Ballinrobe is preparing to don ‘Blue Suede Shoes’ and get ‘All Shook Up’ with the music of Elvis rocking into town for the next six months.
The local musical society announced earlier this week that its 2015 production will be the lively and upbeat juke box show All Shook Up, which is a loose adaptation of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night set to the music of the King.
The show marks a distinct departure from the society’s last two performances, which were sweepingly dramatic productions of a more sombre nature in the form of A Tale of Two Cities and Evita.
Des Treacy is the chairperson of the musical society, which celebrated its 40th anniversary earlier this year and is firmly ranked among the top amateur musical societies in the country.
He said All Shook Up is a “fantastically vibrant show” and “feel good from start to finish”.
He said that while the subject material this year might be a little lighter, there would still be a huge amount of work required to bring the show to stage in true Ballinrobe style.
“We will be fit for marathons after it,” he quipped, referring to the huge amount of choreography involved in such a fast paced show.
Ballinrobe Musical Society is bringing two new directors onboard this year who may convince some cast members they are suffering from double vision.
Identical twins Sean and Brian Power are highly regarded in the Irish stage musical scene. So much so that Sean Power won Best Director at Ireland’s equivalent of the stage musical Oscars earlier this year when he took home the coveted AIMS Best Director gong for his production of Jesus Christ Superstar in Shannon.
Ballinrobe Musical Society is no stranger to AIMS success and has won numerous awards in recent years, including the top accolade for Best Overall Show in 2010 and, more recently, enjoying back-to-back success in the Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress categories for Kiltimagh’s Angela Curley-Staunton in 2013 and 2014.
Musical director for the 2015 show will be Finola Higgins Cosgrove with Aoife McClafferty as choreographer.
Auditions for All Shook Up begin next Wednesday in Ballinrobe. Rehearsals begin on October 8, and All Shook Up will be performed over seven days from February 15 to 21.
For more information, visit www.ballinrobemusicalsociety.com
