Shrek National Tour Review - January 9, 2011
Shrek National Tour Review - January 9, 2011
Shrek National Tour Review - January 9, 2011#1
Posted: 1/10/11 at 12:39am
Just got back from the national touring production of Shrek. I saw the show on Broadway back in 2009 and enjoyed it mostly because of the cast and stunning set design, so I was slightly skeptical going in to see the tour. I was pleasantly surprised by how enjoyable the tour was. The cast, sets, and costumes were all really good. Here are my thoughts...
Cast: No understudies. The cast was great. Eric Petersen was a perfect Shrek. His acting and singing were very good. My only complaint was that he was hard to understand at some points. Haven Burton was fabulous and had Fiona's character spot on though I will admit I much prefer Sutton Foster. Alan Mingo Jr. was hilarious as donkey as was David F. M. Vaughn as Lord Farquad.
Sets: The set was pretty slimmed back from the Broadway production, but it still worked very well. They still used a turntable, but there were miniature turntables within the central one. The turntable was only used for a couple scenes and I felt it was really underused. There were tons of painted forest screens that came in and out and combined to help capture the movement of the forest. There were four tree pannels that slid across the stage that masked scene changes or mixed with the backdrop. I really liked how they did I Know It's Today. The sliding clouds were a great touch. I thought the Broadway sets were much more intricate and spectacular, but I had no problems with this set either.
Changes: There were lots of changes from the Broadway show. The new dragon is a lot better as is its new song. The dragon worked a lot better without the discombobulated head and scales. I was pretty surprised they took the magic mirror out of the show and I really missed it, but I will admit it not being there did not impact the show or story in any way though. The dragon did not come crashing through the stained glass window at the window, instead the just projected a dragon on the screen. It looked really out of place and I think they should have brought the dragon back at the end.
Overall I really enjoyed the show. It's by no means the most mind-blowing show, but it is a lot of fun and entertaining.
Shrek National Tour Review - January 9, 2011#2
Posted: 1/10/11 at 3:38amTHANK YOU for this review! I'm seeing the tour in Cleveland March 4th and i'm soooo ecstatic to see it! You mention the set changes which I knew there would be some...but does the show still maintain that spectacle aspect? Also random question how was the rat tap?
Shrek National Tour Review - January 9, 2011#2
Posted: 1/10/11 at 8:51amYou are very welcome! The spectacle is still there luckily. It is not quite as big as the Broadway show, but they did a good job of not making too many cutbacks. The rat tap was great! Pretty much identical to the Broadway version of Morning Person with just a few set changes.
Shrek National Tour Review - January 9, 2011#3
Posted: 1/10/11 at 9:38amI've read that the opening was a little different than the Broadway production. If it is, how so?
Shrek National Tour Review - January 9, 2011#4
Posted: 1/10/11 at 8:56pmThe opening were pretty much the same expect for the fact that young Shrek and young Fiona did not meet eachother. They just had Fiona's parents sending her to the tower while young Shrek was being set up to be burned at the stake.
Shrek National Tour Review - January 9, 2011#5
Posted: 1/10/11 at 11:58pmI wonder if this version (hopefully not the scaled down set) will the one presented in the West End later this year??
Shrek National Tour Review - January 9, 2011#6
Posted: 1/11/11 at 12:04am^ I would imagine so! Hopefully they will add the Magic Mirror back in though. The set wasn't too scaled back, just a lot of painted drops. The only thing that really bothered me about the set was this HUGE arch of daisies at the beginning of Morning Person. It was so tacky and was luckily only onstage for a the beginning of that song.
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