By Allison Ulaky
In a Midwest town in the 1950s, Chad (played by sophomore Paul Harrold), a rock ‘n’ roll rebel who had been recently released from jail, enters a small town after his motorcycle breaks down. A young mechanic looking for love helps the out of place stranger and instantly falls in love with him. The mechanic, Natalie (senior Jess Hanner), wants to catch Chad’s attention, but he is too busy chasing after Sandra (senior Sierra Woodworth), who has no interest in him or Jim (senior Jared Bonawitz), another male falling head over heels for her. Natalie is also unaware of her friend Dennis (senior Cobi Kremer) loving her.
With the mayor’s strict rules, including no loud music or misbehavior, being broken each day, she knows something is up. When the mayor learns that her own son, Dean (junior Mike Dempsey), has been spending way too much time with Lorraine (senior Lily Ngo) and has even learned how to dance, she declares that it is the last straw.
Meanwhile, Sylvia (senior Katie Irwin) falls for Jim, who still wants Sandra, but Sandra is now interested in Ed (who could possibly be Natalie in disguise?)
As the story unravels, with everyone falling in love with each other, the real question is whether or not this small town can handle getting “all shook up.”
This is the story of Penn Manor’s spring musical All Shook Up. The show is loosely based on Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, and it features some of Elvis Presley’s biggest hits, such as “Love Me Tender,” “Jailhouse Rock” and “Burning Love.”
The show, directed by Melissa Telesco and assisted by Carole Shellenberger and Melissa Mintzer has been rehearsing and preparing since the beginning of January. The choreographer for the show, Donovan Hoffer, accompanist Jordan Groh and pit director Lauren Forbes have also been working hard at dance rehearsals, vocal rehearsals and all of the pit rehearsals to make sure the show is as perfect as it can be.
Parts of the show were challenging to learn.
“The dancing is extreme and very difficult to execute,” said sophomore Paul Harrold, who plays Chad. “The comedic timing is also kinda hard at points.”
Harrold also mentioned his favorite parts of the musical.
“One of my personal favorites is the opening number, “Jailhouse Rock,” which has some amazing dancing, but every musical number is a great moment to watch.”
All Shook Up will be performed March 1-2 and 8-9 at Penn Manor High School. The show starts at 7:30 p.m. and tickets cost $7 for students and $9 for adults.