Elvis sighting at summer theatre

It’s fitting that the Coeur d’Alene Summer Theatre is opening its season with the Elvis Presley-inspired musical, “All Shook Up.”

After all, the CdA Summer Theatre was the training ground for Cheyenne Jackson, who went to New York, landed the lead in “All Shook Up” on Broadway and helped make this ‘50s jukebox musical into a surprise hit.

Jackson won’t be in this production – he has moved on to the even-splashier “Xanadu” on Broadway. Yet it is accurate to say he was the inspiration behind the CdA production.

“I went to see Cheyenne do the show on Broadway and I kind of fell in love with the show,” said Roger Welch, the director of this show and the artistic director of the CdA Summer Theatre. “I just thought it was perfect for summer theater – it’s funny and the music is fantastic. You know the soundtrack before you even sit down.”

Some shows have a few big musical numbers, but Welch said that in this show, “every one of them is big.”

“There’s ‘Don’t Be Cruel,’ ‘Jailhouse Rock,’ ‘Can’t Help Falling in Love,’ ‘Hound Dog,’ ‘Teddy Bear’ and ‘Blue Suede Shoes’,” said Welch.

That’s just the beginning. The show also features “Heartbreak Hotel,” “It’s Now or Never,” “Love Me Tender,” “(You’re the) Devil in Disguise” and “That’s All Right.”

We’d list more, but to save space we’ll just say it contains about 20 Elvis hits, most of which you probably know.

Yet “All Shook Up” is not actually an “Elvis” musical, at least not in the sense that it contains a character named Elvis.

It contains a character named Chad, an Elvis-like character, who roars into town on his motorcycle. Not just any town, but a “square town in a square state in the middle of a square decade.”

“The town has no life,” said Welch. “The decency act has been enacted, so there’s no dancing, no necking, no rock ‘n’ roll. The town is dead and into town rolls this guitar-playing roustabout who stirs things up and makes the town feel alive.”

It sounds a little like “Footloose,” but the book, by Joe DiPietro, actually contains elements of Shakespeare’s comedies “Twelfth Night” and “As You Like It,” although you might have to look past the ‘50s costumes and hairstyles to find them.

Dane Stokinger will play Chad, the Elvis character. This won’t be too much of a stretch for Stokinger, since he just finished a long run playing Elvis in a show in Seattle called “The Million Dollar Quartet.”

“He’s not an impersonator,” said Welch. “He’s not being an Elvis, but there are elements of Elvis.”

Apparently, Chad is more of a pastiche of every ‘50s rebel, from James Dean to Marlon Brando to the Fonz.

CdA Summer Theatre fans will remember Stokinger as Jerry in “The Full Monty” and Paul in “Kiss Me Kate,” both from last year.

The accompaniment will be provided by a 16-piece orchestra which Welch described as “like a rock band with horns and strings.”

If you go

“All Shook Up,” Coeur d’Alene Summer Theatre

When: Opens Saturday and continues through June 21. Curtain times are 7:30 p.m. on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sunday matinees.

Where: Schuler Auditorium on the North Idaho College campus.

Tickets: available by calling (800) 4-CDATIX or (208) 769-7780.