Well a few days ago, I jumped into my trusty Charger and we went on an adventure to Durham, NC, to then go to the land of Far Far Away. If you didn't catch that, I went to to Shrek the Musical at DPAC in Durham, NC.
OMG, what an amazing show! It has some beautiful moments, like the ones that make you tear up and it touches your heart. It made you laugh, a lot, and I wouldn't expect anything less from something that is Shrek. The set was eye candy, the costumes were amazing, the lightening was perfect, the make-up was great, and the puppetry was fabulous. There was so much to this show I'm not really sure where to start. I'm going to warn you this blog is going to be long. And if you don't want to read about my opinions and find out certain things stop reading after the next two paragraphs.
Actually, I do know where to start. I LOVE the Shrek movies, except for the third one. The first two are the best, then four, and I would just like to forget that they even made the third one. I love Shrek so much, that I quote it fairly often, "Really, really." and I usually pick it if the Marine asks me to pick out a DVD. We actually started dating the year the first movie came out. Gosh, now I'm showing our age, kind of.
What do I love about Shrek? Well, I love the writing, the story is great, but I think what made me really fall in love with it was the use of music. They picked great songs for the soundtrack. It's one of the soundtracks that I always have. It has a lot of the music that makes you want to dance, but if it's not the dancing type of music it's the type that you just want to sit and listen to the lyrics.
So lets talk acting. For the most part the acting was great. There were a few times the actor that played Shrek sounded more Irish than Scottish. He also had a few time when he was hard to hear. It wasn't because of his accent. But I'm not sure if it was because of the sound people not bumping up his mic (the first time I noticed was the first few minutes of the show) or if he just wasn't being loud enough. Both maybe? Everyone was great, I mean they had to be bears, fairies, witches, Peter Pan, etc. They really got into their characters. Many of them had to play multiple characters. You know the "fairy tale things" as Shrek calls them, towns people, the Duloc singers, mice, the guards, etc. This a great show for the actor that wants to be a chorus member. So many options.
The set and lighting, wow. Moving trees, tread mill effects, great back drops, there is just so much to the set I can't explain it all. The colors were eye catching. Really, it brought Far Far Away and Shrek's swamp to life. When you came in they had the curtain drawn but it made you feel like you were about to go into a forest (I was 4 rows from the front of the stage.) Now, lighting made the set even better. They were great at creating the sun and the moon (if you remember both are important in the movie), the darkness that a forest creates, and the doom of the castle. The lighting definitely set the mood, but also created the time of day. I think they hit every point they need to hit with lighting.
The music, that's what makes Shrek, right? Well, it was great! Most of the songs are original. They do sing What's Up, Duloc which the first part of it is in the movie. You know,
"...Please keep off of the grass,
Shine your shoes,
Wipe your...face,
Duloc is, Duloc is
Duloc is a perfect place!" (ok the last half is my favorite part of the song and that's why I posted it and not the whole song!)
Then at the end after the Curtain Call, they sing "I'm a Believer!" Which was basically like a concert. Everyone was standing up, dancing and singing. Seriously, one of the best shows I have been too in a long time. My favorite song, Freak Flag, because there is a little bit of a freak in all of us. At the end of it Pinocchio says, "I'm wood, and I'm good!"
Costumes and make-up, without those this show would be a bunch of people pretending and the audience trying to pretend who they are. If you didn't have a good imagination you would be lost. The costumes and the make-up brought the "fairy tale things" to life! They were meticulous with things. Like Pinocchio's costume, I could see the grain of wood they painted into every inch of his costume. The costume designer probably had a lot of fun thinking these up! The make-up was great Shrek, Donkey, all the fairy take things, the mice, and the Duloc dancers. They did a great job with getting everyone made into what they needed to be and then back to their other character/s. Even Fiona's transformation at the end they were able to do in a matter of minutes.
The puppetry and special effects were very good and pretty ingenious. First let's talk Dragon. OMG, she was beautiful! Everything that she was in the movie she was in the musical. She was a giant puppet. If I remember correctly she had 3 people creating her motions. When they opened her wings she really flew across the stage. She definitely owned the stage when she was on it! "I'm a real boy!" and Pinocchio's nose grows. It really grew. He had a mask contraption over his nose, and they had it set up somehow to grow on cue. I'm guessing it was either remote control or maybe Pinocchio had a button that he had to push somewhere on him. Lord Farquaad, ahh, what a fantastic character. Let's hope that he has good knees! He was a full size man that did most of his acting on his knees. Lord Farquaad was a bit of puppetry and costume all tied into one. He was always fun to watch and they did some great choreography with him and his "little" legs. Fiona's transformation from human to ogress at the end when she is lifted into the air. Just like the movie. I could not see ANY wires or cords. We went to Marry Poppins last summer (great show also) but we could see the wires they used. I don't know what they used, or if it was just the lighting, but she just levitated. It was magic.
I loved this show. I want to see it again. I might see it again soon too. It's going to be in Charlotte in June. I suggest that you go see it if you ever get the chance.
I leave you with one of my favorite moments from the show, it was when Shrek and Donkey were crossing the bridge to go save Fiona. They changed it from the movie, but Shrek is ahead of Donkey, and Donkey looks down and realizes how high it is, and he freezes and won't move. He asks Shrek to help him and not let go, and Shrek takes Donkey gently by the leg and softly says, "I won't let you go....I won't let you go." And he guides him across the bridge.
That is a true friendship.
The Dancer
No comments:
Post a Comment