By James Smithwick and Orion Christy
One for the money, two for the show, three to make ready, and four to go! Daytona State’s Mike Curb College of Music, Entertainment and Art presented the spring musical “All Shook Up,” inspired by the music of Elvis Pressley, and book by Joe DiPietro.
The show ran on select nights from Feb. 22 through Mar. 2 in the Gillespy Theater, at the News-Journal Center in Daytona Beach.
The musical comedy is based on William Shakespeare’s 1602 play “Twelfth Night”, and is built around more than 20 Elvis Pressley hits, like “Love Me Tender,” “Blue Suede Shoes,” “Teddy Bear” and “Jailhouse Rock.”
The production, under the direction of Samantha Stern, swung from upbeat rocking to tender romance without missing a beat. The show played to full houses practically every night of its run, and delighted audiences of all ages.
The musical revolves around a series of love connections set into motion by the just paroled rabble-rouser Chad, played by James Ryan Harrington, as he arrives in the play’s dreary little town setting. As the show progresses, the audience is introduced to Natalie, masterfully portrayed by Jensen Lesarbeau, and Kelvin Oats’ Dennis, forming the first of many love triangles, some of which required a scorecard for keeping up.
The ensemble cast provided wonderful backing vocals, and flamboyant dance routines supporting an almost flawless main cast. Scene stealers included the delightfully talented Deborah Reshard as Sylvia, the single mother and proprietor of the town’s honky tonk. Her solo performance of “There’s Always Me” could move a brick wall to tears.
Dr. Norton Christeson, the show’s Musical Director and Assistant Chair of the Mike Curb College of Music, Entertainment and Art said the show didn’t go on without its specific challenges. “The band was totally disconnected from the stage visually, except for one small video monitor, which only I could see, so it was a tremendous challenge for the players, who only had a couple of audio monitors to respond musically to what was happening onstage.”
“I was extremely impressed with how well the singers did, and the instrumentalists, being totally removed from each other for the entire run. We’ve never done that before,” said Christeson.
The set, though minimalist in construction, played open on three sides to the audience, and featured jukeboxes, a tunnel of love float and a custom motorcycle lent to the show by Strokerz Custom Motorcycles of Daytona Beach.
As the show’s ensemble cast performed the show’s final number, “Burning Love,” the crowd was on its feet, literally begging for more.
“For me, as the music director, it was probably the biggest challenge I’ve faced in my 28 years of doing musical theater here at DSC,” said Christeson. The labor of love, challenging as it was to pull off, was an incredible and obvious success.
For a complete schedule of theater events, go to www.daytonastate.edu/thearts/ or call the News-Journal Center box office at (386) 226-1927 during normal box office hours.