ELVIS Presley will never leave the building, not when his songs live on in myriad ways.

Nevertheless, if you are weary of the plethora of Presley tribute shows with bloated, peanut butter Elvis in Vegas white flares, then here is a welcome antidote, a musical play built around 25 Elvis songs, all shook up with a hunk of Shakespeare comedy riffs.

If music be the food of love in Twelfth Night, play on in Love Me Tender, a rock'n'rollercoster ride of a joyous musical comedy from Joe Dipietro, writer of the West End and Broadway show Memphis.

Opening with slick, sleek Elvis hip-swivelling moves behind bars in Jailhouse Rock, the play instantly impresses with the cast tapping out the introductory rhythms of that familiar hit. Enter Ben Lewis's lithe, lean Chad, leaving prison today with a croon and a swoon and a guitar to find his way on his motorbike to "A Small You Never Heard Of It Town Somewhere In The Midwest". Population: 2314. Horses: 1. The original dreary one-horse town in other words, where such playful wit, both visual and verbal, will never let up in Dipietro's saucy, sassy script.

The writer is not afraid to call on a few old staples, such as a hosepipe peeing gag and hanging a hat at a certain point on a statue, but everything is delivered with such panache that it matters not a jot.

Chad, the tall, handsome stranger with the Elvis curled lip, instantly wreaks havoc, triggering all manner of spin-off reactions in a town where the spoilsport Mayor (Sian Reeves) and her henchman Sheriff (Chris Howell) have banned necking in public and despise rock'n'roll. Tomboy mechanic Natalie (the terrific Laura Tebbutt) is love-struck immediately, to the crushing disappointment of Mark Anderson's Shakespeare-loving Dennis.

Natalie must return to fender, alas, because Chad only has eyes for Miss Sandra (Kate Tydman) from the museum. The Mayor's military son, Dean (Felix Mosse), meanwhile, has fallen for Lorraine (Aretha Ayeh), challenging his mother's racist prejudices.

Lorraine's widowed mother, the feisty bar owner Sylvia (soul-singing powerhouse Mica Paris), dishes out the soul food but has gone cold on love, and Natalie's jaded dad, garage man Jim (Shaun Williamson), is in need of a spark plug. What better way to supply it than a hotline to Elvis songs in Dipietro's tale of hope, second chances and love, young or mature, unrequited or unexpected.

The path of love will be anything but smooth, particularly when Natalie does that Shakespeare thing of disguising herself as a boy in biker's attire, a cap and grease for a beard to turn into Ed. When she/he sings A Little Less Conversation, how can Chad resist as Dipietro's tongue pokes ever further into the cheek.

The songs are used brilliantly in Matt Spencer-Smith orchestrations, such as when Hound Dog and Teddy Bear overlap, and not only the big hits work well in their witty new settings. Roustabout, Follow That Dream and Mica Paris's rendition of There's Always Me are knock-outs too.

One night with director-choreographer Karen Bruce's electrifying Love Me Tender, and you will be telling your friends you can't help falling in love with the best surprise of the year at the Grand Opera House.

Love Me Tender, Grand Opera House, York, until Saturday, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm today and Saturday. Box office: 0844 871 3024 or at atgtickets.com/york