Shrek the Musical is the Broadway production based on the hit movie series, Shrek. The shows protagonist of the same name is a chubby Ogre with a ten foot wall around his heart. Cast away by his family at the ripe old age of seven, Shrek is used to a life of solitude and isn't exactly a people person.Throughout the show, platonic and romantic love show Shrek the big, bright beautiful side of the world that he had been missing out on.
The animated original film of Shrek gave its audience a less in-depth view of the green brutes backstory. The musical gives In the opening number of the musical, Shreks parents are shown gently banishing their son on his seventh birthday. Shrek mentions and elaborates more on his vast experience with mobs. Specifically, those of the angry, torch and pitchfork bearing variety. Shrek eventually reveals, through the song "Who I'd Be", his wish to be something greater than an Ogre.
"I guess I'd be a hero...
Or else I'd be a Viking and live a life of daring ...
Or I could be a poet and write a different story...
And to the skies I'd throw it, the stars would do the telling...
I'd share my heart, confess the things I yearn, and do it all while rhyming...
Of course I'd be a hero, and I would scale a tower
And save a hot-house flower, and carry her away...
I'd get the girl, I'd take my breath, and I'd remove my helmet..."
In the animated film, Shreks story is hinted at and revealed throughout by dialogue, and in far less detail. Per example, "I'm an Ogre! You know, "Grab your torch and pitchforks?" ", addresses his past with more humor than actual information
Fiona is seen over the course of her life, locked in a tower, each time stating optimistically that this day would be the day she was saved. She is also depicted as, "...a bit bipolar", sassy, and a helpless romantic.
"It won't be long now, I guarantee!
Day number 23.
I know its today...
About time we set the wedding date!
Day number 958.
I know it's today.
He'll show up today....
...Day number 8423."
In the movie, Fiona is depicted as cruder than the average princess,a tad diva-like but the audience doesn't have enough initial backstory to genuinely empathize with her until she beats up Robin Hood and his Band of Merry Men.
Even the villain of the story, Lord Farquaad, is given a little time to whine about his little problems. His schpeel includes tidbits about his life such as,
"My daddy was a miner...He'd simply mutter "Heigh ho"
And off to work he'd go
Daddy was grumpy...
My momma was a princess...
She married way beneath her...
Beneath her knee, I mean...
Ohhh, daddy's bed was lumpy
So mommy couldn't sleep
Daddy built a new one
So tall and so steep
Twenty-five mattresses she slept upon
One night she rolled over...
And momma was gone
So daddy was grumpy...
You abandoned me in those woods, daddy. Well I crawled out! And up! Oh, if only you could see me now, daddy...I'd invite you to the wedding but you have to be THIS tall to get in!"
From this we can assume that Farquaads father was literally Grumpy, of Seven Dwarves notoriety, and that his mother was the princess from The Princess and the Pea and Once Upon a Mattress. His mother's identity is also hinted at in Farquaads earlier song, where he pulls a tune from Once Upon a Mattress,
"Hey nonny nonny nonny no...".
In the movie, he is genuinely interested in making Fiona his fulltime Queen. In the musical, he admits that the moment they're married she will, "...get the guillotine". Farquaads character in the musical is more comical and aggravating with just a hint of sociopath written in, while his character in the movie is full on psychopath. In both instances, he is definitely compensating for something.
In general, Shrek the Musical goes further in characterization than the movie. From The Crossdressing Wolf to Shrek, each character is given a true backstory.
I enjoyed the soundtrack of Shrek the Musical. The composition was consistent in it's structure without being repetitive, and the lyrics where witty and entertaining. The vocalists maintained solid characterization throughout their songs, not always sounding pretty, but always sounding right. I found the added short jokes at Farquaads expense highly amusing, if not reminiscent of the past three years of my life. Still, generally hilarious. Mainly, I enjoyed the message that the show sends out. Accept yourself, and let your freak flag fly.
I wasn't fond of Farquaads eyebrows. They made me uncomfortable and reminded me of when my grandmother and great-aunt tattooed their eyebrows on and no one had the heart to tell them they looked like worms in the middle of some variant of rigor mortis. I wouldn't change them, they made the character more unsavory, but I did not enjoy them.
I did not like how often the show made me sob like a newborn baby. Again, wouldn't change it, just stating that I was emotionally unprepared for the impact this musical had on me.
Shrek the Musical featured a more built upon plot than the original film, a well written musical accompaniment, and only minor flaws. And honestly they're not even flaws. It's one of the best modern musicals I've ever seen.
