’All Shook Up’ from belly laughs, chuckles

Opening Night of “All Shook Up” on July 12 in the Milford Theater was a rousing success.

The plot was loosely based on Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night” - but the musical had a local feel since Dingmans Ferry and Route 209 were mentioned. The book (written by Joe DiPietro) and the music consisted of all songs from Elvis, adapted for the stage. The music for this romantic comedy was ingeniously woven into the story and it fit like a glove.

Most of Elvis’ hits were in there - like “All Shook Up,” “Heartbreak Hotel,” ”Jailhouse Rock,” “Don’t Be Cruel,” and “Hound Dog.” Yet there were other Elvis’ songs like ”Let yourself Go,” “Burning Love,” ”The Power of my Love” which were there because they fit the story.

“It was a comical rendition of all Elvis’ greatest songs with a story that’s fabulous. It’ s unbelievable that they were able to use all these songs to make up a story,“ said Mildred Launt, an Elvis fan extraordinaire.

The show begins with Chad (played by Ryan Fogler), who rolls into this sleepy little town and begins to shake everything up. In his leather jacket, tee-shirt, and very tight jeans, he starts to play his guitar. His gyrations made Elvis look like he was standing still. Suddenly the whole town is agog. People start to fall in love with the wrong people, but in the end, everyone is back in their right places.

Chad’s love interest, Natalie (played by Paige Gualandi) who falls madly in love with Chad, who rebuffs her. She disguises herself as motorcycle mechanic Ed and then gets Chad’s attention. There are a number of couples who go through different machinations, only to find their right match in the end.

Show director, Joey Ambrosia and musical director Sandy Stalter worked closely together to produce a show where the quality of the acting matched the quality of the singing which matched the quality of the dancing. Everything worked in sync. Every detail was attended to, including the actors wearing blue suede shoes.

“The cast was very high energy, and the main character was awesome, his voice, his body movements were all fantastic,” Jenn Podrazil said.

Many in the audience said they felt like they were on Broadway.

“For a girl that graduated from kindergarten on this Milford stage, this place is rocking,” Milford local Denny Wagner added. “It’s great. I love it.”

There were numerous whimsical, hand-made sets, thanks to the efforts of stage manager Chiara Marone with help from Chuck O’Neil and their team.

“I’m thrilled with our opening weekend,” said Beth O’Neil, the show’s artistic director. “Audiences loved the show and ultimately that’s why we do what we do to provide people with excellent entertainment. We have two weekends left to showcase this incredible talent of cast and crew.”

Those shows will be on Saturday, July 26 and Aug. 2 at 8 p.m. and Sunday, July 27 and Aug. 3 at 2 p.m. at the Milford Theater, 114 East Catharine St. Tickets can be purchased at https://www.ticketmaster.com/musical-all-shook-up-milford-pennsylvania-07-19-2025/event/0200626DB5082DDC