Official Shrek The Musical Thread- Page 9

[FMills]

Posted: 9/17/08 at 4:13pm

Peace. And good luck to Mr. Gregory. I hope you're right about him.

[yankeegal]

Posted: 9/17/08 at 4:47pm

I am, you watch

[leobloom169]

Posted: 9/17/08 at 10:07pm

Hi, i hate to be late on things, but i just signed up to broadwayworld. I would love to get the demo cd of Shrek. I am in LOVE with sutton foster. just pm me. Thanks

Posted: 9/18/08 at 10:01pm

Saw this on 09/17 and overall thought it was good - enjoyable but nothing spectacular. The lyrics were amusingish but entirely forgetable. The entire production seems geared to the family crowds but I found it too long and dragging for the attention of kids and too juvenile in humor (I could've gone without the extended fart and burp song/scene) for adults. I thought Act I was entirely too long would agree with another poster that mentioned cutting the fairy tale lineup in the beginning. It goes on for quite some time introducing each of the fairy tale characters when there's really no need. However, I found Act I much more energetic and interesting than Act II. In the second act, they develop the romance between Shrek and Fiona which is just less exciting.

The staging was overall well done and I liked the movement of it all. The dragon puppet didn't really work for me. It was a bit disjointing to have someone singing for the dragon plus other cast members dancing around as parts of the dragon I guess even tho the puppet was looming over it. And it's even more disjointed when just Ms. Lewis-Evans appears on stage without the puppet. In fact the whole rescue from the tower seemed anti-climactic but I really wouldn't want it extended since I felt Act I went on too long as it is.

Sorry, I seemed to be harping on the negatives. A great positive were the performances. I thought Brian D'arcy James was wonderful as Shrek. I never felt as if I was watching someone trying to imitate Mike Meyers. He made the performance his own. Fantastic singing voice too. Sutton Foster has a lovely singing voice as well and her interplay with BDJ was sweet and enjoyable. She is a big upgrade over Cameron Diaz's Fiona.

Christopher Sieber was absolutely fantastic. He sounded very John Lithgow-y but perhaps a bit more understated in voicing his lines (a good thing really). Lord Farquaad's shortness was costumed well and the continuous visual gags pointing to it were a hoot.

Chester Gregory did an all right job as Donkey. The character of Donkey was overly annoying in the movie and he thankfully was not that. But some of the jokes fall a little flat because the Donkey performance isn't as abrasive and energetic. Mr. Gregory's got a wonderful voice tho.

All and all it was a fun evening altho if I hadn't gotten free tickets I would've never gone to see it. Partly it's just the overload of the billion-dollar Shrek enterprise. And like many comic plays made from movies, some of the laughs are smaller when you've seen the exact same joke or line in the movie. You know what's coming.

[liotte]

Posted: 9/18/08 at 11:41pm

I'm looking forward to seeing the show soon in NYC. I've always been a huge supporter of Chester Gregory and know that he can kick a$$ in any role he is given. Since the show is still in tryouts and needs to go through previews, I'm sure his role is still being developed (as well as his costume, from what people have described!). Hopefully, the direction and timing will all be worked out by the time the show gets to NYC so the whole cast can enjoy praise and positive reviews.
Good to hear that James, Foster, and Sieber are excelling with their material, can't wait to see the show!
Thank you to everyone in Seattle for your reviews!

[tommigyrl5]

Posted: 9/19/08 at 2:12am

Does anyone (everyone) here watch Project Runway?

I can't remember which designer (either Suede's or Joe's) Michael Kors was referring too when he said this but he described one of their outfits as,

"Becky, Becky Home-Ecky"

When he said that I IMMEDIATELY thought of Chester's Donkey costume as that is EXACTLY how I would described it!

LOL. Genius!

[kyle33nyc]

Posted: 9/19/08 at 3:16am

Just saw the show at the Fifth Avenue in Seattle. It was funny in parts, had some good music, and very strong performances. But it just doesn't click.

The book scenes were often painful, and are in serious need of rewrites before hitting New York. The show clearly needs to be trimmed, as many folks were checking their watches in both acts.

I'm glad I had the chance to catch the delicious performances of Sutton Foster and Christopher Sieber. I've always enjoyed her work, and she doesn't disappoint here. Sieber tops anything I saw him do on Broadway. He's hilarious, sings with conviction, and gives 110%. Brian D'Arcy James was surprisingly well cast. The donkey guy can sing well, but is painful to watch in book scenes.

It seems like a number of folks are down on Tesori, but the problem clearly lies more with the weak book and direction. It was a C- performance for the excellent cast, but the show in its current incarnation is a D.

[Cucumber334]

Posted: 9/20/08 at 2:31pm

I am watching Shrek for the second time today for a matinee. The first time I saw it was back in August so I'm sure the show is a little different and could end at a different time. I was wondering if anyone knows if they come out the stage door after a matinee. If not, I'll probably just go back after the night's show. What was the average time that the cast came out? Especially Sutton and Chris!

