Official Shrek The Musical Thread- Page 7

[thevolleyballer]

Posted: 9/9/08 at 9:28pm

Im sure that it isn't Gregory's acting but the material...i mean like i said hes not suppose to STEAL the show its called SHREK not DONKEY..I mean the musical is written for Seiber not Gregory so how can he steal the show??

Um... have you SEEN the show? Donkey has at least two opportunities to be a potential showstopper, and has plenty of dialogue scenes that are directly from the movie, which Eddie Murphy stole. But it's SHREK, not DONKEY, right? So how could Donkey ever steal the show? And then you say Sieber stole it... but it's called SHREK not FARQUAAD, right? And you say "he's not supposed to steal the show" because it's called SHREK? What do you think "steal the show" even means?

SIR, YOUR LOGIC IS FLAWED, METHINKS! Updated On: 9/9/08 at 09:28 PM

[musicalmaster703]

Posted: 9/9/08 at 9:44pm

lol

[choitoy]

Posted: 9/10/08 at 4:29am

Just got back from the last preview (opening night is tomorrow). It's a little late, but here goes my impressions. (Note, I've never seen any of the Shrek movies).

The book still does not feel as tight as it should be, with some scenes that still felt a little longish.

The lyrics are not too memorable, but the music was good, though often times, some of the musical motifs seemed like they were cribbed from some other song from other musicals.

Chris Seiber was the best character (for me at least, but he did seem to get a bigger hand than Sutton). I kinda feel bad for the guy though and wonder how his knees will hold up through the run.

I usually don't like Sutton (I think she's slightly over-rated and was miscast in "Young Frankenstein"), but I really liked her here. The character of Fiona really plays to her strengths, and I thought her singing and dancing was excellent (great Pied Piper tap sequence, even though, like a lot of the musical sequences, they seemed to not add too much and served as padding for the show).

Chester was good as the Donkey, but I thought he could have played the role much bigger. He didn't seem to inject as much snarky commentary into the show as I thought he might. I know you don't really want to upstage the main character, but it already was done with Farquaad...

Brian was also good as Shrek, but it seems like they need to inject a little bit more into his role. Something seemed missing. Like he wasn't comedic enough to be really laugh out loud funny, but also not gruff enough to play the straight man to the Donkey. The only moment that really made me connect with his character was the Act 1 closer (Who I'd Be).

Someone mentioned the weird Dragon thing, so I was prepared to go into it with an open mind, but I did find it distracting and odd that there was both the giant Dragon puppet, and Kecia running around in some fierce drag queen outfit around the stage. It made the whole "Donkey Pot Pie" number not really work for me. (That and the weird dancing skeletons that nearly come out of nowhere and have no real reason for being there, unless I missed something).

And with them mentioning John Tartaglia in every single article, I thought he would have a bigger role, but he didn't.

OK, onto the dishy stuff. So they are transitioning from the Magic Mirror sequence (with the Get a Wife gameshow), and transitioning to the Fiona tower, and the music is taking a long time. I can see a couple of the stagehands behind the curtains tinkering with something (the tower). Then they finally walk off, and the curtain comes up. It seems to take a while for the tower to rotate into place (the girl playing young Fiona is doing her best to still slowly walk on the tower). They get through the "I know it's Today" number, when the curtain comes down, and the director, Jason Moore, comes onto the stage, and apologizes. He mentions that there is something wrong with the turntable stage, and that he needs to make sure that all three Fionas get off safely (someone yells a second later that they are off safely). He apologizes again and mentions that we're still in previews, and that tomorrow is the official opening night. So all the lights are up in the house, and a good number of us decide to take a bathroom break. It's a good 15 minutes or so before he comes back on stage and says that they are almost ready and the show will start again in 5 minutes.

When the show starts again, Donkey and Shrek walk onto the stage. Donkey says "Man, that was a long journey", and Shrek says "Yeah, it felt like we were walking for 20 minutes."

The rest of the show went off without any more technical difficulties, though when they started again, I noticed that the center turntable had some grates exposed that I didn't notice before then (these grates are used near the end for some smoke effects).

It was an OK show, and I could see that it would be popular with the family tourist crowd, but it didn't do much for me as a regular theatre patron. Many of the jokes were stale one-liners you can see coming from a mile away. There seemed to be a lot of act one exposition (act two seemed better in my opinion). I don't know if I liked the little theatre reference "in-jokes" or not (the "A Chorus Line" setup to the song "The Line-Up", the little "Gypsy" reference in "Things Are Looking Up In Dulac", and the little gratuitous "Lion King" and "Wicked" references in "Travel Song"). Though I think the audience only really got the "Lion King" and "Wicked" references.

