Endears Its Audiences Spectacularly with Heart, Humor, and Harmony at...
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“Shrek the Musical”:
Endears Its Audiences Spectacularly with
Heart, Humor, and Harmony at The Muny
by Pat Lindsey
Once upon a time in a mythical fairytale land lived a little green ogre named Shrek, who was being emancipated by his big green ogre parents. Without tears and sad goodbyes, the little green ogre retreated to an ugly green swamp to live in happy isolation. Life in the swamp allowed Shrek to grow into a big green ogre who enjoyed his solitary existence. Then one day, his peaceful abode was invaded by a colorful array of familiar fairytale characters who had been evicted from their homes by the vertically challenged Lord Farquaad.
In order to restore his peaceful swamp life, Shrek made a deal with Pinnochio, the Three Pigs, Cinderella, Peter Pan, Humpty Dumpty, the Three Blind Mice, the Gingerbread Man, and all the other fairytale characters to help them get their homes back from Lord Farquaad. Shrek’s simple deal becomes more complicated when he and Lord Farquaad meet. Lord Farquaad agrees to give the fairytale characters their homes back if Shrek will rescue Princess Fiona from a castle tower where she has been held captive since childhood. Shrek agrees to the deal, but soon realizes that he really likes the lovely Princess Fiona.
This is the storyline for “Shrek,” a fairytale that was first introduced to the world in 2001 as a Dreamworks Animation film. Based on that film, “Shrek the Musical” made its Broadway debut in 2008. Its characters are as familiar today as “Beauty and the Beast,” “Jack and the Beanstalk,” and “Sleeping Beauty” have been for the past century.
The big, lovable ogre with a Scottish accent is brought to life by Nik Walker. His powerful voice matches his appearance, but don’t let his loud roar scare you. Deep down he’s a softie. His new best friend is a wise-cracking donkey named Donkey, exuberantly played by Marcus M. Martin. Donkey and Shrek blend their beautiful voices in the duets, “Don’t Let Me Go” and “Travel Song.” Lovely Kara Lindsay gives Princess Fiona her gorgeous voice in her solos, “Morning Person” and “More to the Story.” And Troy Iwata is a hoot as the puppet-like Lord Farquaad and sings about himself in “Balad of Farquaad.” There’s also a bright pink dragon with a whopper voice (Salome Smith) puppeteered by four people. The entire cast lifts the audience with soaring vocals.
From the costumes and choreography to the charismatic characters, “Shrek the Musical” is a joyful delight. It opens with a happy song, “Big Bright Beautiful World,” and ends with an audience participation verse of “I’m a Believer.” Everyone on the creative team has done an outstanding job of making this show a mesmerizing experience for children, as well as the adults who accompany them.
Much of the credit goes to Director John Tartaglia, who is no stranger to The Muny, Sesame Street, Fragglerock, “Avenue Q,” and children’s TV. He and Music Director Ben Whiteley, Choreographer Patrick O’Neill, Artistic Director and Executive Producer Mike Isaacson, and all the designers have created a recipe for a perfected confection. The music is the icing on the cupcake.
The litmus test for this show’s kid appeal should be how many children stay awake until 11:00 p.m. to see the fun-filled finale. From my vantage point, every child in my section was still wide awake for the fantastic finish of this favorite fairytale.
“Shrek the Musical” will be enchanting audiences with happily-ever-afters now through Thurs., July 2. For more information, go to muny.org.
