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This
delightful show is proof of the old adage that music may make a show
memorable, and lyrics may make songs impressive, but it is the book that
makes a show work. The songs here are all numbers that have been recorded by
Elvis Presley - many of them were hits for him and some are less well known.
Book writer Joe DiPietro does with them the same clever and inventive trick
that Catherine Jones did in
structuring an entertaining story around Abba's songs for Mamma Mia! For
some reason, however, DiPietro doesn't stick with the top hits from the
Elvis catalogue, and as a result, some of the songs won't
be quite as familiar as many others. The evening invites you to sit back and
enjoy the cleaver use of the songs in the story, the energetic vocals, the
strong if shallow characterizations, and the color and brightness of the
look of the show. |
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Storyline: A mysterious roustabout with a black leather jacket and blue
suede shoes arrives in a tiny middle-American town where the "Mamie
Eisenhower Decency Law" prohibits public displays of affection or dancing.
His motorcycle needs repair and the cute girl who works in her father's garage is called. She falls for him immediately but he can't see
beyond the grease on her cheek. She'd do anything to be with him so she
dresses as a boy to become his "side kick." When the inevitable attraction
takes hold he's tormented because he still thinks she is a he. In the
meantime, her father, her girlfriend, the local boy who loves her, and even
the local sheriff, all come under love's spell while the Mayor who wrote the
decency law is horrified until even she succumbs to the new spirit the
stranger brought to the town.
The Elvis catalogue is so
deep it would have been impossible to pull all the biggest hits into one
show - he had no fewer than 51 gold singles and there were uncounted cuts in
his 74 platinum albums that are nearly universally recognized. The format of
the show only allowed something in the neighborhood of two dozen songs and
DiPietro manages to fit in a dozen from the gold single list and a number of
other iconic numbers. DiPietro, who did such a fine job on the adaptation of
Rogers and Hammerstein's Allegro
that debuted at Signature Theatre last year, has other credits both with
original books for musicals (I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change
is still running off Broadway after nine years) and non-musical comedies (Over
the River and Through the Woods). From the running gag built on the song
"One Night With You" to the inevitable proliferation of blue suede shoes,
DiPietro not only keeps his own tongue firmly planted in his cheek, he gets
everyone involved into the same "this is such fun!" mood that it is
infectious.
Jenn Gambatese is great fun
from her first "One Night With You" as the love-sick but still spirited
grease monkey girl. She's teamed with Cheyenne Jackson as the mysterious
stranger on the bike (his understudy, Brad Anderson, went on the night we
reviewed the show and was solidly satisfying) and Mark Price who is sharp as
her secret admirer. Sharon Wilkins really cuts loose on "There's Always Me"
and John Jellison is a particular delight, setting up his nearly mute
Sheriff Earl for the second act twist beautifully.
Director Christopher Ashley
headed two of the Kennedy Center's Sondheim Celebration shows (Sweeney
Todd and Merrily We
Roll Along) and handled The Rocky Horror Show on Broadway.
These shows have little in common except strong story lines, and Ashley's
production of each emphasized just that strength. Here again, it is a
clarity of storytelling that keeps the audience enjoying themselves. There
are delightful touches at every level. Costume designer David C. Woolard
must have come up with a dozen different types of shoes to render in blue
suede and set designer David Rockwell included in his whimsical sets the
sight of toe-tapping blue suede shoes in the display boxes in the shoe store
set. From the opening guitar burst and band blast from "Jail House Rock"
that starts the overture, the orchestrations by Stephen Oremus and the late
(and very lamented) Michael Gibson are a delight and the singing
clear and clean which allows the humor of the use of specific songs to come
through while the songs move the story along briskly.
Songs from the catalogue of Elvis Presley. Book
by Joe DiPietro. Directed by Christopher Ashley. Choreographed by Ken
Roberson. Additional choreography by Sergio Trujillo. Music direction by
August Eriksmoen. Musical supervision and arrangements by Stephen Oremus.
Dance music arrangements by Zane Mark. Orchestrations by Michael Gibson and
Stephen Oremus. Design: David Rockwell (set) David C. Woolard (costumes)
David H. Lawrence (wigs and hair) Donald Holder (lights) Brian Ronan
(sound). Principal cast: Brad Anderson, Jenn Gambatese, Jonathan Hadary, Leah Hocking,
Curtis Holbrook, Cheyenne Jackson, Nikki M. James, John Jellison, Alix Korey,
Mark Price, Sharon Wilkins.
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