Friday night, I had to chance to go see one of the shows that I've been most wanting to see for the past year. I sat in my seat, at the Broadway Theatre, waiting for it to start with great anticipation. I'm not sure why I wanted to see it so badly. I liked the original movie but, found the sequel to be better than the first one. I guess for me, it was all about seeing the original cast which isn't totally intact but the ones who matter are still there. Of course, the show I'm talking about is Shrek the Musical. And did it live up to the hype I'd built in my head? Hell yeah it did!
I'm sure, most, everyone knows the story of Shrek. Shrek (Brian d'Arcy James), unhappy with the fact that other fairy tale creatures are being sent to live in his swamp, travels to the land of Duloc to speak to Lord Farquaad (Christopher Sieber) about the new law. Lord Farquaad makes a deal that if Shrek will travel and rescue Princess Fiona (Sutton Foster) from her dragon guarded tower, he will give back the deed to Shrek's swamp. Along the way, Shrek meets Donkey (Daniel Breaker) when helping the animal escape from some of Farquaad's guards and, begrudgingly lets him join the trip. They eventually find the princess, deal with a dragon and learn a little bit about themselves in the process.
Like I said, I had been wanting to see this show for a while and I knew that I was going to like it. What I didn't know was that I would LOVE IT!!! I really had such a great time watching this show! I knew the story so, I knew how things were going to turn out. But, all of the creative elements worked together so well that everything made for a great theatrical experience.
From the set and costumes (both designed by Tim Hatley) to the lights (designed by Hugh Vanstone), the viewer is transported to the, brightly colored, fairy tale land of Duloc from beginning to end. David Lindsay-Abaire wrote the book for the show which stays pretty closely to the script of the original script of the movie.
A big asset to the show was the music which was written by Lindsay-Abaire and Jeanine Tesori. It was a great compliment to the story and a lot of fun. Interestingly, I had read a review of the show in USA Today that said the score was "ingratiatingly bland" but, I couldn't have disagreed more. I left the theater with music in my head (in a good way) and immediately downloaded the cast recording from iTunes. It's been, pretty much, on permanent rotation since.
Of course, the cast was my main reason for wanting to see the show and they DID NOT DISAPPOINT!! They were a perfect example, in my opinion, of how a Broadway cast should be. Christopher Sieber and Daniel Breaker were both hilarious as Lord Farquaad and Donkey! They both nailed their roles with such great characterizations and comic timing!
As Shrek, Brian d'Arcy James was perfect as the lovable ogre who secretly wishes that he could rewrite the storybooks and get the hero's ending. Working under all that green latex and makeup, he seems to have no problem conveying Shrek's transformation from an angry ogre to a green guy in love. That's most apparent in the song that closes act one, "Who I'd Be," where he tells Donkey what he would do if he could be anything.
When I first sat down and flipped through my Playbill, I immediately noticed the inserts for "at this performance" changes. One of Princess Fiona's understudies was being covered by a swing. I was extremely nervous that this was gonna mean that Sutton Foster wasn't on but, when her first number, "I Know It's Today," was performed and she made her first entrance, you KNEW it was her. It's as if she has a star permanently placed over her head! She just lights up the stage the entire time she's there. Toward the end of the show, I became a little disappointed with Fiona but, it was totally a costume thing and nothing to do with her. If you see the show, maybe you'll see what I mean.
Anyway, I think it's safe to guess that I loved this show. No, it's not some scorching drama that'll take you on some crazy emotional roller coaster but, it's fun show that'll have you leaving in a good mood and humming along to the music and wanting to let your freak flag fly! Definitely a must see! Oh and speaking of emotional roller coasters, I think I'm gonna get to see Next To Normal next week. I'll let you know.
So, until then....
----MC
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