Shrek at the Muny question
Shrek at the Muny question
jetts7
Leading Actor Joined: 5/22/11
#1Shrek at the Muny question
Posted: 6/25/13 at 4:23pmI just watched the highlights of "Shrek" at the Muny and I realized during the finale Shrek and Fiona only have green hands. Shrek didn't even have a green face. Is that the only green they wear during the show?
willep
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/20/08
#2Shrek at the Muny question
Posted: 6/25/13 at 4:37pm
Oof. Just watched the clips, that production looks rough. It is very strange that Shrek is not green at the end, as you pointed out, not sure if it is better or worse than this one:
CST Shrek
#2Shrek at the Muny question
Posted: 6/25/13 at 4:55pmI get it for Julia, who has to change mutliple times between green makeup and normal flesh colour, I guess that means Shrek has to match her level of ogreness....
#3Shrek at the Muny question
Posted: 6/25/13 at 5:12pmIn all honesty it is upwards of 90 degrees here right now so I wouldn't be surprised if he was wiping sweat away and the green makeup was left on a towel in his dressing room.
brettarnett
Featured Actor Joined: 5/2/09
#4Shrek at the Muny question
Posted: 6/25/13 at 5:19pm
The video was pulled?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGNygcyuTgM
#6Shrek at the Muny question
Posted: 6/25/13 at 7:45pm
Here are photos from the production:
https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Photo-Flash-First-Look-at-Stephen-Wallem-Julia-Murney-Rob-McClure-and-More-in-SHREK-at-the-Muny-20130625
It's really surprising how low-budget this production seems to be, all the costumes look like they were put together in a day, this is not usual Muny's standard, I actually feel sorry for the professional actors having to deal with such low-budget costumes and set.
#7Shrek at the Muny question
Posted: 6/25/13 at 7:53pmOof. Julia Murney as Princess Fiona is awful casting. That cheap wig and terrible makeup job is doing absolutely nothing to camouflage how age inappropriate she is for this part.
AEA AGMA SM
Broadway Legend Joined: 8/13/09
#8Shrek at the Muny question
Posted: 6/25/13 at 8:51pm
"That cheap wig and terrible makeup job is doing absolutely nothing to camouflage how age inappropriate she is for this part."
The size of the venue will more than cover that.
#9Shrek at the Muny question
Posted: 6/25/13 at 9:39pmSweet Baby Jesus. They took the one VERY GOOD THING about Shrek and they just... they just... SMASHED it with a hammer.
#10Shrek at the Muny question
Posted: 6/26/13 at 12:00am
The video is back at a different link.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4WwUUhjj5s
I love Julia Murney, but as someone else said, she couldn't be more inappropriately cast. Isn't there a lyric in "I Know It's Today" about how Fiona has been in the tower for 8,423 days? That's 23-ish years. If she was put there as a small child, she's probably in her late twenties at most, and Murney is... not that age. It's also incredibly awkward that she appears to be doing everything but dancing in the extended dance break during "Morning Person" in that clip.
That being said, Patti Murin (who would have been perfect) was cast as Fiona and had to withdraw when she booked LOVE'S LABOUR'S LOST in the park, so it's understandable that they wound up with someone more unorthodox late in the game. Stephen Wallem was also a late addition as Shrek in place of Alexander Gemignani, who ended up going into CHICAGO on Broadway.
At least Natalie Venetia Belcon sounds predictably fantastic as The Dragon.
Tony Kushner: You can sing it at my funeral.
RippedMan
Broadway Legend Joined: 8/14/05
PositivelyEmerald
Stand-by Joined: 7/24/11
#13Shrek at the Muny question
Posted: 6/26/13 at 12:31am
I've seen high schools have better shrek makeup than that. I was expecting so much more for this. 
#14Shrek at the Muny question
Posted: 6/26/13 at 2:08amGet some god damn MAC make up. It's only 4 days of performances, can't be that expensive.
#15Shrek at the Muny question
Posted: 6/26/13 at 3:11amHas anyone considered that this may be a video from a dress rehearsal with incomplete make-up design? I've certainly been in shows where my costumes were pinned on me during the first preview. Maybe we should just...get a freakin' grip.
dramamama611
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/4/07
#16Shrek at the Muny question
Posted: 6/26/13 at 6:20am
Except the video says its from Opening Night. AND, the MUNY is who released the vid....so they must be happy with it.
Peeps are allowed to have their opinions. I have no opinion, I hated the broadway show so much, I don't think I could judge any production without malice.
#17Shrek at the Muny question
Posted: 6/26/13 at 7:02am
I was there on Opening Night. The pictures are accurate. I thought the costumes looked very underwhelming, but the set was pretty good. The performances were all at least good, to my mind. Murney was fine. Her age doesn't really matter on a huge stage like the Muny. I had some issues with the show itself but as a production it was entertaining but not great. I'm working on a review for my blog that I will try to have posted later today or tomorrow.
Editing to add that my review is ready now. Here's the link:
Ogres, Adventures and Expectations
Updated On: 6/26/13 at 07:02 AM
Starship
Broadway Star Joined: 7/29/12
#19Shrek at the Muny question
Posted: 6/26/13 at 5:46pmSo completely underwhelemed. This was just darn cheap.
brettarnett
Featured Actor Joined: 5/2/09
#21Shrek at the Muny question
Posted: 6/26/13 at 7:50pm
This doesnt surprise me. Everything the MUNY does look super cheap. In order to make things read in the back they paint everything really big and it all looks like cheap high school crap. Their Little Mermaid was a design tragedy.
They must pay well to attract the talent they get.
#22Shrek at the Muny question
Posted: 6/26/13 at 8:02pmI have to agree. Everyone always includes MUNY on the list of "big" regionals and I have never been impressed by anything I've seen of their productions. That house would swallow almost any show and working around the size seems to do a huge disservice to the productions.
#23Shrek at the Muny question
Posted: 6/26/13 at 8:23pm
The Muny productions have often looked cheap-ish in the past, but last season was a major improvement, in that they stopped renting all their costumes and had some very nice looking sets. This year, Spamalot was all right in terms of costumes and sets, but I do think Shrek was a step down. I hope the rest of the shows this season can start improving on the promise of last season.
Despite sometimes less-than-stellar production values, though, the performances at the Muny are often excellent, and I've enjoyed most of the shows I've seen there.
#24Shrek at the Muny question
Posted: 6/26/13 at 11:21pm
Definitely didn't meet my expectations for what I would have imagined they would have done with the production. Especially bringing in such high caliber talent, I mean Rob McClure is a Tony nominee from just this year, for the production would have made you think that they were going to have just as quality creative aspects. That Shrek makeup and prosthetic piece looks plain-old cheap....Couldn't they at least use the model Broadway costume for the lead?
That being said, would love to see the performances from Rob and Michael James Scott.
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