The Broadway Ferret

Image from www.newyorkology.com

Rating: 4 out of 5 masks

I had never seen the movie (yes, I’m the one) before, but I had some idea of what it’s about based on what I heard.  One of the main reasons I decided to go was when I found out that it was based on the book by William Steig (had no idea that there was a book) and the movie.

For the other few not familiar with the material, it tells the story of an ogre named Shrek who was sent to live on his own by his parents.  He goes through life scaring people away, either by his appearance or being scary to people and eventually settles in a swamp.  His idyllic life of living by himself is interrupted when familiar fairy tale characters such as Pinocchio, the Three Little Pigs and the Big Bad Wolf invade his space after being pushed out of the kingdom of Dulac.  While trying to find a way to get all the characters out of his swamp, he is asked by Lord Farquaad of Dulac to rescue the Princess Fiona.  I’ll stop here before I give away the whole story.

I understood most of the inside jokes that went on during the show.  I know some may have come from the movie, the rest inspired by shows (especially Disney) on Broadway.  I thought the songs were ok, though the only one that I can remember the lyrics to were “Big Bright Beautiful World”.

I really liked the staging of the musical.  The sets kind of reminded me of Tarzan and Cirque Dreams Jungle Fantasy, but this show is much better.  I was literally mesmerized by the sort of concentric circles that managed to move part of a set in a straight line from upstage to downstage.  You could tell they put a lot of work into figuring out the kinks.

I loved Christopher Sieber’s portrayal of Lord Farquaad.  It was interesting to see a tall man become someone who’s really short.  I thought his was the best character in the show and his comic timing was great.  I thought Brian D’Arcy James was really good as Shrek.  I was glad to see his facial expressions because I was worried the all the prosthetics would prevent it.  I liked Sutton Foster as Fiona.  Her introduction was hilarious and I was left wondering how they manage to do her quick changes.

Image from www.broadwayworld.com

Image from www.daylife.com

My next favorite characters were the ones who were pushed out of Dulac.  I thought they were the best supporting players I’ve seen.  I liked how they were slightly exaggerated versions of the characters that I grew up reading about.  I loved how they came to realize to love themselves for who they were and sang about it.  It was the ultimate chorus line.

I would recommend this show to anyone who’s a fan of the movie and wants to take their kids to something other than Disney.  I guarantee that people who may be turned off to a show that makes fun of their favorite childhood characters need not be worried.  It’s all in good fun.

Running time: 2 hours 30 mins w/ intermission