Mayor gets sneak peek of show
MADISON — Campers at the 2022 Madison Summer Arts Camp recently provided Mayor Mary Hawkins-Butler with a sneak peek of their summer musical production of “All Shook Up.”
“It is exciting to see so many Madison children perform and accomplish their dreams in theatre,” Hawkins-Butler said.
“All Shook Up” is a jukebox musical based on the book by Joe DiPierto and on the music of Elvis Presley. Headlining the show were J. Perry as Chad and Katy Mayhan as Natalie Haller.
“Summer Arts Camp has changed my life,” said Katy Mayhan. “I have spent the best eight summers of my life here with these people doing what I love.”
The music of Elvis comes alive in “All Shook Up.” Inspired by Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night,” “All Shook Up” follows a small town that is thrown into a frenzy with the arrival of a motorcycle-riding roustabout, who rides from town to town with a guitar on his back, blue suede shoes on his feet, and a song in his heart. The show is a rocking, heartwarming tale about following dreams, opening up to love, and the power of music.
The camp presented the sneak peek of the show to Hawkins-Butler on July 14, and the main show opened to the public for free on July 15 & 16 at 7:30 p.m. with a matinee on July 16 at 2:30 p.m.
The Madison Summer Arts Camp is a performing and visual arts camp which offers advanced instruction in art, dance, music, drama, and show choir choreography.
Director Megan Mayhan said the final musical theater performance was a spectacular production.
“‘All Shook Up’ was by far the best-received show we’ve ever done for Summer Arts Camp,” Mayhan said. “It will be hard to top. Sometimes you have a show where lightning strikes perfectly, and everything comes together. It was off the charts good and the chemistry and energy on stage with the cast was unmatched.”
Mayhan said Mayor Mary Hawkins-Butler comes to visit the Summer Arts Camp every year and she always gets a sneak peek of that year’s respective show.
“She is gracious with her time and visits with the campers and encourages them to perform and pursue their dreams,” Mayhan said. “We are grateful that the city of Madison provides a platform for children to pursue their dreams, as we’ve had children go from this exact stage to perform on Broadway. A famous example is Katie Ladner, who was in ‘Music Man’ in 2004 on the Arts Center stage.”