Shrek the Musical Not As Bad As We Expected?

Brian D’Arcy James in Shrek.Courtesy of Dreamworks Theatricals

So says Michael Riedel, who talks to some theatergoers from the Seattle preview and hears that the big-ticket musical based on DreamWorks’ animated blockbuster is “nowhere near the disaster some of the blood-thirsty scavengers in this business were predicting.” While the quotes he gets aren’t exactly masterpiece level — “It’s decent,” raves one source — Riedel thinks ticket sales will pick up and the show will be a hit.

The performances are reportedly solid, although it sounds like Sutton Foster is being totally wasted as Fiona. While Brian D’Arcy James’s Shrek getup looks pretty impressive in this photo, we’re less enamored of what we hear about the other costumes: Chester Gregory’s Donkey wears “a pair of charcoal-gray jeans with hooves,” and poor Christopher Sieber apparently spends the entire show on his knees as diminutive Lord Farquaad, wearing “fake little legs dangling around his chest.” Come on, DreamWorks — what are you spending $20 million for if not to scientifically shrink Sieber to Farquaad-like size?

Ogre and Above [NYP]

‘Shrek’ the Musical Not As Bad As We Expected?

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