BWW Reviews: ALL SHOOK UP at Chaffin's Barn

Elvis Presley - aka "The King," Tupelo's most famous favorite son and Memphis' most revered musical icon - sure had a lot of music in his catalogue of hits, and it seems that almost all of it is included in the score of All Shook Up, the jukebox musical now onstage at Chaffin's Barn Dinner Theatre through August 30. There are so many songs, in fact, that opening night may have run longer than anticipated, yet those songs are so entertainingly performed and the show is so full of heart that you can't help but stick around until the end.

With a book inspired by Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, replete with star-crossed and cross-dressing lovers, mistaken identities and charismatic leading players, All Shook Up is certain to keep you tapping along to the music provided by conductor Michael Holmes and his nifty five-man ensemble until the cows come home (I swear I saw some cattle making their way across Highway 100 when leaving the Barn's parking lot on opening night, but I have a tendency to hallucinate after every almost-three-hour show I've just sat through, whether mythological or otherwise).

Meanwhile, director Martha Wilkinson's exceptionally talented cast brings the soundtrack of The King's career to life - along with Joe DiPietro's pedestrian book that seems an amalgam of Bye, Bye Birdie and Footloose - with charm, aplomb and loads of commitment and some swell dancing provided by choreographer Pam Atha. Together, the creative team fashion a musical summer diversion that harkens back to the day when the best musicals in Nashville were found at Chaffin's Barn, the iconic dinner theater that after 49 years continues to rank among Music City's most iconic theatrical venues.

Clearly, any show that opens with a rousing and spirited version of "Jailhouse Rock" and closes with "Burning Love" is sure to please even the grumpiest theater-goer or discerning theater critic.

Furthermore, All Shook Up is proof enough that if you haven't been to Chaffin's Barn for a while, you're long overdue for a return visit, if only for two musical moments that will fill your heart with joy and your mind with melody with the sheer rapture of the staging and singing: The full company's performance of "Can't Help Falling In Love," which brings Act One to a glorious climax, is exquisitely performed and, quite frankly, awe-inspiring - perhaps the most beautiful rendition of the song I've ever heard. Evocatively sung and wonderfully staged in-the-round, as all those Barn musicals that have come before, it proves why Nashville musicals are in a class by themselves.

While you are still coming off a musical high from that performance - which, perhaps, rouses you from a post-dinner lull of sorts - you are treated to Act Two's musical highlight: "If I Can Dream," in which leading man DeVon Buchanan, ingénue leads Harley Seger and Nick Fair and the ensemble perform Elvis' anthem of hope and redemption with an uncommon grace and sense of theatrical majesty that delivers an almost unexpected emotional wallop that 's worth the price of a ticket.

Wilkinson's direction is focused, her sense of theater delivering some impressive moments along the way of a show that will surely tighten as the run continues. Opening night seemed overly long (how exhausted must the cast and crew be after a two-show first day?) and there were some minor foibles, yet it's clear the show is a winner, particularly if you're a fan of the music so closely associated with Elvis Presley or if you just love watching gifted performers at the top of their game.

Atha has choreographed many of the best musicals ever seen at the Barn and with All Shook Up she shows us why she's a Nashville theater legend, making grand use of the venue's intimate confines to engage audiences in an immersive way that makes them part of the evening's spectacle.

Buchanan is delightful as the motorcycle-riding, leather jacket-wearing, hip-swiveling roustabout named Chad, whose appearance in a small Midwestern town in 1955 unleashes all sorts of havoc among the citizenry (particularly its younger members) and sets the play's rather convoluted plot into motion. Wearing what can only be described as a wig from the Dionne Warwick short and sassy collection, both Buchanan and his character would be better served if he'd been presented in all his sexy, shaved head glory. Despite that, his Chad is charming enough - and his timing good enough - that his lines land as they should and he proves an attractive lead.

Buchanan is paired with the multi-talented Jennifer Richmond, as the "girl mechanic" Natalie who falls for Chad the minute he struts down the town's Main Street. Richmond is focused and committed throughout the show's two acts, making the most of her moments onstage to grand effect and performing her songs with vigor. Her experience is obvious as she handles minor mishaps with ease, showing us once again why she's considered one of Nashville's most capable actors.

Richmond and Buchanan are given ample and impressive support from the supporting cast, filled with remarkable performers of leading stature, including Steven Kraski as Dennis (someone needs to cast him as Little Shop of Horrors' Seymour sooner rather than later), Daron Bruce as Natalie's self-sacrificing dad, the gorgeous Charlynn Carter as Sylvia, the aforementioned Seger and Fair (with so much stage presence between them it's hard to believe they are teenagers) as the younger romantic couple, Jenny Noel as repressive Mayor Matila and Sawyer Wallace as long-suffering Sheriff Earl.

Jenny Norris-Light, as Miss Sandra (the curator of the town's museum of art and antiquities) very nearly steals the show with a dynamic performance that shows off her gorgeous voice to perfection.

The show's ensemble - Christen Heilman, Brook Mihalek, Kari Smith, Liz Walsh, Karissa Wheeler, Austin Olive, Alex Pineiro, Cutis Reed and Everett Tarleton - seems almost an embarrassment of riches. They perform with zeal and energy, underscoring their performances onstage with their leading player capabilities. They are joined in the onstage fun by the seven graduates of Chaffin's Barn's summer musical theater camp: Maya Ruchman, Jesi Shires, Reyna Sands and Zoey Hutton (the blue cast, which appeared at the opening night performance) and Katherine Light, Jessica Young and Sally Kate Zaft (the red cast).

Jamie Lynn Scott's costumes captures the script's mid-1950s sensibilities with style, helping to provide the players with period inspiration.

• All Shook Up. The Music of Elvis Presley. Book by Joe DiPietro. Directed by Martha Wilkinson. Choreographed by Pam Atha. Musical direction by Michael Holmes. Produced by Janie and John Chaffin. Presented by Chaffin's Barn Dinner Theatre, Nashville. Through August 30. For reservations, call (615) 646-9977. For further details, go to www.dinnertheatre.com. Running time: 2 hours, 45 minutes (with one 15-minute intermission)

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