Jaine Blackman enjoys a musical based on the songs of Elvis Presley

It’s tempting to start a review of a musical featuring Elvis music with a pun but, in fact, the show didn’t leave me all shook up.

Instead it entertained, amused and – although I entered the theatre not a particular fan of The King in particular or musicals in general – had me on my feet clapping along with the rest of the audience by the end.

Love Me Tender is a light-hearted, feel-good show featuring 25 of Elvis’s greatest hits.

It tells the story of what happens when a guitar-playing, hip-swivelling stranger rides his motorbike into a small town in 1950s America.

The story is simplistic – girl falls in love with boy, who loves a different woman, who loves another man etc until it all comes out well in the end – but it’s extremely well told.

Relying very much on the music, the dialogue segues seamlessly and often very amusingly into the singing.

And what singing it was... from the whole ensemble.

You’d expect platinum album-selling singer Mica Paris, as bar owner Sylvia, to be able to belt out a tune but she had serious competition from the rest of the women in the cast.

Aretha Ayeh as her daughter Lorraine showed some great vocal talent, as did Laura Tebbutt as the tomboy motor mechanic who falls for bad boy Chad (Ben Lewis) and Kate Tydman who puts in a polished comic turn as Miss Sandra, the object of his affections.

The men held their own too, including Shaun Williamson as garage owner Jim (who’d have thought Barry from EastEnders could sing).

The show, from the producers of Hairspray, Jersey Boys and West Side Story and directed and choreographed by Olivier Award Winner Karen Bruce, is slick and expertly staged with plenty of laughs.

The set design by Morgan Large deserves a special mention as does the brilliant way the cast worked with it and moved it around.

With such a back catalogue, as extensive as The King’s there were bound to be a few favourites left out but the songs chosen were well used.

In the words of X Factor, the cast made them their own... and well deserved their standing ovation.