorless musical martini to leave you either shaken or stirred.”
Talkin’ Broadway – Matthew Murray
“What resonates in this story of an Elvis-type hottie called Chad (Cheyenne Jackson) who bikes into a sleepy Midwest town and gets the citizenry's juices flowing despite the repressive call of Mayor Mathida Hyde (Alix Korey) for upright (read "uptight") behavior?”
“… what about the music, which is the major point of this cheerfully and patently commercial enterprise? Sometimes it's knock-your-socks-off effective, as when the entire cast is marched to the footlights… to perform "Can't Help Falling in Love," "Burning Love," and "Heartbreak Hotel." Some of the solos are potent, such as "Roustabout" and "There's Always Me." And "Jailhouse Rock," deliberately staged to be reminiscent of its look in the movie of the same name, is a song-and-dance powerhouse. Almost as often, though, the numbers are shoe-horned into the plot -- "Blue Suede Shoes," for instance -- and/or they're slightly altered or repeatedly interrupted. Presley fans who are partial to "Don't Be Cruel" and "Hound Dog," which brightened the summer of '56 for many teens, won't be pleased with the off-hand treatment that those room-rumblers get here.”
“It's the cast, with director Ashley propelling them, that truly shakes things up with Presley's sometimes memorable, sometimes forgettable canon.”
Theatermania – David Finkle
“By the end of this assemblage of Elvis Presley tunes linked by a silly plot, all I could think was: Look what Mamma Mia! hath wrought.”
“The story may sound vaguely Shakespearean, but that would be giving it too much credit.”
“Perhaps because there are so many characters--all in the throws of true love, unrequited love, or forbidden love--there is too much dialogue. Granted, DiPietro inserts some amusing lines, as when Sandra observes, "You mostly marry your cousins around here, don't you?" But most of the time, all of the talk just slows things down.”
“Fortunately, the show comes alive during the musical numbers. Director Christopher Ashley's staging is fun, as when he has pseudo flames rise from the orchestra pit and the box seats during "(You're the) Devil in Disguise."”
“After the curtain call, the cast naturally does an encore ("C'mon Everybody") that is meant to get the audience on its feet clapping its hands and dancing. But this kind of send-the-audience-on-its-way-happy-so-they-tell-their-friends-to-buy-tickets finale is getting awfully tired. Like much of All Shook Up, it feels derivative.”
“While All Shook Up is a mindless, harmless, fun musical that certainly deserves to run longer than Good Vibrations, it never offers a hint of the sex appeal that made Elvis an icon. That's probably because the show has been carefully designed to appeal to families with tweens and teens.”
“And since Times Square already feels like a theme park, the family-friendliness is hardly surprising. As far as Broadway tourist attractions go, All Shook Up isn't terrible, but it could have been a lot better.”
Broadway.Com – William Stevenson
Next Broadway Musical opening – The Light in the Piazza – 18th April