BWW Reviews: Inspire Creative's SHREK More Fractured Than Fairy Tale

I don't know, Shrek just never struck me as a song-and-dance man. Sure, the big green ogre who helmed one of DreamWorks' flagship franchises did occasionally get his groove on to the likes of "I'm a Believer," but belting out an "I Want" song from center stage doesn't seem his style. The Shrek films were all about upending and poking holes in the conventions of traditional fairy-tales and their adaptations, and Shrek himself spent a lot of time looking askance at the type of people who went tripping through the fields with a song in their heart.

Or maybe it's just that David Lindsay-Abaire and Jeanne Tesori's musical adaptation of Shrek doesn't do enough to justify the indulgence. Lindsay-Abaire does come up with some clever lyrical phrases, especially in "What's Up, Duloc," a paean to the theme-park neatness and conformity that the film likewise skewered. (It's no secret that the villain, Lord Farquaad, was modeled on former Disney CEO Michael Eisner.) But Tesori's tunes never really stick in the ear or send chills up your spine, and the book is mostly just a faithful transcript of the film, with the (then)-current pop cultural references being replaced by winks at music theatre icons.

Still, Inspire Creative's production of Shrek: The Musical tackles the material with gusto, and finds some gems in the flawed material. Ember Everett and Matt Wessel give fine performances as Princess Fiona and Lord Farquaad respectively. Living locked in a tower for most of your life waiting for Prince Charming to come rescue you is bound to mess with a person's head, and Everett gives Fiona a nice crazy twitch to offset her dreams of fairytale romance and the steely resolve that all modern princesses must have. As Farquaad, Wessel gamely clambers about on his knees and brings so much delicious smarm to the part that it's a disappointment he's not onstage more. He also gets two of the score's better songs, the aforementioned "What's Up, Duloc" and the wonderfully vicious "Ballad of Farquaad," which delves into the villain's backstory and loathing for the "freaks" which populate the lands far, far away.

As for the title character, Brandon Bill sings beautifully but spends a lot of time struggling to express himself through the heavy green prosthetics which envelop his face (and you thought the Phantom of the Opera was a tough gig in the makeup department). He works best when he has someone to play against, especially Everett or Brandon Joseph's sassy Donkey. And the chorus has a lot of fun as the assortment of talking animals, fairies, and oddities exiled in the name of Farquaad's pursuit of perfection, culminating in an enthusiastic rendition of the normal-is-overrated anthem "Freak Flag."

The company has made the most of limited means with the production, creating some impressive technical feats (the giant dragon puppet is particularly well done). However, the use of projected backdrops proves a liability, with everyone and everything upstage being bathed in images of forests or stained glass windows. Nowhere is this more problematic than in Fiona's introductory number "I Know It's Today," where Everett attempts to convey the character's increasing desperation and mental unbalance with a figure virtually hidden in a hazy glow. Don't stay in the shadows, Fiona. Let your freak flag fly.

Inspire Creative's SHREK: THE MUSICAL plays now through September 27th at the PACE Center, 20000 Pikes Peak Avenue, Parker, CO 80138. Performances are Thursdays through Saturdays at 7:30pm and Sunday the 21st at 2pm. For tickets, call 303-805-6800 or visit www.inspirecreative.org.

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