We won't be cruel to a show so true

RALEIGH -- You'd expect a musical based on Elvis Presley hits to be fueled by youthful lust and pelvic thrusts. And Broadway's touring "All Shook Up" has plenty of both. But its sexiest sparks come from an unexpected source: middle-age parents.

From "Heartbreak Hotel" to "There's Always Me," this romantic comedy takes pop culture's frequent fixations -- youth, beauty and instant acquisition -- and trumps them with something deeper. Look past the cocky stud at the center of the story and you'll see that "All Shook Up" celebrates ordinary people and their extraordinary passions.

Just don't look too deep. Written by Joe DiPietro ("I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change"), this jukebox musical is little more than a string of familiar songs reorchestrated in Broadway style and held together by a predictable plot.

Biker hunk Chad rolls into a tiny town in the mid-'50s and sets off a chain reaction of rebellion, lust and love. Tomboy mechanic Natalie flips for the Elvis-like Chad. Nerdy Dennis pines for Natalie. Chad wants the standoffish museum director, Sandra (played by the show's headliner, Susan Anton), and so does Natalie's widowed dad, Jim. The local bar owner, single mom Sylvia, wants nothing to do with men. Her teenage daughter, Lorraine, wants any man, as long as he's forbidden. A little Shakespeare-style cross-dressing makes one more side trip before the happy ending.

The allure of "All Shook Up" is not in its storyline but in what the performers bring to their paper-doll characters.

Jannie Jones' Sylvia is jaded and sarcastic, but she's also warm and funny, with a mighty voice that broadcasts deep pain and hope. Jenny Fellner's Natalie has a forlorn charm and an expressive voice. Joe Mandragona captures Chad's sexiness and sultry vocals, and also shows a comical vulnerability that makes it more palatable when Chad wins a love he doesn't deserve.

Most of the other leads are solid. The biggest weakness is Anton, the television actress and Vegas star. She's a statuesque beauty with a strong voice, but she often looks ill at ease as Sandra.

Some of Stephen Oremus' arrangements of mostly early Elvis fare are surprisingly infectious and soulful. And Sergio Trujillo's choreography is sharp and sexy, though the powerful first number, "Jailhouse Rock," promises more than the rest of the show delivers.

Compared to purebred jukebox peers such as "Mamma Mia" and "Movin' Out," "All Shook Up" is a hound dog. But it has enough attributes that even skeptical Elvis fans might find that they can't help falling in love with it.