[NEohioPAL] Review of "Shrek: The Musical" at Mercury Summer Stock

[Bob Abelman]

Mercury's 'Shrek' caters to the kid in all of us

 

Bob Abelman

News-Herald, Chagrin Valley Times, Solon Times, Geauga Times Courier

Member, International Association of Theatre Critics 

 

This review will appear in the News-Herald on 6/28/13

 

 

There is something immensely charming about Mercury Summer Stock's production of the animation-to-stage "Shrek: The Musical."

 

Most of the charm comes from the source material - the popular, Oscar-winning DreamWorks film about a lovable but loner ogre and his talkative side-kick, Donkey.  Together they rescue the feisty Princess Fiona from a dragon-infested tower and the height-challenged Lord Farquaad and, along the way, discover everlasting friendship and ever after true love.  

 

Playwright David Lindsay-Abaire sticks so close to the original screenplay that the dialogue should come in quotation marks.  Although this forces the actors to mimic the work created on celluloid by Mike Meyers, Eddie Murphy, John Lithgow and Cameron Diaz, these familiar and fully-formed characters win over an audience before stepping onto the stage and hit the ground running once the show has begun.    

 

The story and the 19 original songs by Jeanine Tesori embrace the wonderful fractured fairytale edginess of the film, which not only pokes fun at the iconic bedtime-story creatures who populate this world - including the Three Little Pigs, the Big Bad Wolf and Pinocchio - but gives them their own production number ("Story of My Life") and boldly celebrates their differences ("Freak Flag").  By the time the dueling gas-passing by Shrek and Fiona gets turned into its own, adorable musical number ("I Think I Got You Beat"), it is clear that "Shrek" has shed the sanitization that Disney established for cartoon-inspired musicals and has set its own course.  

 

Of course, much of this production's charm comes from the creative and talented folks at Mercury Summer Stock.

 

Under Pierre-Jacques Brault fun-infused direction, the uninhibited and gifted ensemble takes us on such a thoroughly enjoyable amusement park ride that the playbill should warn us to stay seated and keep all limbs inside the vehicle.  Every musical number is a celebration, complete with exceptional vocal talent, eye-catching and well-executed choreography, and all-out exuberance.  Patrick Ciamacco as Shrek, the remarkable Sara Masterson as Fiona, Justin Woody as Donkey, and Brian Marshall as Lord Farquaad are a pleasure to watch. 

 

Although Donkey and Farquaad are played way over the top, this is in keeping with the amusement park mentality embraced by this production and its concerted effort to cater to the children in the audience and the child lurking in the rest of us.

 

Stand-out performances are also delivered by Elise Pakiela and Sydney Fieseler as younger versions of Fiona in the musical number "I Know It's Today."  Kelvette Beacham's voice is ideal for the three-person Dragon puppet, particularly when it joins in on the harmony in "This is How a Dream Comes True."

 

An unfortunate drawback of doing a play based on state-of-the-art animation is the unmet expectations of its visual presentation.  The Broadway and touring productions threw money at this problem and were able to generate some semblance of stage magic, but the movie's visual majesty cannot be captured on the community theater stage and on a small budget.  To their credit, the costume design by Colleen Bloom, set design by Falcon Stage Production and lighting design by Rob Peck capture the spirit if not the eloquence of the original.

 

Everything works in this production, except for Shrek's prosthetics.  Resembling the make-up worn by Eric Stoltz in the film "Mask," about a boy who suffered from acute craniodiaphyseal dysplasia, Ciamacco's facial façade is absolutely immobile and its blatant artificiality can be spotted from the far reaches of the Notre Dame auditorium.  Remarkably, the character's heart comes shinning through, which is testimony to Ciamacco's wonderful performance and those who play opposite him.

 

There are no age or height restrictions to ride this amusement, although it is offered for a time limit only.  The show closes after this weekend.

 

"Shrek: The Musical" continues through June 29 at Regina Hall on the Notre Dame College campus, South Euclid.  For tickets, $15 to $18, call 216-771-5862 or visit http://tickets.ticketforce.com/
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