Shrek: An Afterword
The musical version of Shrek is in the middle of its 6-week run at the 5th Avenue Theatre before heading off to Broadway. We saw it on Sunday evening.
The story, expanded to almost 2 1/2 hours, primarily follows the first movie. There are some great effects, aided by the addition of access to the understage area. There are lifts, an articulated bridge, a rotating tower, dancing rats, smoke effects,
The costumes are good, though I kept noticing Shrek's ear-hole. The dragon was so ably played by Kecia Lewis-Evans that I felt the giant moving articulated figure was unnecessary. Her big number added dancing mini-dragons and skeletons. Unfortunately, like in the movie, there's very little use of the dragon. All of the actors are professional, led by Brian d'Arcy James and Sutton Foster as Shrek and Fiona. The one who impressed me the most was Christopher Sieber as Lord Farquaad. The tricks to make a 6-foot+ actor into a short would-be king were ingenious and doubtless painful.
Besides the Dragon's number, there were excellent sequences celebrating Duloc and the fairy tale creatures.
There was a brief joking reference to the Lion King musical that got a laugh but felt gratuitous. Otherwise it was a fast moving, enjoyable show. Katie and a friend were entranced.