Shrek the Musical

Shrek – The Musical is the musical based on the popular Shrek film.

Sarah Putz’s choreography was great, it was challenging and well-rehearsed, I particularly enjoyed the tap routine in
act 2. Keith Willis made sure all the harmonies were on point and could be heard; the chorus numbers were
beautifully sung.

Huge well done to Lorraine – this show is a logistical nightmare, as there are so many characters. It needed a lot of
thought and planning, which would have started and was led by Lorraine. It was faultless.

The make-up and costumes were exceptional, and the set was outstanding. This is a fast-moving show, and very few
if any black outs were used for the scene changes. Back-stage was a well-oiled machine, and it showed on stage. I
cannot single one person out as that would be unfair, everyone involved played their part. I want to congratulate
everyone involved and say that all the jobs made an on-stage difference.

The beauty of Shrek – The Musical is that it can cater for a larger chorus, and it gives those members of the chorus a
chance to play different characters and feel a real part of the show, and I felt that the production team made sure that
everyone had an opportunity to shine. For this reason it is difficult to mention everyone. A special mention to Lizzie
Droy as Gingy and Benjamin Tossell as Pinocchio, both reminded me of the film characters and had really thought
about how to use their voices to great effect.

Adam Beckman had the daunting task of the lead role as Shrek – he did a good job, lovely vocals. He had a big
personality and big presence on stage. Adam kept the accent throughout the show. This is a difficult part to play as
everyone has seen the films and the audience had expectations, and I believe Adam was faithful to this

The harmonies in “I know it’s today” sung by Ella Kirtley (Young Fiona), Jodie Garg (Teen Fiona) and Lily Tello
(Princess Fiona) were great, well done. Lily as Princess Fiona had a good voice and she gave Princess Fiona a slight
edge, however I did feel there were opportunities missed to show Fiona’s sarcastic, sassy side especially in the rescue
scene from the tower. Overall though Lily gave a good performance.

Donkey, played by Chris Lucas, was fantastic. He used the Eddie Murphy influence and put his own twist on the role
as well. Chris’s use of his face as Donkey was a masterclass in how to say something without using words, his facial
expressions were outstanding and clever.

Lord Farquaad is a fun part played by Zachary Barber. Zachary was outstanding! From the moment he came on there
was not a wasted word or wasted movement, everything was thought out and extremely funny. I cannot fault his
performance. His standing ovation was well deserved!

Mar Copues-Out played the dragon. What a stunning voice! The dragon is all about look and the voice as the dragon
sings a hard stand-out number, Mar delivered on both – congratulations!

The lighting really impressed me, subtle but great, the slight changes in the light as time went from day to night made
a difference and it was important and well executed.

On the night I went there were undoubted issues with the sound, partly due to failure of radio microphones, but some
issues which appeared to be avoidable. Given that this is effectively a new venue and this was a very complex and
demanding show, some glitches are perhaps to be expected. I was impressed with how the actors handled the issues
and still carried on despite the audience having difficulties hearing them.

Thank you to Pat Lay and Mary-Jane Tomlin for the lovely hospitality and congratulations to all on an outstanding
show.

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