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All Shook Up
by Cathedral Catholic High School
 Elvis is back in the building, and a small town is about to
get All Shook Up about it. It’s Joe Dipietro’s ode to Elvis using an
update to Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night for a plot, with grease monkey
Natalie turning herself into Ed so she can become the sidekick to roustabout
Chad – a cool guy just passing through who can’t seem to see Natalie as his
girl. But how does anybody fall in love in this town ruled over by a
tyrannically prudish mayor who has made “fun” illegal?
Cathedral Catholic High School and Director Katie Wilson
show us how in this rockin’ good time filled with the King of Rock’s greatest
hits and played out on top of a guitar-painted stage. It all opens with a big
blast of energy in the Jailhouse Rock opening, the female inmates walking
across the top of the stage and getting into Chicago’s Cell Block Tango
poses before they get started, sending Chad/Elvis on his motorbike and on his
way. They do it all in some sharp prison fatigues (with Katie Wilson, Justin
Woodington, and Alex Horst putting together a bunch of vibrant 50s
costumes) and shaking it to the lively choreography by Chelsea Lapp.
The cast features a remarkable number of great voices. And
that includes Taralyn Markey as our Natalie, and later our Ed, who
instantly falls in love with Chad via the show’s love-at-first-sight anthem One
Night With You. Taralyn has a nice, quietly genuine tomboy personality,
leading the cast beautifully in Fools Fall in Love, and showing humor as
well including her duet with Chad of Follow That Dream (complete with
motorcycle and a fan creating her windblown hair). Justin Woodington is
a hit as the Elvis-ish character – lots of coolness, manly vocals, and
excellent comedy, which all combine for great effect when he finds himself
taking his pretend date with Ed to first base, making Chad feel a little
awkward and a lot confused.
As Dennis, Josh Pinkowski loves them both – Natalie
being his secret life-long crush, and then becoming Chad’s sidekick (Dennis’s
first opportunity to feel kind of cool). Josh uses his voice perfectly for the
part and has a terrific knack for his nerdy but hopeful character. The talented
Kati Dulaney is Miss Sandra, the hot museum curator chick who Chad
really wants, but Miss Sandra’s just interested in men who are sensitive,
smart, and well read (or, as she puts it, “Quote Shakespeare to me and peel me
like a banana.”) Unfortunately for her, she’s saying that to Ed, a.k.a.
Natalie, as she tries to seduce Ed in Let Yourself Go.
Elsewhere in town, Alex Horst is the no-nonsense
bartender who leads the That’s All Right number with great vocals, and
her daughter clearly inherited them with Brianna Heller as Sylvia’s
daughter Lorraine who ends up in a scandalous interracial relationship with the
son of the tyrannical mayor (Kyle Maloy), leading to the amusingly
staged It’s Now or Never scene wherein the town rolls by while the bus
stands still. Drew Pinkowski is Natalie/Ed’s single dad who is also
falling in love, Brooke Berish is perfectly prudish and scary as the
town’s self-appointed moral compass who is always eager to find the Devil in
Disguise, and Nick Smoldon is her silent sheriff attached at her
hip. The mayor’s constituents nail the fun and energy from the opening Jailhouse
Rock to Can’t Help Falling in Love to the big, fiery finale filled
with a hunk, a hunk of Burning Love.
Performed March 27 - April 4, 2009
Rob Hopper
National Youth Theatre
~ Cast ~
Natalie/Ed: Taralyn Markey
Chad: Justin Woodington
Sylvia: Alex Horst
Jim Heller: Drew Diachenko
Dennis: Josh Pinkowski
Lorraine: Brianna Heller
Dean Hyde: Kyle Maloy
Miss Sandra: Kati Dulaney
Mayor Matilda Hyde: Brooke Berish
Sheriff Earl: Nick Smoldon
Henrietta: Citali Alvarado
Female Barfly Trio:
Carly Lambert
Kristine Brown
Dominique Kourie
Bus Driver: Michael Spellacy
Shop Owner: Christie Kainz
Venus: Carly Lambert
Dance Captains: Dominique Kourie, Shanee Siracusa
Ensemble:
Jeny Aquino
Luis Area
Veronica Atkinson
Chloe Barrack
Priscilla Barney
Darianna Bononi
Cassidy-Paige Bringas
Forrest Brunson
Brittany Bugbee
Caitlin Byrne
Kaycey Bui
Gina Cataldo
Aisha Chalita
Sarah Coglianese
Kara Connolly
Libby Cunnigham
Molly Cunnigham
Chelsea Demary
Sarina Estrada
Rebekah Filiciotto
Noah Fujioka
Tad Fujioka
Megan Gilmore
Melissa Gizzi
Cayla Green
Liz Hahn
Attie Harris
Shawna Heinz
Becca Hinton
Kelsey Keane
Tiffany Lambert
Laura MacIntyre
Erica Martin
Toni Marrero
Catie McRoskey
A.J. Montes
Melanie Mulvihill
Zak Myers
Merissa Nares
Courtney Peck
Christina Sadeghi
Natasha Salehi
Caitlin Schlehuber
Kate Segall
Savanah Shick
Ashley Smith
Michelle Sonniksen
Luke Tesluk
Maria Thompson
Matt Thompson
Francesco Valenti
Isabelle VanderSchuit
Fernanda Vasquez
Amanda Whelan
Jon White
Ariana Woods
Michael Young
Kate Zolezzi
Director: Katie Wilson
Choreography: Chelsea Lapp
Costume Design: Katie Wilson, Justin Woodington, Alex Horst
Musical Direction: Katie Wilson and Leandro Cohelo
Band Conductor: Dirk Koman
Sound Design: Steve Stopper
Additional Choreography:
David Hott
Jeremy Lapp
Natasha Salehi
Katie Wilson
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