Note 12: Shrek the musical

Shrek the Musical is a musical with music by Jeanine Tesori and book and lyrics by David Lindsay-Abaire. It is based on the 2001 DreamWorks film Shrek and William Steig's 1990 book Shrek!. Shrek the Musical gives us the back story for characters we thought we knew, such as Shrek, Princess Fiona, and even evil Lord Farquaad. So the stage version gives you all you liked about the movie plus more about the characters while keeping the irreverent humor that spices up the plot.

In case you were the one person who hasn’t seen the movie, the story, in brief: To reclaim his swamp from squatting, displaced fairy creatures, the ogre Shrek must rescue the dragon-guarded Princess Fiona and deliver her to Lord Farquaad, who must marry a princess to become a king and make his land of Dulac into a real kingdom. Kids will love Shrek, but before the curtain, parents might want to explain the Dragon, which is a combination of a really big puppet and eight singers who give the character its voice, sort of like a Greek chorus.

The music, with its blues and gospel influences, takes a very different direction from the movie, which featured little original music, relying instead on new and old popular songs. I especially like the singer Sutton Foster as Princess Fiona. I have been in love with Foster’s voice and dancing since Thoroughly Modern Millie, for which she won a Tony. The Drowsy Chaperone introduced us to her great comedic skills, but Shrek gives that talent free rein. Morning Person is one of my favorite song of the play, which is sang by Foster.

An interesting fact of the play is that Christian Marriner used to be 6 feet tall. He could stare into the eyes of most people he met, often looking down to do so. Nowadays, he stands about 3 feet 6 inches, and he looks up at almost everybody. Luckily, that’s just while he’s on stage in Shrek the Musical playing the officious Lord Farquaad, who is happiest when he’s cutting fairy tale figures down to size.

With a terrific score of 19 all-new songs, more than a dozen hilarious supporting characters,e.g.Pinocchio,Sugar Plum Fairy & Gingy,Three Little Pigs,Big Bad Wolf,Wicked Witch and Mama Bear,etc., big laughs, great dancing, and breathtaking scenery, Shrek the Musical is part romance, part twisted fairy tale, and all irreverent fun for everyone! This is really a highly recommended show, for it is shrektacular! I can't help smiling when watching it, and guess what, actually you can find the whole play on youtube!