I used to be a nanny, and the oldest kid I took care of is now a kindergartener, and he and I used to listen to the original Broadway cast recording of Shrek the Musical in the car all the time. He’d even make us do parts – he’d say, “Okay, now I’ll sing Shrek and you sing Fiona.” It was such fun. He knew all the words – he was five years old and he knew words like “asunder” because of Shrek the Musical. Even having never actually seen a musical, he would put on his own musicals for me, or make me star in them. I told him all about Broadway. I got him a Broadway kids CD for Christmas. He even once told me “I’m going to be on Broadway some day. If you’re still alive then, you’re invited. You can sit in whatever seat you want.” Despite the assumption that I might no longer be alive, I was touched by the sentiment.
When I saw that Shrek the Musical was coming to DPAC, I knew we had to be there. I asked his mom if it was okay, and I took him to see it. It was such a cool experience getting to take a kid to his first real musical. He loved it all. When we got inside the theater, he said “I didn’t know it was going to be this big!” He enjoyed learning about how you behave at such a special event as live theater. We talked about how even though we know all the words, we aren’t allowed to sing along during the show. I noticed during “I Know It’s Today,” that he was mouthing the words along with young Fiona. He bought (with money he had saved up) Shrek ears and a Shrek whoopee cushion. If you ever get the chance to take a kid (it doesn’t even have to be your kid) to the theater, do it! It was such an amazing experience for me and him. And I know that that Monday in kindergarten, he was telling all of his friends about Shrek the Musical – and for good reason!
In my opinion, Shrek the Musical has it all. You may think this is strange coming from someone who has seen Spring Awakening seven times, but I really think it’s true. Shrek the Musical is funny, it’s touching, and best of all, it works hard to make it worthwhile for everyone in the audience. They knew they were going to get the kid crowd – they made it kid-funny (which is very different from adult-funny). They knew they would be getting parents – it has that kind of double-layered humor which adults love and kids don’t know what they’re missing. They knew they would get musical theater fans, and even musical theater aficionados who were skeptical of the likes of Shrek on Broadway – they included some great musical theater references: The Lion King, Wicked, and the old standby, Les MIserables, and won people over the old-fashioned way: great music, and a quality book, and excellent performers. Every reason a person could have for buying a ticket to the show was met with a well-crafted response. I will continue to recommend Shrek the Musical to all the kids, adults, and fellow musical theater junkies in my life.
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