What do you get when a sociopathic ogre, a talkative donkey and a naïve princess are forced to bond together in an adventure and realize that, despite their differences, they can be real friends? They just have a lot of layers they have to peel off.
You come up with Shrek, of course, one of the most successful animated films of all time. In 2001 the movie proved that appearances aren’t everything—especially when it comes to making the earth move at the box office. Who would have thought a central animated character that wasn’t at all cute and cuddly would be embraced by kids all over the world? A sequel and the two other installments that followed it also enjoyed robust box office, cementing the big green monster in pop culture forever.
Now, Shrek has been retooled and rebooted as an uproariously entertaining musical, with book and lyrics by David Lindsay-Abaire and music by Jeanine Tesori, and enjoyed successful West End and Broadway runs. I was told that Bobby Garcia and his Atlantis Productions had been dying to get their hands on this material since around three years ago, and their production that unfolds at the Meralco Theater in Ortigas Center more than delivers the same biting wit and uproarious laughs of the source material—but with a potent added layer that gives the main characters more heart.
At this point of the review, it might seem necessary that I provide an outline of the musical, but it is so loyal to the film that such becomes unnecessary. That said, the musical adaptation does take some artistic license and uses this to further the plot. We now know the backstory of Shrek and Princess Fiona, whom he is sent to rescue from a tower guarded by fire-breathing dragon.
What works in Shrek The Musical are the hilarious pop-culture references and the upending of famous fairy tales with such gleeful mischief that you can’t help but laugh and cheer on the proceedings. And there’s plenty of such mischief and mischievous mayhem involving everbody, from Pinocchio to Three Blind Mice—even Frozen’s Elsa isn’t spared from this onstage onslaught of jokes.
The musical goes over and beyond the fairy-tale characters, though. Other musicals, such as Wicked and Dreamgirls, aren’t spared the skewers in show-stopping numbers. All this works, in part, because of the great performances of the cast. Rychard Everley as Shrek is spot-on as a loving ogre. Sheila Valderama as usual delivers—although she has a Tina Turner-esque number that was a little lacking that night on account of her less-than-blistering dancing. Still, her singing was electric. Carla Guevarra-Laforteza doing the dual roles of the dragon and the wicked witch is pitch-perfect.
There are a pair of scene-stealers, however, one of which is Jett Pangan as Lord Farquaad. Ever since Bobby Garcia “adopted” him for musical theater, Jett seems to grown even more talented. He really is a stage highlight on his own.
And then there’s Nyoy Volante as Donkey. Nyoy has had a lot of attempts to sing “black” and sometimes they fall flat. This time in Shrek, he hits it out of the park and his comic timing is impeccable. He is obviously good at channeling Eddie Murphy, who played Donkey in the Shrek films.
The songs are terrific and my favorite numbers include “Morning Person” and “I Think I Got You Beat”—the latter an “Anything You Can Do I Can Do Better” number, but instead of competing for bragging rights on who is more fabulous, they fight over who farts the loudest.
I was smiling ear to ear the whole time I was watching Shrek The Musical—from the time the curtains rose and I first laid eyes on the fabulous set, to the last song, Neil Diamond’s “I Am A Believer.”
I watched Shrek on Saturday—yes, the same weekend another monster was unleashed in a certain underwear fashion show. My friend also offered me a ticket then since he couldn’t make the show, which to be rescheduled from the previous night on account of Tropical Typhoon Mario, but I still chose to go to the Meralco Theater. Not even the promised of male models and celebrities stomping onstage in barely-there underwear that revealed ogre-sized bulges could stop me from seeing Shrek The Musical.
Because when it comes to the talent of Filipinos in theater, I am a believer.
****
Shrek The Musicale runs until October 12 at the Meralco Theater. Tickets are available at Ticketworld (891-9999).