Sutton Foster is Fiona in 'Shrek The Musical'?

Michael Riedel of the New York Post has left a teasing footnote in his Friday column, declaring that Tony Award-winning actress and Broadway's favorite "It Girl" Sutton Foster, has been slated to play the princessly role of Fiona in the Broadway-bound Shrek The Musical.

Foster, currently starring as Inga in Mel Brooks' Young Frankenstein, has had the fortune of creating several acclaimed roles on Broadway, including her break-out star-turn as Millie in Thoroughly Modern Millie, Jo in Little Women and Janet Van De Graaff in The Drowsy Chaperone.

Shrek The Musical will play an exclusive world premiere engagement at The 5th Avenue Theatre in Seattle, August 14 – September 21, prior to opening on Broadway in the Fall of 2008. Preview performances will begin in early November at a theater to be announced.

Shrek The Musical is an entirely new musical based on the story and characters from William Steig's book Shrek!, as well as the Dreamworks Animation film Shrek, the first chapter of the Shrek movie series.

Shrek The Musical features a book and lyrics by Pulitzer Prize winner, David Lindsay-Abaire (Rabbit Hole), music by Jeanine Tesori (Olivier Award- winner for Caroline, or Change and three-time Tony Award nominee), and is directed by Jason Moore, who staged the Tony Award-winning Best Musical, Avenue Q. Other members of the Shrek The Musical creative team include Tony Award-winning set and costume designer, Tim Hatley (Monty Python's Spamalot, Private Lives, among others) and three-time Olivier Award-winning lighting designer, Hugh Vanstone (Monty Python's Spamalot, Bombay Dreams).

The choreography is by newcomer Josh Prince, and Tim Weil (Rent) is serving as music director. Other theatre sources have claimed Christopher Sieber (Spamalot), will also be cast in the production – though no official announcement has been made.

Shrek The Musical is based on a popular 1990 book by William Steig.  The characters of Shrek, Donkey and Fiona, and the other inhabitants of 'Far, Far Away,' have been featured in three major animated films and a popular television special to date. The first Shrek feature film hit theaters in the summer of 2001, and went on to win the first-ever Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. The 2004 sequel, Shrek 2, remains the third highest grossing movie of all time and highest grossing animated film of all time. The latest chapter of the Shrek story, Shrek the Third, is the 2nd highest grossing film of 2007.  Shrek the Halls, the recent ABC television special, was one of the most watched TV programs of 2007. www.shrekthemusical.com

Sutton Foster (photo by Walter McBride / Retna Ltd)