Any SHREK news from last night?- Page 4

[goldenstate5]

Posted: 8/15/08 at 5:07am

My question is how the hell did they stretch an 81 minute movie into a 3-hour musical?! My god, that's a lotta padding!...

[songanddanceman2]

Posted: 8/15/08 at 7:03am

Wow RacerX whats your problem, this person has been to see the show, its late, jumped on Broadway World and posted a quick review and answered questions and you jump on them because you obviously liked the show more?

[musicalmaster703]

Posted: 8/15/08 at 7:21am

Can any one explain what each song was about and whether it was any good?

[ChecksintheMayo]

Posted: 8/15/08 at 9:27am

Not necessarily a review. More like random thoughts on what worked and didn't work for me, and what I'd like to see. I've been up all night, so it's a bit disjointed.

"Big Bright Beautiful World" opens the show upon Shrek's parents booting him out on his seventh birthday. It shows him being rejected by the world en masse until he finally secludes himself in his swamp, where the adult version introduces himself with a grandiose toilet flush. "It's a big, bright, beautiful world" becomes Shrek's leitmotif throughout the show - snippets of it pop up here and there. That's a nice touch.

A bit surprised at how undaunting our hero comes off, especially in the beginning. He's practically nebbish. Both canned roars ("this is the part where you run") felt silly and ineffectual. The ("boo") clawed hands didn't help. Maybe try ominous leaning? Ominous leaning always works. He also seems to get pushed around by Donkey, the fairytale creatures, Farquaad et al, all too easily. And while we all know that beneath the (to use the show's metaphor) hairy, smelly onion lies a sweet, chewy center, there's no reason to put it on display this early on. It only serves to lessen the impact of his journey.

Having seen Lippa's Wild Party, I know Brian D'Arcy James can be scary. So let him be. And let him be surly. Intimidating. The big, brash, farting recluse being dragged kicking and screaming into this adventure. And then let him be surprised when he finally confesses that maybe, just maybe he wants to be that hero after all at the Act 1 finale. That's the development I want to see.

The Chorus Line parody (sorry, don't have the playbill in front of me). Enchanted folks in a lineup la "I Hope I Get It" replete with Farquaad's disembodied voice. I laughed so hard when he commanded the baby bear, "Take a step back...too much...too little...just right." I am such a nerd.

"I Could Get Used to This." Pretty much what I expected.

CGI-ish effects for the Magic Mirror are fantastic. Select-a-bride is almost verbatim from the film, as well as the Gingerbread Man torture scene.

"I Know It's Today." Huge applause for Sutton's entrance. We see Fiona's ridiculously strong several times - when she splits the books in half during "cut chatter...", and later, while de-horning the deer. Let's push that idea even further. Let her tear one of those books in half crosswise. Accidentally, of course. You vandal, you. I liked the three Fionas singing on different ends of the tower. I don't care if it's not logically possible.

"Things Are Looking Up in Duloc." Chris Sieber is hysterical. A dance. In Super Mario World (great costumes!). This thing is longer than the Transylvania Mania. And, of course, Farquaad's "nothing's gonna bring me down" with accompanying Elphaba yell. Hell yeah.

"Traveling Song." Feels like it was built around the whole idea of having days (circling sun & moon), various passers-by and Lion King puppets cycling in the background to show the passage of time. Like the concept, but the song's a dud. Cut it in half, or even drop it completely, and have this scene happen during the onion talk.

The dragon's lair. Nice bridge. How about making it wobble? Or sway. A lightly swaying bridge would be truly scary, compounding Donkey's terror. Or is that just worker's comp waiting to happen?

"Donkey Pot Pie." I like this song. I couldn't hear half the lyrics though. Dig the concept of having Kecia Lewis-Evans on stage with the puppet dragon behind her (her voice or "persona" along with her physical form). However, the puppet seems to be bobbing somewhat randomly around, creating a disconnect between the two. I'd like to see them more in sync. When Kecia turns to the left, so should the puppet. I'd like them at least to be facing in the same direction. Ideally, I'd like to see their motions miming each other. Hell, I'd like the dragon to have arms so she can point and groove along with Kecia.

Random skeleton dance. I'm guessing because they had to go put the dragon head away and change scenery.

"I Know It's Today" reprised. With a tambourine. So cute. Shrek bouncing Fiona on the bed to wake her up. Even cuter. She's as tall as he is. Huh.

Running away from invisible pseudo-threats is not scary. What's scary to me? A tail whipping in in from downstage. Fire and smoke as they run stage left, a claw swiping at them from stage right, knocking over a part of the wall. We don't need to see the whole dragon, just bits and pieces - hints that the danger is everywhere instead of just an ominous voice. And finally the dragon's head ramming the gate so fiercely, the foundations shake. That's scary. Fiona was also singing throughout this, but in a weird and disjointed fashion. It felt like two things were happening at the same time that didn't quite mesh.

