Shrek the Musical

Last night Gary, Natalie, and I went to the world premier of Shrek the Musical at the 5th Avenue Theater. It was awesome! The real thrill for Natalie was seeing one of her favorite actresses, Sutton Foster, up close (we were in row K!), playing the part of Fiona. My favorite song from the show was "Who I'd Be." Shrek sings this song, about wanting to be a hero, to Donkey, while Fiona sleeps in a cave on their way to Dulac. The guy who played Lord Farquad was amazing. He's really tall, so they had him play the part on his knees, but they had legs attached to the front of his costume so the top part of him was really him, and the bottom half was fake - short, skinny legs that looked ridiculous. It was a riot when he danced like that. And they had a cape on him so we never saw his real legs behind him at all. Gary almost died (no, really) when Lord Farquad ended a song with the words, "they're never gonna keep me down," and then he sang, "oh-ohohoh-oh!" just like Elphaba does at the end of "Defying Gravity" (Wicked - though if you didn't get that reference you are culturally illiterate). Seriously, I thought Gary was going to have a heart attack - he was laughing so hard he didn't make any sound. There were funny references to other musicals, too. The sets were fantastic, the costumes were fantastic, the orchestra was beyond great. If you get a chance to see this musical before it goes to Broadway in December, you won't regret it. If I had an extra $250.00 (that's what it cost for three tickets) I'd go again next week!