“Shrek the Musical” closed to a sold-out crowd on Sunday, Nov 6. The musical is based off a book by William Steig that was later adapted into a film by DreamWorks Animation in 2001.
“Shrek” was chosen by the Kirkwood Drama department to be the fall musical with the hope that it would bring smiles to the audience.
The musical follows Shrek as he tries to rid his swamp of the fairytale creatures that have been kicked out of their homes in Dulock by the evil Lord Farquaad, and forced to take up residence in his home, the local swamp. Shrek and Donkey are sent by Lord Farquaad to rescue Princess Fiona from a dragon that had trapped her in a tower.
An unfortunate misunderstanding happens when Donkey discovers that Fiona is also an ogre and that she fears Shrek could never love her as she is and that forces her into the arms of Lord Farquaad. Thankfully Donkey is a far better friend to Shrek than Shrek is to Donkey and he forces Shrek and Fiona to talk out their real feelings so they may get their true loves first kiss.
The set of the play was made up of children’s story books which were stacked to create the tower Fiona lived in. Young actors from the community were cast to show the passage of time for Shrek and Fiona.
The production used puppets and puppeteers to create Gingy and the dragon. Shrek was portrayed by Gray DeGeest, Devin Beckert was cast as Lord Farquaad, the roll of Donkey was played by Isaiah Morel and Anna Masengrab portrayed Fiona.
This production of Shrek was Musical Director Allison Holmes-Bendixen’s first time conducting a pit orchestra.
Jessica is in the Digital Arts program and previously graduated with an AA in Liberal Arts and a Bakery Certificate. She enjoys cooking, hiking with her dog, Daisy, taking pictures and spending time with her family.
Categories: Feature
