SHREK The Musical

For this their 45th Anniversary production WBLOS certainly pulled out all the stops for this performance of SHREK The Musical. This is a delightful and entertaining adaptation of the popular animated film franchise, with Music by Jeanine Tesori and Book and Lyrics by David Lindsay-Abaire. It brings to life the beloved characters and storylines from the films, while adding a fresh perspective and new musical numbers to the mix. It’s a big show, so adapting it for the relatively small Memorial Hall was no mean feat. However, Director (Alex Stroud) managed this amazingly well. I feel this is WBLOS’s strongest production that I have seen to date. The story follows Shrek, a grumpy ogre who is content living alone in his swamp until his peace is disturbed by a group of fairy-tale creatures who have been banished to his land by the evil Lord Farquaad. Determined to get his solitude back, Shrek embarks on a journey to confront Farquaad, rescue a princess, and return the fairy-tale creatures to their rightful home.

The stage had been extended and enclosed the large orchestra with an area in front. As is usual for WBLOS they made used of every possible entrance and exit, coming into the auditorium from all sides. The set design was very colourful and captured the world very effectively. The costumes were fantastic, especially the Fairy-tale creatures, and bought the whimsical world of the all the characters to life. The lighting design also was effective and enhanced the atmosphere, the Barn effect worked very well. Choreographer (Paula-Jane DeBoer) did a fantastic job at complementing the abilities of all the cast. I particularly enjoyed the Tap number which was well executed.

One of the biggest strengths of Shrek the Musical is its music. The score is filled with catchy and memorable songs that range from upbeat and funny to heartfelt and emotional. I was singing all the way home. The 12-piece orchestra led by Richard Abrams were superb. 

Before I go onto to mention individual performances, I need to say that unfortunately, the sound quality was extremely poor throughout. From where I sat, I could barely hear a lot of the songs and dialogue from the principals even with their radio mic’s.  I lost completely any un mic’d dialogue from the Ensemble. It improved slightly when actors moved in front of the orchestra, but that was because I was so close to the stage.  It was such a shame and very frustrating as I could tell there were some lovely singings and acting happening, but it was just so difficult to hear. *

So, putting the sound issues aside: Shrek the Musical boasts a fantastic cast of characters, each with their own unique quirks and personalities and all the cast embraced this. The chemistry between Shrek and Donkey, was particularly impressive, and their relationship together were highlights of the production for me. Shrek sung beautifully and captured the character totally. (I was also impressed that just 6 days earlier I saw him performing as a lead in Iolanthe, and he is also only 18 years old, a great achievement). Donkey was just hysterical throughout, some great physical acting, those facial expressions had me laughing out loud, keeping up the boundless energy couldn’t have been easy, but you achieved it. Princess Fiona had a sweet voice and managed to portray Fiona’s rebellious streak and a love of adventure, just try and relax into the character a little more. Lord Farquaad was suitably comedically villainous, now to let those poor knees recover. The Dragon worked really well, a great idea, though how you walked in those shoes I don’t know! The Ensemble did an excellent job of bringing all the fairy-tale characters, Duloc chorus and Knights to life on stage, capturing their essence and creating a dynamic and entertaining world.

A special mention to the actors playing Teen Fiona, you captured the character well, and sung beautifully and Young Fiona a lovely, sweet voice. Also, Young Shrek some great acting there.

I had a great evening’s entertainment. The Creative Team, Cast and Crew should be very proud

*I have since been informed that there was an issue with a member of the public falling into the Tech Box, dislodging the sound wiring which may of contributed to the problems with the sound that occurred at this performance.*   

                                                                

                                                                            Please note:                                                                                                                                                                                                          

Any observation made by the reviewer can only be based on what he sees at the performance in question.  The reviewer may have received information in advance of the performance, and it is inevitable that his assessment will be effected by that knowledge.

The N.O.D.A. Representative’s intention is to give an objective critique of the overall production and in particular the performance viewed.  It should be remembered that any review of this nature can only be objective as far as the techniques used during the performance observed.  Any criticisms expressed may not have been valid at other performances, and are only made to encourage higher standards in Amateur Theatre.

 

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