Jackson County Community Theatre will open its 46th season in early August with the musical, “All Shook Up.”
The show, inspired by and featuring the songs of Elvis Presley, and written by Joe DiPietro, will be conducted at 7:30 p.m. Aug. 7 and 8 and Aug. 14 and 15 at Royal Off-the-Square Theatre, 121 W. Walnut St., Brownstown. There will be a matinee at 2:30 p.m. Aug. 9.
The musical’s entire score is from the works of Elvis Presley and includes many of his most popular songs, including “Jailhouse Rock,” “Hound Dog,” “Love Me Tender” and “Blue Suede Shoes.” The music is set to a book that is an adaptation of William Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night.”
“All Shook Up” is a 2005 musical by Joe DiPietro, author of “I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change” and “Over the River and Through the Woods.”
The musical is set in a 24-hour period, during the summer of 1955, in a small obscure town somewhere in the Midwest, in the 1950s. Chad, a roustabout, rides into a depressing town on his motorcycle. His arrival soon causes many of the individuals in the town to fall in love with all the wrong people.
Jim, who recently lost his wife, secretly thinks about dating again, but finds love in an unusual place. Two teenagers try to weather a forbidden love. Chad soon catches the eye of town mechanic, Natalie, who dreams of finding love and seeking life on the open road.
Chad only has eyes for the town’s intellectual museum curator. But she only has eyes for a mysterious new man in town. The play is about finding love in the most unusual places, and no matter what, fighting for it and never letting go.
The show is directed by Darin Richart, with musical direction by Bridey Jacobi, and choreography by Katrina Hardwick.
Chad is played by Kody Riddle. Natalie Haller, the town’s female mechanic, who falls desperately in love with Chad, is played by Laura Hauersperger. To get closer to Chad, Natalie dresses up as “Ed” and pretends to be his sidekick to convince him to fall for her.
Zach Thompson plays Jim Haller, Natalie’s widowed father, who tries to be young and cool; Sylvia, the no-nonsense owner of the honkytonk, is played by Monica Durfinova; Lorraine by Wanda Butler; Dennis, an awkward young man aspiring to be a dentist, by Jacob Dufour; Miss Sandra, the Marilyn Monroe-esque, intellectual caretaker of the town’s museum, by Afton Shepard; Mayor Matilda Hyde, the town’s conservative mayor, by Jessica Brown; Dean Hyde, Mayor Hyde’s teenage son, who has spent his youth at military boarding school, by Job Willman; and Sheriff Hyde, The Law in Town, by John Hardaway; and Henrietta by Katrina Hardwick.
Ensemble members, who will play townspeople, jail prisoners and other parts include Stevi Begley, Kourtney Pottschmidt, Kathy Passereni, Maddie Lucas, Aidan Hauersperger, Amber Barnard, Duane Barnard, Josh Stockdale and Peyton Levine. Sam Holbrook is stage manager, and Aaron Wright is sound technician.
Tickets are on sale at Family Drug in Brownstown and Bevers Family Pharmacy in Seymour. Any remaining tickets will be available at the door. People who live outside the Jackson County area may call 812-358-5228 for reservations.
Information: jcct.org.