‘Shrek: The Musical’ @ Upright Theatre Co.
Photos by Delaney Rain Photography
—Jan Farrington
Upright Theatre Company’s lively production of Shrek: The Musical held on to the grownups in the audience—and the kids too, which was even better. (Everyone knows young theatre-goers are a tough room.) The little girl next to me hid behind her Mom when Shrek came out roaring in the first scene—but a bit later was giggling and bouncing to the music.
My companion was a veteran; she’d long ago memorized the songs, lyrics (and apparently the dance moves) of the filmed version of this Broadway hit show—and (though I did ask her to dial it down a few notches) got some “you go, girl” smiles from the cast.
Director Natalie Burkhart handled the big cast/small space problem very well, with help from choreographer Gina Gwozdz, who packed lots of good moves onto the stage. Music director Noël Clark (the quality of the singing got better and better all evening) had some very good voices to work with, and did an especially fine job with the rousing group numbers, which were clear and tuneful.
The Tony-Award winning show (which closes today—we barely caught it) has songs by Jeanine Tesori and book by playwright David Lindsay-Abaire—and is based, of course, on the Dreamworks hit movie and the original book by cartoonist/author William Steig.
You probablky know the story. Excessively grumpy ogre Shrek lives alone in a swamp until a fast-talking Donkey turns up—and soon after, every fairy-tale character we can imagine. (The many, many costumes are by Grace Harmon.)
The creatures and characters (including Donkey) are fleeing from the evil Lord Farquaad, who wants to “beautify” his kingdom—and Shrek wants them out of his swamp, pronto. To make that happen, he strikes a deal with Farquaad: he’ll get his swamp back (minus visitors) if he rescues the Princess Fiona. (Lord F. must marry her to become king, he’s been told by a Magic Mirror.) Fiona is high in a castle tower guarded by a Dragon. And the adventures begin, with Donkey sticking to Shrek like glue, and the rescued Fiona coming unwillingly along.
Basically, then, it’s a buddy movie with songs. Donkey’s non-stop chatter gets on Shrek’s last nerves, and Fiona and he argue all the time. You just know they’ll fall in love.
Many of the roles are double-cast, and in the lineup I caught, each of the principal characters had enviably fine voices—and what’s more, could carry off lovely tight harmonies when they sang together. Julian Rodriguez was ever-exasperated as Shrek, held on to a pretty good Scottish accent—and sold his solo numbers with a rich, room-filling voice. Jaquailyn Martin played Donkey all out—his comic timing, side eyes, and four-footed body language very funny, and his singing a real treat. He belted out the big notes, and gave jazzy twists to some others. Brooke Matthews as Fiona “grew” her character with every scene; from a timid, bookish princess in a tower, she transformed quickly into a determined young woman with a resonant singing voice. (The lead roles on other nights were played by Spencer Bovaird as Shrek, Dominick Jenkins as Donkey, and Keely Conrad as Fiona.)
Upright regular Nathanael Clark hammed it up (on his knees all night!) as the tiny-legged Lord Farquaad. Clark’s singing is always a pleasure to hear, and Lord F’s songs add up to a little comic opera, almost. The Dragon (Brook Baker) was impressive as well. She doesn’t have what you’d call a “speaking” part, but Baker’s big, bluesy voice got her messages across. Among the fairy-tale crowd, Brandy Raper played a Wicked Witch (she’s had some experience), and tapped energetically (with Whitney Morris and Bailey Lund) as one of Three Blind Mice. In short, Upright’s compact stage was chock full of talent—and coming full circle, I’d like to add that seeing this show really “made” my companion’s Spring Break week. Good going!
WHEN: February 21-March 23, 2025
WHERE: 2501 N. Euless Main Street, Euless TX
WEB: Upcoming shows include Romeo and Juliet (April 4-May 4), and Ghost The Musical (May 16-June 14). For details: uprighttheatre.org
