Shrek Jr. the Musical
October, 2016
Once upon a time, the usual fairy tales needed to be retold. And so Shrek was born. This past weekend, Prana Productions put on an ogre friendly extravaganza with over eighty children, proving that some great stories only improve with retelling.
This hero is ugly and scary. Left by his parents to fend for himself at the tender age of seven, he roars at the fairy tale creatures invading his swamp. Jason Stokes convincingly bellows and sings as the deserted ogre. When he sets off to complain to the diminutive but hilarious Lord Farquaad, played with aplomb by Abby Eppinger, he sets in motion a raucous spoof on the noble theme of the quest. (Lancelot's surname becomes the location - Duloc, Lord Farquaad puts one in mind of Little Lord Faultneroy, etc.) Each character, as in the movie, is more humorous than noble. The Donkey in the movie, voiced by Eddie Murphy, stole the show with his nonstop chatter and sass. Here Clancy Harrington had the hip, sly moves down pat, and a singing voice to boot. Allison Hurd as Pinocchio kept pushing (her) agenda with frequent musical reminders to the audience that she wasn't just a wooden puppet, and her ever growing nose was a stage trick that had to be seen to be believed. The appearance of the fairy tale characters was a magical closet cleanout of Prana's beloved costumes from the past ten years. The four pigs had their condo blown down. Ginny, a cute cookie who is threatened by a refrigerator sized carton of milk, a three foot rolling pin and a spatula taller than the guards, tells them naughtily to "bite me."
Two younger Fionas sing remarkably well, morphing into an adult princess Fiona (Libby Frassinelli.) She sings touchingly about her many years locked up in a castle, and her initial horror, but eventual love, for Shrek. But she's feisty enough to stipulate a pre-nup. All three Fionas have remarkably similar red hair braids and green gowns. The Wicked Witch (Lily Tracy) brings back Broadway's Elphaba and almost defies gravity in her song lyric "And no one's gonna bring me down." Six delightful storytellers act as a Greek chorus, adding their demure, and then hip hop in shades, commentary. The highlight of the musical is the anthem to individuality, "Freak Flag," in which all the characters belt out a wonderful tribute to being yourself. The menacing dragon, a scary head with spikes, sharp teeth and spider-like eyelashes cleverly held over a railing, is personified by Claudia McMahon and her Dragonettes in dashing red.
In the end, Princess Fiona appears in a gorgeous wedding dress, ready to seal her fate by marrying the imperious Lord Farquaad. But the Donkey has overheard her secret - she is also an ogre, by night - and Shrek gets to declare his love and win her in the end. A fabulous cast of nattily attired guards, errant knights, hopping bunnies, little butterflies, brown woodland creatures, and mice in grey sweatshirts and huge pink ears round out this charming tale that keeps you laughing from the rise of the first curtain. If possible, Roberta Weiner and her army of dress makers, scenery painters and prop mistresses have outdone themselves again. The overflowing stage at the finale is a testament to the talent, hard work and joy in theater that is evident at Prana Productions.