Anyway, here's the song list included in the program. I don't know if they are going to change anything before tomorrow:

Act 1:
- Big Bright Beautiful World
- The Line-Up
- The Line-Up Reprise
- The Goodbye Song
- I Won't Let You Go
- I Know It's Today
- Things Are Looking Up in Duloc
- Travel Song
- Donkey Pot Pie
- This is How a Dream Comes True
- Who I'd Be

Act 2:
- Morning Person
- I Think I Got You Beat (some of Fiona's verses sounded a lot like the melody from "La vie Boheme")
- The Ballad of Farquaad
- Make A Move
- When Words Fail
- Morning Person (Reprise)
- What Happens to Love
- Freak Flag
- More to the Story
- The Wedding
- Finale

p.s. When was "I Could Get Used to This" dropped?

[thevolleyballer]

Posted: 9/10/08 at 2:18pm

Choitoy, what was the "Gypsy" reference in "Things Are Looking Up In Duloc" and the "Wicked" reference in "The Traveling Song?" I must have missed those, because the only mentions of "Wicked" I caught were at the end of "Duloc" and the end of the show (which has been changed, I hear).

[inlovewithjerryherman]

Posted: 9/10/08 at 2:18pm

I was really hoping that Ashford's involvement was going to fix most of the show's problems, but it seems like the same ones keep coming up over and over again in these reviews.

[nyc_chick02]

Posted: 9/10/08 at 3:04pm

I dont want to argue about this play or the actors in it but Im just saying is that I am a huge fan of Chester and from what I have seen they are just kind of tossing him to the side and not letting him be the amazing Chester that we all have seen in previous shows...They need to let him shine like they do the other characters, because Donkey took the movie away why not let Donkey be bigger in the play....

[rose_pearl]

Posted: 9/10/08 at 4:55pm

Thanks for the review, choitoy! I hope their opening night goes well. It sucks that Shrek's role isn't as meaty as it should be. I know Brian's very capable of being funny (Lieutenant of Inishmore, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels), so it sucks that it's turning into the Farquaad Show. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE Chris Sieber, but it's SHREK. We'll see how it goes...

[choitoy]

Posted: 9/10/08 at 7:49pm

To thevollyballer:
Sorry, I was typing too quick, and I meant the Wicked reference was the obvious "And no one's gonna bring me dowwwwnnnnnn!!! Auuuaaaahhhhh!!!" sung by Farquaad at the end of the Dulac number. No "Wicked" reference in "The Travelling Song". Though the Cow did jump into the moon, instead of over it. The Gypsy reference was when all the guards are dancing in the Dulac castle courtyard, and one of the female guards at the end stands forward after the intro dance and does a Dainty June impression, intruducing Farquaad as that "Two foot two pile of dynamite" or something to that effect. Cute, but I don't think too many people (sitting around me at least) got the reference. I don't remember any reference at the end of the show, but then again, I'm one of the five people in the United States that has not seen "Wicked" yet, so I don't know for sure.

To rose_pearl:
That's exactly my thought. It seems like A LOT more attention was built into a lot of the other characters (even Pinnochio's meager role) than into Shrek. I felt like I cared more about Gingy (the talking Gingerbread Man) than I did for Shrek at times. I don't think that it was a flaw with Brian, as I trust that he is a pretty capable actor, and I did really like his Act 1 closing song, but the problem lies in what he has to work with, in the book and the lyrics. They try early on to build sympathy for Shrek (with the funny, but slightly mean spirited parent version of "Big Bright Beautiful World" at the beginning), but with Shrek going through the whole show being mostly a grouch that wants no sympathy, it was hard for me to cheer for the guy. They should have let more of his humanity show through during the first act.

[umbawumba]

Posted: 9/11/08 at 2:47am

Opening night was flawless and had twice as much energy on stage as I've seen any other night! They've fixed so many of the issues discussed on this board. Donkey's costume has changed and no longer looks like a mop. Fiona's voice is captivating throughout the show, especially in what I believe is a now longer version of "More to the Story." Love it. She's amazing and this now lengthened number really shows her range. Chester and Shrek are now equally on par with making the audience laugh--but of course neither can compete with Lord Farquaad's over the top, hilarious presence on stage. He is the "king" on stage and thus it doesn't bother me that his character "steals" the show whenever he's on stage--as king he demands it as well he should. Both Donkey's and Shrek's character development is strong enough so that the strong character of Lord Farquad doesn't totally steal the show. It is Shrek the Musical after all and they've rightfully made audiences fall in love first with both Shrek and his pal Donkey.

