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Washington Evening Journal
111 North Marion Avenue
Washington, IA 52353
319-653-2191
‘Shrek the Musical’ was excellent
Southeast Iowa Union offers audio versions of articles using Instaread. Some words may be mispronounced.
Wow … just wow! If you weren’t in the high school auditorium for one of the performances of “Shrek the Musical,” you missed it! It was wonderfully entertaining, and the actors and the behind-the-scenes crews gave all in attendance a delightful three hours that flew by.
We meet Shrek, played so expertly accent and all, by Trayton Schuster. He is now an embittered lonely ogre that has accepted being an outcast who lives alone in the swamp.
Shrek’s solitude is interrupted by a whole group of fairy-tale creatures that include such regulars as Pinocchio, the Ugly Duckling, Humpty Dumpty, the Three Little Pigs plus the Sugar Plum Fairy, the three Blind Mice, Puss in Boots, and the Gingerbread Man. The evil Lord Farquaad has decreed their banishment to the swamp for being freaks.
I would be remiss to not pause and give kudos to Matthew Rogers who so convincingly brought Lord Farquaad to life. In his inventive costume that made him appear three feet tall, he spent the entire performance walking on his knees. With his dynamic voice, he made an arresting villain.
Shrek finally decides to see what he can do for the fairy tale characters at the urging of Pinocchio, played by Sophia May who brought just the right amount intensity to the part. With a lengthy nose and a strong “won’t take no for an answer” encouragement, the “wooden boy” secures Shrek’s help.
On his way to the Kingdom of Duloc, Shrek rescues a talkative Donkey, brought to life by Paige Miller. Donkey keeps up constant chatter while offering the ogre his friendship.
In the meantime, Farquaad tortures the Gingerbread Man for information as Keira McBeth provides the perfect hysteria to her version of the Gingerbread Man’s screams.
Another standout was Jessica Chambers who played the stylized Dragon with her red wings as she keeps watch over the tower imprisoning Fiona. Her singing was absolutely first rate.
Princess Fiona, played by Abigail Denney, was dressed in an emerald green gown (perhaps a hint of things to come) and a sparkling tiara. She brought her lovely voice and fine acting to her part of the feisty Fiona. She finds no sparks with Farquaad, and he realizes, via the mirror, that he needs to marry to be King, seems to signal that the “fairy tale” is dead. But not giving up, Farquaad enlists Shrek to rescue Fiona from a tower.
Fiona discovers that her true love is elsewhere. She finds the curse to her happiness broken with a kiss from Shrek. She takes her true form as a green ogress and transforms both their lives as she teaches that true beauty comes from within and that “we all have layers.”. Of course, as with all fairy tales, they live happily ever after.
The four leads expertly played their singular characters, but everyone else played multiple parts. The wonderful costumes made it seem seamless.
Starting practice in December, this musical was so fun involving approximately 46 students. The various crews of people were legion. They included:
- Costume Crew — Sydney Kracht/Brandin Dusenberry — Costume Co-Captains with Alaura Sickles, Bella Busby, Olivia Romer and Ivy Rhodes.
- Prop masters — Bella Busby — Prop Captain with Alaura Sickles and Olivia Rhodes.
- Backstage Crew — Mylee Miller — Backstage Crew Captain with Alexa Lair, Izebella Dusenberry, Zoe Long, Jonathan Sharp, Joseph Haynes, Jade Volner, Lucy Miller, Natan Bergman and Kaiya Wintermeyer.
- Set & Artistic Design — Jade Volner — Design Captain with Lucy Miller, Natan Bergman, Kaiya Wintermeyer, Joseph Haynes, Preston Hull, and Bryden Sines.
- Marketing Crew — Brandin Dusenberry — Marketing Captain with Sydney Kracht and Ivy Rhodes.
- Sound Crew — Mrgan Jones — Sound Captain with Dalton Hill and Preston Shull.
- Lighting Crew — Kennedy Herrick — Lights Captain and Halee Miller.
- Choreography Crew — Keira McBeth, Macy Prichard, Sophia Smith, and Lilly Coffin.
- Actors Playing Multiple Parts — Keira McBeth, Riley Merschman, Alison Wolf, Lilly Coffin, Sydney Kracht, Jessica Chambers, Kinnick Butterbaugh, Kye Waddle, Mary Prichard, Viktoria Anderson, Cecillia Jefferson, Taryn Brown, McKenna Roth, Elijah Ingwersen, Savannah Robison, Jackie Forquer, Zandyr Angel, Jeremiah Haynes, Sophia Smith, and Mary Gerst.
The stage manager was Emma Kenel; the production manager & choreographer was Tori Kenel; and the director was Kati DeLlames.
Thank you all for a wonderful theater experience … can’t wait until next year!
