Review: SHREK: THE MUSICAL at Emerson Colonial Theatre

Inspired by the 2007 animated feature film “Shrek” – with the voices of Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, and Cameron Diaz, and loosely based on the 1990 children’s book of the same name by William Steig – “Shrek: The Musical,” the story of the swamp-dwelling ogre with a big heart, opened on Broadway in 2008, starring Brian d’Arcy James and Sutton Foster, and ran for just over a year.

Subsequent national and non-Equity tours, including the one that’s playing Boston’s Emerson Colonial Theatre August 13–15, have followed.

The enduring appeal of the film, its spin-offs, and the Broadway musical adaption by Tony Award-winning composer Jeanine Tesori (“Kimberly Akimbo,” “Fun Home”) and Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winner David Lindsay Abaire (“Kimberly Akimbo,” “Rabbit Hole”), who wrote the book and lyrics, has kept the story front and center in fans’ minds. Indeed, at the first performance in Boston on September 13, the near-capacity Colonial was filled with patrons of all ages on what appeared to be everything from family outings to date nights – many in all manner of Shrek cosplay.

This current pared-back touring version features new direction and choreography by Danny Melford, along with other changes made by Tesori and Lindsay-Abaire including a simplified plot and new orchestrations to fit a smaller – now only six-member – onstage band. The set list of musical numbers has also been adjusted, but with the show’s most popular numbers, such as “Big Bright World,” “Story of My Life,” “I Know It’s Today,” and “Who I’d Be,” kept in place.

With its themes of acceptance and loving people for who they are and not just how they look, “Shrek: The Musical” is abundantly appealing, especially when, as here, it is performed by a talented cast – which on opening night featured understudy Sage Jepson as the Scottish-accented title character in all his green and endearingly oafish glory.

Kelly Prendergast was sweetly appealing as Fiona while Naphtali Yaakov Curry added considerably to the merriment and laughs as the free-wheeling, humorously candid Donkey. Timmy Lewis also more than held his own as the out-for-himself Lord Farquaad.

In act one, Steven C. Kemp’s scenic design seemed paper-thin and uninspired, but by act two, the proceedings were infused with brighter colors, giving the production a more eye-catching look. Also worthy of special mention is the cleverly interwoven puppet design by Camille Labarre.

Photo caption: Nicholas Hambruch as Shrek, Kelly Prendergast as Princess Fiona, and the ensemble of “Shrek: The Musical.” Photo credit: Jason Anderson, Pendleton Photography.

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