A Night At The Theatre

Stephen and I volunteered to help with concessions so we could see Twin City Stage's All Shook Up for free. We usually man the wine table, but tonight we were in charge of the ice cream. (Actually it's Wolfie's Frozen Custard and it's outta the world yummy!)

I absolutely enjoyed the show! There were so many great things about it, I'll see if I can break it down.

First of all, the set was wonderful. Bland Wade never ceases to amaze me with his sets. Shawn Hooper's lighting design complimented Bland's sets so beautifully. I loved the rich background colors.

One of my favorite numbers was "Let Yourself Go" where garden statues come to life and perform a ballet number. Beautiful choreography by Angela Fuller, and the statue costumes were amazing. The entire time I was transfixed.

Miriam Davie was wonderful as the sexy librarian Sandra. Michele Groneck and Angela Hodges were hoots in their various ensemble roles. Roberts Bass was touching as Jim, and his "Don't Be Cruel" number was too, too funny. Jeremy Kuhn, who I worked with for the staged reading of The Velveteen Rabbit, was very impressive as Dean. I so enjoyed watching him on stage.

Maggie Gallagher almost stole the show with Matilda's "Devil In Disguise" guitar number. I say "almost" because in my opinion it was Danny Alvarez's Sheriff Earl who actually stole the show. Sheriff Earl doesn't speak until the last 10 minutes of the show when he finally has enough of Matilda's antics. He speaks his mind and also professes his love for Matilda. Danny took Maggie in his arms, dipped her and proceeded to kiss her with such passionate abandon. The audience roared!

But it was Lalenja Harrington's portrayal of Sylvia that most impressed me. She is astoundingly talented and has such a beautiful voice. I was mesmerized.

Unfortunately, I did not think the leads really stood out. Darren Fuller played Chad, the Elvis-like Roustabout. Watching him I truly missed the energy and verve I knew David Joy would have brought to that role. Katlyn Shaw, who played the dual roles of Natalie/Ed just seemed too young.

Overall the show was highly energized and entertaining. And the Wolfie's Frozen Custard was the perfect compliment to a great evening.