There are so many great moments in this show. Things are Looking Up in Duloc and I Know It's Today have always been my favorite since the first Dress Rehearsal. However, EVERY song is a winner. My least favorites are still The Line-Up songs and Donkey Pot Pie. I used to hate Freak Flag, The Wedding, and the Finale, but they've entirely reworked/redone the songs for these three and they're really now in the top favorites of mine as well. (The script before the Freak Flag song has been improved immensely since the dress rehearsal.) The Finale really needs to be renamed to "I Smell a Happy Ending" as that's the new refrain line that's way too damn catchy.

The kids loved it. And most of the adults can't believe all the adult humor in the show--they love it too. The set itself is another story in itself. They've added so many new lighting surprises and elements to the set, I couldn't begin to describe them all. The best element has to be all the new lighting additions to Things are Looking Up in Duloc. Its ending is a show stopper--and it literally almost does bring the audience up on their feet as if in an encore--halfway through Act 1.

And now we wait for the official reviews to come out post opening night...
Updated On: 9/11/08 at 02:47 AM

[umbawumba]

Posted: 9/11/08 at 12:02pm

First official review is out:

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/thearts/2008172859_zart11shrek.html

[Elke]

Posted: 9/11/08 at 2:37pm

Another one: "Lively and funny, 'Shrek the Musical' is a winner"

http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/updates/story/479733.html

[tommigyrl5]

Posted: 9/11/08 at 4:05pm

I was at Shrek opening night and I have a lot of things to say....

Being from NYC I had not seen the show yet, so I was reading your reviews, trusting that they were smart and thought through...

Your reviews of Chester Gregory could NOT be more UNINFORMED. And I guess since you don't see shows in NYC as much as us New Yorkers do, you wouldn't understand what is going on on stage.

Chester Gregory has CLEARLY been set up to fail. His songs are terrible with no buttons. His dialogue is terrible and with hardly any buttons there either. He has been directed to tone down the energy and to stay out of the picture which is why he is often quiet and pushed off to the side. He can sing UP DOWN LEFT RIGHT AND SIDEWAYS but his songs are so spark-less, and boring that he doesn't even have a CHANCE to do anything special with them.

This is the DIRECTOR's bad. Not the actor. I feel bad for Chester. You can tell just by looking at the costume they put him in. It looks like jeans, a sweater, and a hat....WAY less effortful than every other character. Just like the material. Even the frikin' RABBIT has a better costume! What is UP with THAT. The creative team is obviously making SURE he can't steal the show. Because he would...Sutton Foster is as boring as sliced bread. And hardly beautiful. I wouldn't scale any towers for her....

[HometownGlory]

Posted: 9/11/08 at 4:23pm

Can't wait to see this when it makes it here to New York. One question to those who have seen it: does Fiona actually transform now onstage? I would think that would be a big "money" moment that it would be a shame to pass up.

[tommigyrl5]

Posted: 9/11/08 at 4:43pm

Nope...She goes away...Shrek and Donkey sing a song and at the end of the song she just walks right back on, upstage of them. Its pretty lame. I can't believe people are saying that this is the most expensive musical ever produced on Broadway. That cant possibly be true.

[SueleenGay]

Posted: 9/11/08 at 4:44pm

Your reviews of Chester Gregory could NOT be more UNINFORMED. And I guess since you don't see shows in NYC as much as us New Yorkers do, you wouldn't understand what is going on on stage.

Wow, so only New Yorkers can understand "what is going on on stage"? Way to dispell the stereotype that all New Yorkers are snobs and look down on anyone not from New York. Asshole.

[tommigyrl5]

Posted: 9/11/08 at 4:49pm

"Wow, so only New Yorkers can understand "what is going on on stage"? Way to dispell the stereotype that all New Yorkers are snobs and look down on anyone not from New York. Asshole"


Well what happened on stage was clear as day to me. So if being informed makes me an asshole then so be it.

