SHREK The Musical- January 1, 2009 8:00 PM

[WishingOnlyWounds2]

Posted: 1/2/09 at 1:20am

So I finally saw Shrek and I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. I went in fully prepared for understudies but my one thing is I really wanted to see Haven. I walk in and of course the only thing on the understudy board says "At this performance the roles usually played by Haven Burton..." I got really upset but if there is one thing I have learned it's never to be disappointed by an understudy. Sure enough the show starts and Haven comes on stage, I double took but I would know her from a mile away let a lone two rows. She was in, I'm not sure what was with the understudy board.

Anyway, I was in Row C (which is the second row) Centre Orchestra, aisle. Which was a great seat. The stage wasn't too high.

On to the performances...

Brian D'Arcy James was phenomenal, he was great! He played it so much like the movie I can't really pick something out that is so much special but he was hilarious, and serious, and his voice is great!

Daniel Breaker, again played it so much like that movie that again I can't pick anything that special out. But he had me laughing a lot. He had a great voice and was just phenomenal.

Sutton Foster. I saw her as Inga and didn't find anything that special about her performance, and didn't see what the big deal about her was. Well, I absolutely loved her in this. She wasn't phoning in at all and was just amazing. She also had me laughing out loud and was just so fun to watch.

Chris Seiber was fantastic. At the end of "Things are looking up in Duloc" his play on Defying Gravity killed me. I loved all the Broadway references. He was very funny and had an amazing voice.

John Tartaglia was very funny, I was annoyed he didn't get more stage time but when he was on he was great!

The rest of the cast was also phenomenal!

The score... I didn't go in expecting that much and I think because of that I was pleasantly surprised. I really liked it and I do have songs stuck in my head!

The dancing is what really surprised me, it was absolutely great!

At the stage door, every one came out. Every one, including Sutton which really surprised me. Every one also signed and took pics!

Overall, I really liked this show and I would recommend it.

Updated On: 1/2/09 at 01:20 AM

[TheCharleston]

Posted: 1/2/09 at 1:29am

"The dancing is what really surprised me, it was absolutely great!"

The choreography was probably the WORST part of the show....

[brandontwin2]

Posted: 1/2/09 at 1:33am

Another Haven fan!

[EvanK]

Posted: 1/2/09 at 1:37am

Some peoples tastes differ. They liked the choreography.. you didn't.. Doesn't make it the worst, it makes it an opinion.

[beltingbaritone]

Posted: 1/2/09 at 1:43am

EvanK, you stole the words right out of my mouth!

I'm glad to hear some postive news! I'm such a Sutton fan, I hate to think of her "phoning" in.

[TheCharleston]

Posted: 1/2/09 at 1:52am

it's not taste - it's facts.

I was so dissapointed and sickened. Have you seen it, Evan??

I'm a SHREK fan but I think the choreography is absolutely dreadful and lifeless. it does absolutely nothing to help the development or movement of the musical....

and if you're just gonna do some random fluffy dancing, for mindless entertainment, make it GOOD!!!

that awkwardly misplaced "dance break" with the skeletons after the chase sequence just made me feel bad for the dancers on stage. Choreography like that should never be seen on a Broadway stage.

And if any poster on here actually understands the art of choreography (and the execution of it), I would hope you'd agree!!!

[EvanK]

Posted: 1/2/09 at 1:56am

I have not seen it, but as I stated, it may have been the worst to you, but not to the OP. It's still just an opinion.

[wicked_beast4]

Posted: 1/2/09 at 1:58am

"I'm a SHREK fan but I THINK the choreography is dreadful and lifeless."

Therefore, if that is what YOU THINK of the choreography, it is your OPINION, not a fact.

The hypocrisy of some just makes you laugh, doesn't it?

[TheCharleston]

Posted: 1/2/09 at 2:07am

how are your little kiddies at "13" doing?

Are they sad they have to go back to preschool now, with the show FINALLY closing?

[WishingOnlyWounds2]

Posted: 1/2/09 at 2:18am

You really are a pathetic jerk, when ever someone puts you in a bad situation, or proves you wrong, you mention 13.

[EvanK]

Posted: 1/2/09 at 2:24am

They were in a broadway show. I think they've got you beat. I have no desire to ever see 13, but they are young, dedicated, and I am sure worked hard. Get over yourself.

[Pianolin717]

Posted: 1/2/09 at 2:29am

yeah... unless you have seen 13.. don't judge.. you could TELL they were dedicated, and honestly.. they sound SOOO much better live than on the cast recording :) I was quite surprised actually!

[tgn915]

Posted: 1/3/09 at 1:23am

Hooray for SHREK turned 13 threads!

I too was at the 8pm show on the 1st and was surprisingly blown away. They were all incredibly phenomenal. I can't pick a single stand-out star.

And, again, I too was at the stage door! It was amazing to be able to meet them all. They were all so sweet and genuine.

The show was entertaining and, for the time I was sitting in that theatre, I really was not worrying about anything else going on outside of it. Isn't that the true purpose?

Now for Liza tomorrow night.. :)

[EvanK]

Posted: 1/3/09 at 1:34am

That's great to hear!!!

