Last Thursday, my sister and I walked excitedly into the Raymond Miller Auditorium. It was opening night and the LFHS Theater Department was ready to perform their show All Shook Up for the first time.

In the weeks leading up to the show’s premier, the school had been abuzz. My classmates enthusiastically talked about their after school hours spent learning dance numbers, blocking, lines, songs, and lighting cues. The more I learned about all the preparation that goes into the musicals, the more impressed I became. Based on their information, I knew that the show would be nothing short of exceptional.

So, as I walked into the RMA, I thought I had an idea of what I was in for. However, I definitely was not prepared for just how full of talent this production would be.

All Shook Up is an Elvis Presley inspired musical comedy that tells a colorful story of a small Midwestern town in 1955. The story begins when the town is greeted with a surprise visit from a mysterious leather-jacketed guitar playing stranger. Almost as soon as Chad, played by senior Bryan Kingsley, arrives, folks are dancing in the streets, necking, and boys are lusting after boys (at least girls dressed as boys). By inspiring the town to dream about the magic of romance and the power of rock & roll, leading characters such as Natalie Haller (senior Maddy Javier), Jim Haller (senior Zach Demet), Sylvia (senior Rana Muratoglu), Lorraine (senior Jaclyn Lonergan), Dennis (senior Adam Clayton), and Miss Sandra (senior Grayson Pruett) fully break out of their shells. These characters find love and themselves through hilarious scenes that kept the entire audience on the edges of their seats. All the while, members of the large ensemble tore up the stage in colorful costumes and told convincing stories about their characters. The ensemble’s musical and dance numbers are, in my opinion, what really sold the show. Together, all the characters were extremely entertaining to watch and made me feel like I was a part of their 1950’s world.

All Shook Up includes a number of songs made popular by Elvis Presley to fuel this fairy tale, including oldies like “Heartbreak Hotel” to “Can’t Help Falling in Love” to “Jailhouse Rock.” The Pit Orchestra does an amazing job of recreating these numbers. Multiple times during the show I thought that the music must have been pre-recorded due the professional sound.

The Tech Crew played an instrumental role in this production. Without the moving spotlights and set changes, the show simply wouldn’t have been complete.

As a senior, this was the first musical/ LFHS Theater Department production that I have ever attended. While there are no more shows left in the 2018-2019 school year, if you are currently a freshman, sophomore, or junior, I strongly recommend you make time to see their next production. You won’t regret it!