I'd been wanting to see author Diana Son's Stop Kiss, which made its off-Broadway debut in 1998, ever since I missed it locally (twice!) – at St. Ambrose University in 2008, and Augustana College in 2017. Therefore, I took my seat on Saturday at the Playcrafters Barn Theatre with anticipation, and director Erika Seabloom, an Ambrose graduate, has assembled many talents to create a polished, satisfying production.

Prolific theatre pioneer Charles Ludlum wrote some 30 plays; taught; founded an acclaimed theatre company; and acted on stage, film, and TV. His most popular work was 1984's penny dreadful The Mystery of Irma Vep, in which he and his partner Everett Quinton played all the characters, with full costume changes for each entrance. Ludlum's life was cut short by AIDS in 1987. Quinton, who revived the show off-Broadway in 1998, died this past January. And the Black Box Theatre's current production may be seen as a fond tribute to these inspired men.

This All Shook Up mixes Elvis' two endeavors as part parody, part tribute, and director Max Moline, music director Trent Teske, choreographer Robyn Messerly, and all involved made it a 24-karat gold-record blast – the most, daddy-o!

I'm often impressed upon my first glance at the set when I enter the Black Box Theatre: the opulent, creepy one of The Turn of the Screw; the enigmatic jumble of portraits and ripped flags for Assassins; the varying, multiple-locale settings for Little Women: The Musical. (This venue's crews find the most wonderful furniture and set dressing, too.) However, the set for playwright Lauren Gunderson's Natural Shocks, the Black Box's current production, blows them all away. I think I actually froze in astonishment.