Sunset. I was hoping Fiona would have torn the bark off the tree (to continue with the joke).

Pinocchio/Gingerbread Man/Gingerplum Fairy. I...didn't really pay much attention during this part. Sorry. Nice riff from Haven though.

And finally, we come to the end of the first act. Something about the orchestration sounds anemic, especially when it dovetails back into "Big Bright Beautiful World." I want a bigger sound. Brassier. A showstopper-worthy conclusion that compares to the absolutely gorgeous tableau of the ogre Fiona's silhouette against the full moon. I'm not really thrilled with the lyrics either. What bothers me is that Shrek seems a little too self-aware in it as opposed to a discovery about himself. The idea of "maybe this is what I secretly wanted all along," has far less impact with the former than the latter because with the former, he doesn't really change or grow. What I'd like to have seen was a progression. Let him start off with his usual "I'm an ogre, rahr!" stuff. Then move it towards, "but this adventure was fun," eventually moving to the conclusion of "maybe I can/want to be that hero after all." I want that act closer to hit me and make me go "YEAH! YOU GO!"

Right now, it just sort of makes me think, "that's a gorgeous background."

I'll go into Act two later, after I've had a nap.

Updated On: 8/15/08 at 09:27 AM

[rose_pearl]

Posted: 8/15/08 at 10:30am

Thanks for the Act I review! Your critique was constructive and made a lot of sense. I wondered how Brian would do with Shrek. I agree, if he can do Burrs...Shrek should be SCARY. I think they'll have plenty of time for the changes...

[musicalmaster703]

Posted: 8/15/08 at 10:32am

Can you do a playbill scan like Title Page musical numbers cast bios that stuff?

Updated On: 8/15/08 at 10:32 AM

[commasplice]

Posted: 8/15/08 at 10:54am

You can read the cast bios (well, for the main characters) on the website: http://shrekthemusical.com/team.html
Updated On: 8/15/08 at 10:54 AM

[skb2010]

Posted: 8/15/08 at 11:04am

She's as tall as he is. Huh.


Woo! Giving hope to tall women who want to be in theater.

[rose_pearl]

Posted: 8/15/08 at 11:34am

How tall is Sutton? Her legs are neverending. Heh.

[Kev14]

Posted: 8/15/08 at 12:07pm

Thanks for the update!

I am really hoping they begin releasing more pictures of the production after the Sept 10 opening.

[Theatreboy49]

Posted: 8/15/08 at 12:39pm

I have high hopes due to the amazing cast I hope the show itself gets better.

[MillieDillmount]

Posted: 8/15/08 at 12:39pm

Thank you so much for the reviews so far! I have some questions too:

How was Marissa O'Donnell (Teen Fiona) in I Know it's Today. What are they wearing for costumes? Is that the only time her and Leah (Young Fiona) are on stage?

Does Sutton tap dance? I heard that this is supposed to be a big dance show. Which numbers are dance numbers?

How does Sutton's Ogre costume look? Is it as good as Brian's?

Who does Jenn Cody play? Does she have a very big part?

I had another question, but I don't remember, I'll post it when I think of it. I'm soo excited for this! I'm seeing it in previews in Nov, I really can't wait any longer!!

[musicalmaster703]

Posted: 8/15/08 at 1:12pm

How is Cubby B. aka Adam Regal?

[singingbackup]

Posted: 8/15/08 at 1:24pm

The Sugar Plum Fairy's Russian accent could be a subtle nod to The Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairies in Tchaikovskys Nutcracker?

[BroadwayBoy2]

Posted: 8/15/08 at 1:49pm

skb2010, you and i should trade flair on fbook, i got some GREAT pieces. some you would appriciate!

[EponineThenardier]

Posted: 8/15/08 at 4:10pm

I believe Sutton is 5 foot 9 inches.


Most importantly is the ROBIN HOOD sequence in the musical? It's my favorite part of the film.

[skb2010]

Posted: 8/15/08 at 4:19pm

Pssh. yeah she is!

Same height as me.

Only WAYYY skinnier.



Ha. PM me broadway.

[millie_dillmount]

Posted: 8/15/08 at 4:21pm

Would anyone like to take me to this show later this year? J, perhaps we can take a trip down from Boston???

[B3TA07]

Posted: 8/15/08 at 4:29pm

Like on a date? J* has a boyfriend.

[Brave Sir Robin2]

Posted: 8/15/08 at 6:20pm

I'm listening to the two songs. I like the Fiona one, not so much the Shrek/Donkey one. It sounds like Chester is singing with Mike Myers rather than Brian. A hibachi and yoga in a swamp?

[Amharclann]

Posted: 8/15/08 at 7:20pm

I know the people who have seen this said that Fiona's transformation is not impressive that Sutton just walks off stage for a min or two and comes back on as Ogre Fiona but seeing as it takes Brian D'J 2 hours to get into costume I still don't get how they make up her face etc. I can see that she can just step into a fat suit and wig but her face???