[Winston3]

Posted: 1/3/09 at 2:02am

I had seen the show early on in previews and I will say that I did like what I was seeing. I saw it just a few days ago because I was craving me some Shrek. I was also curious about what the new changes were that they made between when I saw it in previews and when I saw it after it had opened.

Now, granted I knew that when I saw it during previews I knew that they were going to make changes. But, as far as I was concerned what I was seeing could have been the final product and I would have walked out the theatre more then thrilled. That was, however, until I saw it after it had opened. I walked out of the theatre more then thrilled and had an amazing night at the theatre. To me with all that is going on with the ensemble and all the fairy tale creatures going on I noticed some small minor things each time. I feel like ( at least to me) that this is the kind of show that I can see again and notice more and more things with the ensemble each time I see it.

I must say that due to the fact that when I am in a musical I am ususally in the ensemble a fair amount of the time. So, when I am watching a show I like to focus on the ensembles and not just the leads. I find it more interesting some of the time.

[EvanK]

Posted: 1/3/09 at 2:41am

So did you like all the changes made?

[gypsy4]

Posted: 1/3/09 at 12:39pm

thechaleston you should go in to a corner and drink a juice box.

[jayclay]

Posted: 1/3/09 at 1:05pm

We saw Shrek on the 29th, and like the OP we were pleasantly surprised. John Tartaglia was not there, which was disappointing, but everyone else was great. Shrek and Donkey are clearly very much like the movie, but at times BDJ reminded me more of Robin Williams than Mike Myers. I was surprised to read an interview with Daniel Breaker where he said he's never seen the movie because he didn't want to imitate Eddie Murphy, because clearly there's an Eddie Murphy influence. Still I loved his performance.

Afterwards we went to the stage door, and everyone came out except BDJ and Daniel Breaker. There were maybe 20 of us left after about 45 minutes. The security guys started whispering about "do you think that would work" and then they said "Why don't you all come inside and wait. It will be faster and warmer for everyone." So they took us inside and we waited on the stage in a line. BDJ came out and said "A chorus line"! He signed and posed for pictures for everyone, and then Daniel Breaker came out and did the same. It was really fun to see the props stored backstage too.

[dacvingwolf]

Posted: 1/3/09 at 2:13pm

can someone explain how the chorus of the dragon works? Do they all sing in tandum or does each girl sing a line solo?

[Winston3]

Posted: 1/3/09 at 3:37pm

EvanK, I am a fan of the changes that were made. Now that I think about it some of them were better then when I originally saw it. I prefer Donkey's entrance better in the show's frozen state then I did early on in previews. Early on in previews they tried to use the entrance for Donkey that they used in the movie. While it works on film it didn't work on stage. Other then that I was very happy both times. On a totally different note. I had never been inside The Broadway before Shrek. I must say that it is a very beautiful theatre.

As for the Dragon Chorus the head of the dragon is a puppet while the rest of the body is the tail and that is comprised of chorus girls. There are parts where they are all singing together and there are parts of the song (Which Is Donkey Pot Pie) that they have given a solo line to different girls. While the chorus is singing (either solo or together) the mouth of the dragon is moving to give off the impression that it is the dragon that is saying all those things and not just the person singing it.

TheCharleston, get off your high horse and realize that your not the one who has the power to say that it is a fact that something is good and something isn't. No one here does because it is called an OPINION. Which, by they way. A great thing about an opinion is that it can never be wrong. You just saying that someone's opinion is wrong just makes you look like a pompous tool. Now, if that is what you intended to look like then god help you and more power to you. But, I doubt that that is what you intended.

[Dollypop]

Posted: 1/3/09 at 3:42pm

Once again I find Winston3's posting to be a mess of jumbled logic, bad spelling, sentence fragments and lack of punctuation. I have a very difficult time trying to comprehend his ideas.

This is a person who plans to teach English if he ever gets out of college? Heaven forfend!

Updated On: 1/3/09 at 03:42 PM

[Winston3]

Posted: 1/3/09 at 3:46pm

I NEVER said that I wanted to teach English. I don't even want to be a teacher. And, it's a message board not an essay contest.

[TheCharleston]

Posted: 1/3/09 at 6:01pm

"TheCharleston, get off your high horse and realize that your not the one who has the power to say that it is a fact that something is good and something isn't. No one here does because it is called an OPINION. Which, by they way. A great thing about an opinion is that it can never be wrong. You just saying that someone's opinion is wrong just makes you look like a pompous tool. Now, if that is what you intended to look like then god help you and more power to you. But, I doubt that that is what you intended."

your SHOULD be you're

"by they way" -- I think you meant THE way

there shouldn't be a period after "by they way"

no comma needed after "Now"

"god" should be God (proper noun)

no need for the comma after "But"

you generally shouldn't start most sentences with the word "But"



"I NEVER said that I wanted to teach English. I don't even want to be a teacher. And, it's a message board not an essay contest."


no need for the comma after "And"

don't start sentences with "And" (same as unwritten "But" rule)

there SHOULD be some sort of seperation (comma, perhaps?) between "board" and "not"


Who was your English teacher in middle school? Are you even in middle school yet? Are you in "13" ??

[dapperchapper]

Posted: 1/3/09 at 6:20pm

"? Are you in "13" ??"

ouch.

[WishingOnlyWounds2]

Posted: 1/3/09 at 6:50pm

Notice how he/she brings up '13' yet again.