They took us from Heartbreak Hotel to Burning Love, threw in some Jailhouse Rock, put on some Blue Suede Shoes and generally got All Shook Up. For three nights at the end of January, our Transition year class of 2016-2017 put on a fabulous musical that definitely had A Little Less Conversation and A Little More Action.
They told the story of Chad (Milena Naujalyte) who arrived on his motorcycle in a simple 1950’s American town, where the local Mayor, Matilda Hyde (Holly Keating) was enforcing a law banning loud music, dancing and public ‘Necking’. Chad took it upon himself to show these people how to have a good time.
Natalie, the local mechanic (Renee Campbell-Byrne) quickly fell for this Roustabout, to the envy of Dennis (Erin Kiernan) who himself was besotted with Natalie. But no matter what Natalie did, she couldn’t get Chad to notice her.
All the townspeople started losing the run of themselves and falling in love with Chad in town. The Mayor’s own son, Dean (Amber Roche) even fell for Honky-Tonk reared Lorraine (Rachel Barron) and flunked the army to be with her. Meanwhile, the museum curator Sandra (Georgia Spooner) was attracting much male attention from Chad and Jim (Catriona Comerford), but she herself was more in love with another man.
The only woman who seemed to stay sane was motherly Sylvia (Anya O’Brien) who tried to dole out advice in all this craziness. But even she couldn’t stop Sheriff Earl (Caitlyn Rogers) falling for Mayor Hyde, nor even herself falling for loveable Jim, having known him for 20 years.
The transition years put on a stunning display of dancing, captivating singing and humorous drama delivery that kept the crowd enthralled each night. And would Elvis himself have been proud of their sublime show?
In the words of The King; “Uh-huh!”