Can some one explain please or PM me if you don't want to post spoilers. Thanks

[Amneris]

Posted: 8/15/08 at 10:58pm

I <3 little leah greenhaus :) We are so proud of her!!!

[Klem]

Posted: 8/16/08 at 12:03am

I saw it last night as well, and I can answer some more of the questions added. Those who chimed in before me did a pretty good recap so far. My seats were in the front orchestra section, so I may have picked up some nuances missed by others. I'll also add some other thoughts that I had on the show as well as my stage door experience.

1) Marissa O'Donnell was great, as was Leah Greenhaus as the young Fiona. I thought the show started to pick up with "I Know it's Today" with the three Fionas. I think that's the only time that we see her, but I may be mistaken.

2)Adam Riegler was young Shrek (the question was asked about Adam Regal?) Young Shrek didn't have anything to do but stand around, be sung to, and then walk around before exiting the stage. The show begins with his parents kicking him out on his birthday and that scene became a bit redundant when it was resung about in Act II. They seriously could have a better opening.

3)Does Sutton tap dance? Heck YES! With a big group of tap dancing rats! Great moment from Act II!

4)Sutton's Ogre costume/makeup looked just as good as Brian's which was interesting because his make up process is a 2 hour (they got the time down some more) process. I couldn't tell if it was a double even from up close, but I do believe it was Sutton under that makeup. Of course, she does have a wig that probably made things faster for her.

5)Jenn Cody had 3 roles (Cobbler's Elf, Duloc Greeter and Blind Mouse). She was good in all 3, but really stood out as the Cobbler's Elf. She's under a lot of costuming, so it wasn't easy to know it was her without the help of the program.

6)ChecksintheMayo did a great job of recapping the 1st act. I think if I had to pick out something that I wasn't too kean on was the Dragon sequences. I was wondering if there was a technical difficulty because (if you saw the movie) you know the big sequence where the Dragon shows up at the end. Well, last night the stained glass broke and all we saw were Donkey and Kecia Lewis Evans peeking out. I was looking for a return of the Dragon puppet so it was very anti-climatic. The whole Dragon thing didn't work for me and I hope that it's rethought. I love the puppet, but the rest of the "dragonettes" most likely will confuse the audience. I'm not sure if those costumes were mentioned before but the Dragon puppet was awesome and huge, but the rest of it's body was made up of Kecia and other cast members wearing reddish costume with spikes sticking out of them (I'm assuming to represent the Dragon's body). On all of the costumes, 2 of the spikes were placed in a way that kept me wondering if Madonna's dresser had help in the designs.

7)Overall, I thought the casting was perfect for all of the roles. Acting was not a weak link at all and I liked the scenic/lighting designs and costumes (except of course the Dragonettes). I think, if anything, the music needs some work. I was a little bummed that they didn't incorporate "Shrek's Theme"(the one that opens all 3 movies under the Dreamwork's title) anywhere. With such care as to tie the show to the movie with costumes and characters it would've been a nice touch. There were not many songs that I came away with "playing in my head" afterwards.

I stage doored afterwards and was surprised by how few people were there. Most likely because it's not an easy stage door to find and it's located next to the stinkiest dumpsters in Seattle. I met all of the cast member and had pics taken with Sutton, Brian and John and got autographs from most anyone who came out. Everyone was thankful for us being a wonderful opening audience and very accomodating for pics and more. Most everyone came out within a 1/2 hour, but Brian came out close to midnight. We stuck it out because everyone who came out said he was coming out soon. We asked about the make up process and he said that it takes about 2 hours, and they're hoping to get it down even more. We also asked about how long it takes to remove the make up. He asked the time and he said that pretty much answers the question.

Oh, regarding the Robin Hood sequence, it wasn't in the show which was disappointing to me too. It needed it to show how badass Fiona could be. We did however get a great burping/farting duet from Sutton and Brian. I think that the first that I saw that in a show.

Updated On: 8/16/08 at 12:03 AM

[somethingwicked]

Posted: 8/16/08 at 12:09am

Klem, would you mind listing who understudies which role?

[Klem]

Posted: 8/16/08 at 12:21am

Sure:

Haven Burton u/s Fiona and Teen Fiona
Bobby Dave u/s Donkey
Ryan Duncan u/s Donkey
Sarah Jane Everman u/s Fiona
Aymee Garcia u/s Dragon
Chris Hoch u/s Lord Farquaad
Jacob Ming-Trent u/s Shrek
Denny Paschall u/s Pinocchio
Greg Reuter u/s Lord Farquaad
Noah Rivera u/s Pinocchio
Rachel Stern u/s Dragon
Keaton Whittaker u/s Young Shrek