The musical tells the well-known story of the unique hero Shrek, an ogre whose top priority is to maintain isolation in his swamp. After Lord Farquaad banishes fairy tale characters to Shrek’s swamp, Shrek must travel great lengths and overcome many obstacles to regain his privacy. The plot takes a twist when he rescues the feisty Princess Fiona, who eventually reveals an astonishing secret that brings the pair closer together. This show was initiated when Sam Mendes, a big fan of the first Shrek film, suggested the idea of creating a musical to DreamWorks Animation’s Jeffrey Katzenberg around the time the second film was in production. Since that time, the musical has been nominated for a Grammy for Best Musical Show Album, has performed across the globe, and is currently touring through the United States and London.

Shrek The Musical also won a Tony Award for Best Costume Design of a Musical and four Outer Critics Circle Awards. Shrek showcases numerous misfit fairy tale characters, including the beloved chatterbox Donkey and the daring gingerbread cookie, Gingy. Children can enjoy the magical Kingdom of Far Far Away while adults can appreciate the irreverent humor of this unique fairy tale.

Shrek The Musical puts an innovative and fresh new spin on this fantasy fairy tale that has, since the first movie debuted with its ingenious parodies and hilarious caricatures, captured the hearts of young and old alike. West Branch director Krista Clay said, “This musical comedy is also a heartwarming tale with a beautiful message–be yourself.” The show is full of 19 fantastic songs that help put the audience in the fairytale mood.

Senior Gavin Clay will portray Shrek the green ogre. The son of Corey and Krista Clay, Gavin has been on stage his whole life. He has studied voice for 6 years with Mr. William Ambert and is known for his magnificent tenor voice. On stage as Shrek, he displays his avid ability to play a character part especially when he performs the popular tunes “Big Bright Beautiful World” and “Build Me A Wall.” Gavin has perfect stage chemistry with the other leads in the show and convinces the audiences through his solos and the chorus numbers that he truly feels Shrek’s emotions as a real person and not just a green ogre. Clay has played many roles throughout his career at West Branch which including Aladdin in Aladdin Jr., The Beast in Beauty and the Beast, and most recently the ever-demanding role of Jean ValJean in Les Miserables.

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Playing the outgoing, fun and endearing Princess Fiona is senior, Alli Kanagy. Alli is the daughter of Dr. David and Mikki Kanagy. Alli has also been on stage her entire life and has studied voice with Mr. William Ambert for many years. Alli’s acting and singing abilities create the perfect character for Fiona showing both her fun and comedic side as well as her serious, loving nature. Alli also studies voice with Mr. William Ambert and is a member Young & Alive and Concert Choir. Her acting expertise leaves audiences in awe of her raw talent and pizazz. Alli began her stage career at West Branch in roles such as Young Simba in The Lion King, Les in Newsies, Annie in Annie, Oliver in Oliver, Belle in Beauty and the Beasti and the Genie in Aladdin Jr.

Veteran actors and singers Mason Brown and Ashton Clay will portray Donkey the needy comical character in the show that follows Shrek around like a puppy. Mason is the son of Christopher and Christine Brown and Ashton is the son of Corey and Krista Clay. Both Mason and Ashton are very involved in the music department at West Branch. They are both members of Marching Band, Concert Band, Jazz Band, Pep Band, Concert Choir and Young & Alive. Mason will potray this role at both of the Saturday shows and Ashton will portray this role on Thursday and Sunday. These two young men will deliver a comical performance that sets up the whole plot of the story that centers around being treated poorly for being different. This is most notably seen in the song “Don’t Let Me Go.”

Shrek’s antagonist, Lord Farquaad,is played by senior, Jude Corallo. Jude is the son of Marco and Janelle Corallo. He was last seen on the WB stage as Enjolras in Les Miserables, but is probably most remembered for his role as the burly Gaston in Beauty and the Beast. Jude’s has risen to the occasion as an actor while playing the part Lord Farquaad. Most of the comedic action in the show is centered around his character. This is most notably seen in the musical number “Ballad of Farquaad.”

Junior, Noelle Shutler portrays the the big pink dragon who ends up mothering and loving the character of the Donkey. Noelle was last seen on the WB stage as the beautiful Cosette in Les Miserables. Her versatile voice really shines in this role as the dragon. Her ability to transition from opera to a belting role is absolutely incredible.

Leading the fairytale creatures is sophomore, Lucas Herold who will be seen as Pinocchio. Lucas does a great job showing the comedic and childlike personality that Pinocchio has and really brings a great voice to the character.

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The show is full of special effects, big dancing numbers and beautiful scenery and costumes. Choreographer, Tessa Murphy, has been working with the cast on dance sequences and movements that rival a Broadway production. Her skills even include an incredible tap number with many students that have never tapped before this production. You will be wowed by each dance number in the show!

The cast and crew of Shrek includes over one hundred students and volunteers. Audience members will love the large chorus numbers because there is so much activity it is hard to focus on any one element in the musical numbers. Local voice teacher Bill Ambert has coached characters that perform solos in the musical. Music director and artistic director John Zamarelli has worked hard on the musical numbers with assistant director, Tessa Wells. The stage has been transformed into a whirlwind of stage movements and all styles of Broadway dance steps. This is most notable in the chorus number “Freak Flag”–one of the most fun dance numbers in the production.

The costumes are lavish and colorful and crews of parents have been working to complete some of them for the past two months. Others are coming from Broadway Costume Shop in Chicago.

The set, also designed and built by local parents, is exquisite and fits the needs of the production’s scenes and musical numbers. Bryan Runk and Heather Connor have put in days upon days of work to transform the set pieces into a swamp, and Bryan Hobbins, Scott Close and Zach Bloss have built such incredibly beautiful set pieces. The audience is taken to various sections of your fairytale forest. Painting crews have been working on the set for several months while many fathers and community members are working late into the evenings/early morning to finish what might be called a theatrical “work of art.”

The technical crew for the show is comprised of Corey Clay and Adam Corallo. This crew will be running 36 wireless microphones and making sure all the special effects are executed as planned. Over 20 hours were spent setting over two hundred light cues that are required by the production.

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Show dates and times for Shrek are as follows: Saturday November 15th at 2:00 pm and 7:30 pm, Sunday November 16th at 3:00 pm. Please note that due to the football game playoffs, there will not be a show on Friday evening.

Reserved seating for all the shows is available online at wbmusic.org. All seats for the four performances are reserved and priced at $14.00 for adults and $12.00 for students. Due to the popularity of this show, we suggest that patrons reserve their seats as soon as possible. Tickets are already going quickly.

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