The talented and hardworking theater department put on four performances of All Shook Up on March 16, 17, 23 and 24. The students put in countless hours of practice to make the show their best performance, and they were excited to show the community what they had been working on for the past two months.

All Shook Up is about “a deadbeat 1950’s town that gains a new motorcycle rider named Chad. While being there, Chad begins to liven up the town with his music, but the town mayor, Matilda, is not in favor of what Chad is doing,” according to Evan LaFrance ‘20, who plays the lead role of Chad. The music is inspired by Elvis Presley and the performance is based off of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night.

In the days leading up to the first show, the actors and actresses were under pressure to make the show go on, since they “missed forty plus hours of rehearsals due to snow days, delays, and missed Cavblocks,” said vocal and band director Mr. Matthew Barbosa before the show on March 17. “We all like to sing, dance, and act, and that’s what caused the group’s good dynamic to move forward, and make up [for] the time lost,” said LaFrance.

With there being so many cancelled rehearsals, the theater students were working non-stop for the past two months, and their efforts were demonstrated during the opening weekend. “Everyone in theater is super supportive of each other! It’s like a family. We are all always ready and willing to help each other out with anything. Everyone is always super energetic, even through the seven hour rehearsals,” said Laurie Houvener ‘19, who plays Natalie, the co-lead. “It’s also amazingly rewarding with the support we get from each other, the audience, and our supervisors like Mr. Barbosa, Mr. Parker, and Ms. Pare,” added Houvener.

Another important component to a musical is the music itself, which is played by a group of band students who all share the same love for it. “It’s fun to learn the music, especially for a show like this one where the music is well-known and popular. In the pit there’s a lot of waiting and sitting around, but once we actually get to play, that’s when it really becomes fun,” says Jack Sinclair ‘19, an avid trombonist.

The second show, performed on March 17, was “energetic, fun, and entertaining,” according to Dana Ulrich ‘19. “I thought it was one of the best shows HB has put on in a while; all the actors and actresses were well prepared enough to make the audience laugh,” Ulrich added.

With the final performance of All Shook Up completed, the theater department is now planning to put on two one act, student directed performances, coming this spring.