[SueleenGay]

Posted: 9/11/08 at 4:55pm

It was one person's opinion. And how do you know that person wasn't from New York? It is not the "being informed" that makes you an asshole, it is the being condescending.

[ChecksintheMayo]

Posted: 9/11/08 at 5:19pm

The funny part is, I was going to point out that Chester suffers from a lot of unfortunate direction and staging that forces him to stand around doing nothing while watching others sing ("Donkey Pot Pie" & "I Think I Got You Beat" are the main offenders).

However...

I was at Shrek opening night and I have a lot of things to say....

You can tell just by looking at the costume they put him in. It looks like jeans, a sweater, and a hat...

Oh, REAAAAAAALLLY? Because I was at opening night too, and know he's been in a fursuit since Tuesday.

Nope...She goes away...Shrek and Donkey sing a song and at the end of the song she just walks right back on, upstage of them.

Actually, after SHREK sings the reprise to "Big Bright Beautiful World" (because DONKEY IS OFFSTAGE and does not show up until the dragon breaks through the stained glass window), she runs through the church doors upstage and disappears out of sight for a second, before the guards drag her (or rather, her double) back on (her double faces upstage, so you only see her back). In the ensuing chaos of the fairytale creatures, the guards let her go, and she disappears behind the mob to slip offstage as the "ogress" Fiona slips back on.

That vague, muddled and ultimately WRONG crap you're spouting that makes me suspect you haven't actually seen the show and are cribbing details from other people's descriptions. But then, it's not like you have an agenda, right, Nyc_chick2?

Updated On: 9/11/08 at 05:19 PM

[umbawumba]

Posted: 9/11/08 at 5:42pm

Confirmed. Donkey's mop of an outfit has changed to a decent fursuit of some sorts, which looks a whole lot better on stage.

One now understands why the Shrek crew didn't allow the NY Times to photograph Donkey. They probably knew his costume would change.

[umbawumba]

Posted: 9/11/08 at 5:54pm

Fiona's change from the ogre to human on Morning 2 is pretty magical--unlike her transition from human to ogre during the wedding scene.

One minute you see her in the house in the woods as an ogre and in the next two seconds while the lights fade and come back to full light, she's human. I liked it and still wonder how they did it.

[tommigyrl5]

Posted: 9/11/08 at 6:01pm

the costume...

maybe you weren't sitting as close as I was last night but I could see Jean pockets at the back of the fur suit....so yeah...they look like jeans with stuff glued to them. And come one..that is a hat! It has a bill! and strings that swing around!!

as for fiona...

I was talking about the end of act 1 when she walks out in front of the moon.
Updated On: 9/11/08 at 06:01 PM

[dramarama2]

Posted: 9/11/08 at 6:03pm

I'm pretty sure they use a double(s) for the Ogre to Human transformation.

[ChecksintheMayo]

Posted: 9/11/08 at 6:29pm

maybe you weren't sitting as close as I was last night but I could see Jean pockets at the back of the fur suit....so yeah...they look like jeans with stuff glued to them. And come one..that is a hat! It has a bill! and strings that swing around!!

LOL. Did you magically see that sweater too? The jeans and furry chaps were part of the OLD costume. The new one is a one piece, slightly baggy fursuit from the neck down. Which you would have known. Had you been there. And don't diss the bomber hat. I love the bomber hat. It makes him look WAY cute.

as for fiona...

I was talking about the end of act 1 when she walks out in front of the moon.

And yet Donkey DOES NOT SING. Fiona does not "walk" on stage. She's actually brought up on a rising platform from behind Shrek & Donkey who are sitting on an elevated part of the stage.

But do keep flailing.


Updated On: 9/11/08 at 06:29 PM

[broadwayboy101]

Posted: 9/11/08 at 6:43pm

Man I love people who are annoying enough to make dual accounts...

[tommigyrl5]

Posted: 9/11/08 at 6:44pm

Dude...there most definitely ARE pockets on the back of the Donkey costume.

The thing about Chester is that he does a lot of face acting...which has often worked in his favor...Tarzan, Crybaby...but because they need to make up their mind. If they want his acting to be more physical, they need to cover his face or put makeup on it. If they want his face to be seen, then need to get rid of that bill. It looks ridiculous. Cute, sure, but it certainly doesn't look like a donkey.

The point of the Fiona thing is that there is nothing magical about it. She has a whole song to change, but I think dramamama is right, they must use a body double. Its just not anywhere near as spectacular as I thought it would be.