A mean green ogre moves to Broadway
Güncelleme Tarihi:
AP
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Aralık 16, 2008 00:00
NEW YORK - ’Shrek the Musical,’ the stage adaptation of hit animated movie ’Shrek,’ has opened at the Broadway Theatre. Shrek is accompanied on his meandering adventures by a wisecracking Donkey, portrayed with eyelash-batting impishness by Daniel Breaker.
As that old "Kermit the Frog" standard goes, it is not easy "Bein' Green," but the folks at DreamWorks have done their best to make sure we are entertained at "Shrek the Musical," the company's lavish stage adaptation of its hit animated movie.
For much of the time, they succeed, thanks to the talent and ingratiating appeal of the show's four principal performers, starting with Brian d'Arcy James as that disagreeable, smelly green ogre who lives in a swamp.
James, whose rotund Shrek resembles a chartreuse Ed Asner with tiny trumpet-like ears, has got one of those robust musical-theater voices that fills the theater. Even encased in what looks like a rubberized fat suit, his forceful personality comes through and drives the story.
If the show, which opened Sunday at the Broadway Theatre, sometimes settles for efficiency over inspiration, so be it. That is one of the pitfalls of closely identifying your product -- and these days musicals aspire, above all, to brand-name profitability -- with its original source material. You have to satisfy the fans of the film as well as theatergoers who may never have heard of the movie or the William Steig book on which it is based. And no expense seems to have been spared in creating a unique, fairy-tale world in which Shrek sets out to rescue the Princess Fiona, a delightful Sutton Foster, so she can marry the evil Lord Farquaad, Christopher Sieber in a scene-stealing performance.
Shrek is accompanied on his meandering adventures by a wisecracking Donkey, portrayed with eyelash-batting impishness by Daniel Breaker. Their journey is told in a stop-and-go manner.
Based on book
David Lindsay-Abaire's book becomes a series of scenes that do not quite build into a satisfying whole despite director Jason Moore's efforts to keep things moving as fast as possible. Yet taken one by one, these scenes offer some genuine theatricality and moments of inspired hilarity.
The appeal of "Shrek" has always been in its subversive treatment of fairy-tales and their most famous characters. A lot of them are present here, from Pinocchio to the Three Bears to Humpty Dumpty to Peter Pan, and more. They want to escape their banishment to Shrek's swamp and at the same time earn a little respect for their individuality.
Villains often get the best lines in these stories and the major meanie in "Shrek" is no exception.
Sieber's preening, height-challenged Lord Farquaad is played here as a distant relative of director Roger De Bris in "The Producers," and the actor makes the most of the nobleman's campy malevolence. Sieber is a sight, spending the show on his knees, his little faux-legs dangling in front of him. And the guy can really sing, too.
Foster's entrancing, high-spirited Fiona is a tomboy at heart, a young woman who has no problem leading a chorus of rats in a giddy tap number, one of the few times "Shrek" resorts to more traditional musical-comedy choreography.
The show's massive sets and colorful costumes, both courtesy of Tim Hatley, are so visually eye-catching that they often distract from what is going with the story and score. Composer Jeanine Tesori has written attractive, eclectic, pop-flavored melodies.
Lindsay-Abaire's lyrics are often fun and quite witty, which should not be a surprise as he is the author of such zany, off-the-wall plays as "Fuddy Meers" and "Kimberly Akimbo."
For much of the time, they succeed, thanks to the talent and ingratiating appeal of the show's four principal performers, starting with Brian d'Arcy James as that disagreeable, smelly green ogre who lives in a swamp.
James, whose rotund Shrek resembles a chartreuse Ed Asner with tiny trumpet-like ears, has got one of those robust musical-theater voices that fills the theater. Even encased in what looks like a rubberized fat suit, his forceful personality comes through and drives the story.
If the show, which opened Sunday at the Broadway Theatre, sometimes settles for efficiency over inspiration, so be it. That is one of the pitfalls of closely identifying your product -- and these days musicals aspire, above all, to brand-name profitability -- with its original source material. You have to satisfy the fans of the film as well as theatergoers who may never have heard of the movie or the William Steig book on which it is based. And no expense seems to have been spared in creating a unique, fairy-tale world in which Shrek sets out to rescue the Princess Fiona, a delightful Sutton Foster, so she can marry the evil Lord Farquaad, Christopher Sieber in a scene-stealing performance.
Shrek is accompanied on his meandering adventures by a wisecracking Donkey, portrayed with eyelash-batting impishness by Daniel Breaker. Their journey is told in a stop-and-go manner.
Based on book
David Lindsay-Abaire's book becomes a series of scenes that do not quite build into a satisfying whole despite director Jason Moore's efforts to keep things moving as fast as possible. Yet taken one by one, these scenes offer some genuine theatricality and moments of inspired hilarity.
The appeal of "Shrek" has always been in its subversive treatment of fairy-tales and their most famous characters. A lot of them are present here, from Pinocchio to the Three Bears to Humpty Dumpty to Peter Pan, and more. They want to escape their banishment to Shrek's swamp and at the same time earn a little respect for their individuality.
Villains often get the best lines in these stories and the major meanie in "Shrek" is no exception.
Sieber's preening, height-challenged Lord Farquaad is played here as a distant relative of director Roger De Bris in "The Producers," and the actor makes the most of the nobleman's campy malevolence. Sieber is a sight, spending the show on his knees, his little faux-legs dangling in front of him. And the guy can really sing, too.
Foster's entrancing, high-spirited Fiona is a tomboy at heart, a young woman who has no problem leading a chorus of rats in a giddy tap number, one of the few times "Shrek" resorts to more traditional musical-comedy choreography.
The show's massive sets and colorful costumes, both courtesy of Tim Hatley, are so visually eye-catching that they often distract from what is going with the story and score. Composer Jeanine Tesori has written attractive, eclectic, pop-flavored melodies.
Lindsay-Abaire's lyrics are often fun and quite witty, which should not be a surprise as he is the author of such zany, off-the-wall plays as "Fuddy Meers" and "Kimberly Akimbo."