MEOW!
This weekend, the East Hartford Summer Youth Festival will be putting on its 49th production: ALL SHOOK UP, a jukebox musical with Elvis Presley songs and a story inspired by William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. It will be performed at East Hartford Middle School in East Hartford, CT; tickets will be $12 for adults and $10 for children, and the show's performance dates are July 26th (7:30pm), 27th (7:30pm), and 28th (2pm). One of the best parts about the experience? The auditorium is air-conditioned (unless, of course, you get a case of burnin' love comin' from the stage, in which case, you will definitely feel the heat)!
So why, oh reader, should you come see this production of ALL SHOOK UP? Or if you happen to be a cast/crew member of whom I randomly tagged on Facebook, why should you convince people to go see this show? Well, I have some reasons down below to help, starting with:
WE'VE GOT A ROCKIN'-THE-JAIL-ROCK-ROCKIN'-THE-JAILHOUSE CAST AND CREW!
No doubt about it. Those who are involved in the cast and crew of ALL SHOOK UP are absolutely--hahahahapuntime---rockin' during rehearsals, and I can't wait for all of us to present what we have in store for you. Also, if you've been to any of the past forty-eight productions the EHSYF have been able to provide, be on the look out for any references to them (For example: without giving too much away, there's a sneaky little nod to The Wiz that is spoken near the end of Act One. And funny enough, it was in the script to begin with!). Overall, everyone involved is inviting you to a party that you will not want to leave any time soon, and hopefully, make you come back for more!
DO YOU HEAR THAT? IT'S MUSIC! REALLY AWESOME MUSIC!
Be prepared to get--hahahahapuntimeagain---All Shook Up any day/night you go. Elvis fanatics out there are going to get a kick out of the songs arranged in the show; the big ensemble numbers include "Jailhouse Rock," "C'mon Everybody," "Can't Help Falling In Love," "All Shook Up (of course)," "Burning Love" and so forth. We also have solo/duet/min-group numbers such as a mash-up of "Teddy Bear" and "Hound Dog," "Don't Be Cruel," "It Hurts Me," "There's Always Me," and again, so forth. All of the songs are accompanied by an awesome orchestra conducted by Jim Kirshmier (Hopefully I spelled that name correctly). Even if you don't know these songs by heart, chances are you will know some of them by the time the curtain call ends!
THE SHOW CONSISTS OF EXCITING, HILARIOUS AND TENDER MOMENTS OVERALL!
In my opinion, the joy of experiencing theater magic is feeling genuine emotion, whether you're being tickled in the funnybone ("They're not drunks; they're alcohol enthusiasts."), feeling a bit heartbroken or moved by the characters' arcs (That is, to a point. As Joss Whedon says, "Make it dark, make it grim, make it tough, but then, for the love of God, tell a joke"), or surrendering to an overwhelming sense of adrenaline rush (I will not dare spoil "C'mon Everybody" for you; it's one of my favorite numbers in the show!). ALL SHOOK UP has all three of those elements in spades; by the time you leave the theater, you may have a ridiculous grin on your face and, if you're lucky, a dance in your step!
And last, but absolutely not least...
EVERYONE'S A STAR HERE.
At EHSYF, we live by a philosophy that goes like this: "The East Hartford Summer Youth Festival: Where Everyone's A Star." We pride on giving ANYONE a chance to shine on/off that stage like a blue shooting star in those enchantin' summer skies, whether it is the cast, choreographer (CONGRATS GREER ONCE AGAIN!), director, parents, president, tech crew, you get, the jist. I took that philosophy to heart every summer I was involved with an EHSYF production, and this summer is no exception. If you come see ALL SHOOK UP sometime this weekend, you will see all of that energy, hard work and talent up on that stage over the course of two hours. I guarantee one wonderful evening to be had by all!
If you read all of that, all I can say now is: -cue Elvis voice- Thank you. Thank you very much.
Until next time,
MEOW!
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