On September 30 and October 1, Marathon Center for the Performing Arts premiered their 2022 Youtheatre Grade 6-12 show, All Shook Up. It features the music of Elvis Presley and follows multiple love stories.

“All Shook Up is about a guy that goes to a dreadful town and tries to shake it up,” male lead Nolan Tiech said. “Everyone starts to fall in love once he gets there; which causes love triangles, hexagons, and squares.”

This 50’s style musical goes out of Youtheatre’s usual genres by performing pop songs and portraying unique characters.

“At first I was a bit hesitant about the show, but in our final week, I realized the talent of the principal roles and how fun the songs are,” Tiech continued. “It’s definitely one of the best Youtheatre shows.”

Findlay High Schoolers took part in the show, involving students DJ Barilla, Ellie Denike, Kennedy Garmong, Rebecca Heft, Ewan Hertenstein, Lillian Perkins, Grant Rider, Zoe Sleasman, Nolan Tiech, Isaac Weese, and Anna Welker. Many of these teenagers have been doing Youtheatre shows together for years.

“Being so close with other leads makes the whole experience better,” female lead Kennedy Garmong said. “Of course, you’re going to make new friends but already having good connections with other leads makes it really easy to get comfortable.”

All Shook Up had extremely positive audience feedback. Both shows were well attended by the community, and the crowds frequently erupted in laughter.

“It’s probably the most entertaining show I’ve ever been in,” Tiech stated. “There were at least ten laughs in every scene, and there was not a dull moment in the show.”

Youtheatre will audition their Grade 3-5 show, Moana Jr., in January. Seniors are not able to participate, so All Shook Up was their final show for Youtheatre at MCPA. The 2022 seniors include FHS students Ellie Denike and Kennedy Garmong.

“The fact that I just did my last Youtheatre show is sort of surreal,” Garmong reminisced. “It’s been a long time coming and it’s hard to leave 13 years of shows.”