[nyc_chick02]

Posted: 10/1/08 at 11:52pm

Hey whats up everyone!?!

I was just wondering if anyone who went to the show has pictures of Chester in the Donkey costume could e-mail it to me

[e-mail]

I want to see what he looked like while he was on the show....

[Elke]

Posted: 10/14/08 at 5:11pm

PHOTO CALL: Broadway's Shrek The Musical Meets the Press
http://www.playbill.com/news/article/122320.html

[PiraguaGuy2]

Posted: 10/14/08 at 6:27pm

I saw, a, um, "copy" of the show and it seems OK. The two weak spots, the Dragon and some weird songs, have reportedly been fixed, but there are still some issues, namely:

Donkey's costume+movement: WTF?
Pinocchio's role: John Tartaglia is soooo underused.
Portrayal of the Dragon: I have to say it again, what the hell is going on there?

[B3TA07]

Posted: 10/14/08 at 6:50pm

^Do you have any more details? You can PM me if you can't/don't want to post. I have a few of what you mentioned too and I'm a fan of the show.

[PiraguaGuy2]

Posted: 10/16/08 at 5:20pm

Does anyone have any playbill scans or at least understudy information? I REALLY want to know who's covering who.

[Greenwich Bruce]

Posted: 10/16/08 at 11:05pm

From the Seattle program:

Cast (in alphabetical order):
Haven Burton.....Gingy, Sugar Plum Fairy
Jennifer Cody.....Cobbler's Elf, Duloc Greeter, Blind Mouse
Bobby Daye.....Pig #2, Bishop
Ryan Duncan.....Pig #3, Pied Piper
Sarah Jane Everman.....Ugly Duckling, Blind Mouse
Sutton Foster.....Princess Fiona
Aymee Garcia.....Mama Bear
Leah Greenhaus.....Young Fiona, Flower Girl (T,Th, SS matinee)
Chester Gregory.....Donkey
Lisa Ho.....Baby Bear, Blind Mouse
Chris Hoch.....Captain of the Guard, Big Bad Wolf
Danette Holden.....Flutterbel, Magic Mirror Assistant
Brian D'Arcy James.....Shrek
Kecia Lewis-Evans.....Dragon
Jacob Ming-Trent.....Papa Ogre, Pig #1
Marissa O'Donnell.....Teen Fiona
Denny Paschall.....Peter Pan
Greg Reuter.....Guard, Gnome
Adam Riegler.....Young Shrek
Noah Rivera.....The Whit Rabbit
Christopher Sieber.....Lord Farquaad
Jennifer Simard.....Mother, Wicked Witch
Rachel Stern.....Mama Ogre, Humpty Dumpty
Dennis Stowe.....Barker, Papa Bear, Thelonius
John Tartaglia.....Pinocchio, The Magic Mirror [Jack], Beggar
Keaton Whittaker.....Young Fiona, Flower Girl (W,F,SS eve)

Swings:
Justin Greer, Carolyn Ockert-Haythe, Heather Jane Rolff, David F.M. Vaughn

Dance Captain: Justin Greer

Understudies:
Standby for Shrek: Ben Crawford
For Shrek: Jacob Ming-Trent; For Princess Fiona: Haven Burton, Sarah Jane Everman; For Donkey: Bobby Daye, Ryan Duncan; For Lord Farquaad; Chris Hoch, Greg Reuter; For Pinocchio: Denny Paschall, Noah Rivera; For Dragon: Aymee Garcia, Rachel Stern; For Teen Fiona: Haven Burton; For Young Shrek: Keaton Whittaker

Orchestra:
Conductor: Tim Weil [& Music Director]
Associate Conductor: Jason DeBord
Concertmaster: Lynn Bartlett Johnson

Directed by Jason Moore
Choreographed by Josh Prince
Orchestrations: Danny Troob
Scenic, Costume & Puppet Design: Tim Hatley
Lighting Design: Hugh Vanstone
Sound Design: Peter Hylenski
Hair/Wig Design: David Brian-Brown
Make-up Design: Naomi Donne
Casting: Tara Rubin Casting, CSA
Illusions Consultant: Marshall Magoon
Associate Director: Peter Lawrence
Dance Arrangements: Matthew Sklar
Associate Orchestrator: John Clancy
Music Coordinator: Michael Keller

Obviously, some things will change in New York, but I hope this helps.

[Elke]

Posted: 10/17/08 at 2:36am

New video at Broadway.com...

On the Scene: Meeting the Broadway Stars of Shrek: http://www.broadway.com/On-the-Scene-Meeting-the-Broadway-Stars-of-Shrek/broadway_video/5013023

[rose_pearl]

Posted: 11/1/08 at 12:51pm

New site layout. The new features look fun!

http://shrekthemusical.com/index.html

[PiraguaGuy2]

Posted: 11/1/08 at 1:19pm

I'm still very pumped for this. Anyone got any inside info on the changes that were made for November 8?