Shrek the Musical - The Muth Community Players

 

Shrek the Musical - The Muth Community Players

By: Marshall Summers

Shrek the Musical has come to the Bronner Performing Arts Center.  The story opens with Shrek (Steven P. Holty) and Fiona (Lauren Masud Visuri) tell the story of how they came to be kicked out of their swamp (Shrek) and locked in a tower (Fiona) at the age of seven. 

The musical begins with Shrek singing about how happy he is alone in his swamp… only to have a bunch of misfit fairytale creatures invade his solitude after being removed from perfect Duloc. Aaron Swords does an amazing job playing the Captain of the Guards who takes his job seriously but is secretly hilarious.

The fairytale creatures tell Shrek to talk to Lord Farquaad (James Lloyd) about getting the swamp back. Shrek sets out and encounters a very chatty and feisty Donkey (Jay Waliczek). Together, they make it to Dulac, where everyone is perfectly conformed. 

Meanwhile, Lord Farquaad is questioning Gingy (Alia Dunning) about a princess. Lord Farquaad needs someone to go rescue Fiona and bring her to Duloc. Enter Shrek (and Donkey) - who is put to the task. While trying to rescue Fiona, they encounter a dragon (voice: Harmony Rzepka, puppet: Eric Pattok, Jessica Moore, Bonnie Ford, Linda TerBurgh, Dark Hoffman). 

Shrek and Fiona become better acquainted and develop feelings for one another on the way back to Duloc, and Shrek is about to confess his feelings when he overhears Fiona talking to Donkey. Angry about what he heard, Shrek unites Lord Farquaad with his soon to be queen and the wedding commences. Shrek goes back to his swamp - until he realizes he cannot give up Fiona. Quickly, Shrek races to rescue Fiona again, only this time it is from her impending wedding. 

There are lots of musical (and dance) numbers in this production (Voice Director: Greg Austin). A nice addition to this musical was the live orchestra (Musical Director: Jim Armbrust) There were many talented singers in the cast including Harmony Rzepka, who voiced the Dragon. She has an amazing voice and did an incredible job in that role. Shrek, too, sounded good as did the three people who represented Young Fiona, Teen Fiona, and Adult Fiona (Everly Moore, Leela Gallant, and Lauren Masud Visuri). Most of the main cast appeared to be wearing a microphone. Most of the ensemble were not and they were often drowned out by the orchestra.

Dragon was voiced by one person but was represented by a large puppet that would come onto the stage and move around. It was a pretty cool way to incorporate the character and the puppet seemed to be well made. The arms were a little off and did not seem to match the rest of the puppet. The puppeteers were very expressive in their roles of moving the arms, tail and head around while the Dragon was singing. This was a unique and interesting take on the Dragon character. 

For the most part, the costumes (Bonnie Vanvoorhees, Linda TerBurgh, Chris Church, Kris Door, Linda Howard, Sarah Partridge, Lori Ettema) were great. There were so many characters to costume, it must have been a large undertaking. Overall, the costumes were simple, without a bunch of decoration or parts. Donkey wore a gray bodysuit with ears in the actor’s hair, for example.  A few costumes appeared to be of lower quality than one would expect from a Muth Community Players production. Some characters were not totally recognizable until their name was mentioned.

It was interesting to see how this production handled the quick change of Fiona from human to ogre. They used several tactics including a green spotlight and bodysuits and gloves. Shrek wore a green bald cap with ears and green makeup on visible skin. However, the green makeup appeared patchy and did not quite match the color of the bald cap and even appeared faded or worn off on the actor’s hands. 

The set was very simple (Eric Pattok, Dark Hoffman). Pieces were moved in and out depending on the scene. There were no backdrops, only simple set pieces with very few props or set decorations, allowing the scenes to be changed quickly. 

No show is without flaw, especially on opening night. This production was no exception. Some of the set pieces, including the Dragon puppet, were visible to the audience. That killed the magic a little when the pieces were used. Another time, the fairytale creatures were going “into” Shrek’s house, which was a facade. Some cast members were visible from behind the set piece. 

Other stand out performances also include Jack Rzepka (Pinocchio), Lauren Masud Visuri, (Fiona), and Jay Waliczek (Donkey). Nick Osborn was hilarious in his role as the Duloc Greeter. James Lloyd (Lord Farquaad) also did an awesome job in his role. The Three Blind Mice (Ashlyn Duclos, Allison Maynard, and Allison Sommer) were fantastic back up dancers/singers and had funny bits they did during their time on stage. 

Is this show worth seeing? Yes. It is a good rendition of the classic story. The only drawback is that the show  is about 2 hours and 30 minutes with a 15 minute intermission. The story itself goes pretty quickly, but a few parts dragged and there are several musical numbers.

Shrek the Musical runs from March 19-22 at the Bronner Performing Arts Center. Tickets are available online by going to https://www.vancoevents.com/us/events/landing/61173. Opening night seemed to have several empty seats, and several seats appear to be available online for each of the remaining shows. That could change quickly, so if you intend to purchase tickets, do so quickly.  You may also be able to get tickets at the door. Tickets are $18 online or $20 at the door.