I read this first on Things You'll Learn to Love About Me, but now it's official: the upcoming Broadway musical version of Shrek will play the Broadway Theater, soon to be vacated by The Color Purple, which closes February 24th.
Casting news is also starting to trickle out. The show will reportedly star Sutton Foster as Princess Fiona. Foster has really been lucking out in the creating-Broadway-roles department: Thoroughly Modern Millie, Little Women, The Drowsy Chaperone, Young Frankenstein, and now Shrek. No other actress her age can even touch that record. And I say, God love her. She's a fantastically talented performer.
As previously announced, Christopher Sieber will play the Lord Farquad role. Will they be dropping all the short jokes, or will Sieber play the part on his knees? Hey, in this age of Heelys on Broadway (cf. The Little Mermaid), anything is possible. Kecia Lewis-Evans, most recently the aviatrix in The Drowsy Chaperone, will play the Dragon, the Donkey's biology-defying love interest. Lord only knows how they're going to put that character on stage. Animatronics plus an off-stage voice? A stylized costume with numerous chorus members manipulating a large Macy's-parade balloon? GOK.
My sources tell me that, after holding open-call auditions, as well as inviting folks to send in video audition tapes, the producers are replacing the actors who were to play the title character and Donkey. Rather than combing the countryside, Dreamworks need not look beyond the Broadway community to cast the role of Shrek: our very own Kevin Chamberlin -- lately of The Ritz, but also Horton the Elephant in the original Broadway cast of Seussical -- fits the physical type for the role, and he has a terrific voice and fine acting skills. But the audition notices say that the producers are looking for a "dynamic rock voice," and I'm not sure Chamberlin qualifies in this respect.
After an August tryout in Seattle, Broadway previews for Shrek will begin November 8th, toward a December 14th opening.
[UPDATE: According to Michael Riedel of the New York Post, Shrek's producers have indeed had Kevin Chamberlin in for an audition, as well as Tony Winners Dan Fogler and Shuler Hensley. Evidently finding actors for both the title role and for Donkey is proving quite a challenge, and Dreamworks is holding out for exactly the right chemistry.]
I did not know Shrek will come out into a musical.
Posted by: Michaelle Park | February 12, 2008 at 08:38 PM
Wow! I really did not know that Shrek will be back into a musical this year in December. It sounds very anticipatable and to me. It is seems like about seven years ago Musical Lion King and Beauty and Beast. It was a Disney movie first and then onto a stage. The procession into a stage has to be Lion King. The procession itself is to make a little tiny stuffs more than other kinds of musicals and I think that Shrek will be so like that. Also, I think that it has to have more compositional works because movie animation Shrek did not have many songs in the films. Ah, ha! So, it seems like, it is more complicated than Lion King. But I am sure it has to be way more fun than the movie and I will anticipate to watch it next year.
Posted by: Michaelle Park | February 14, 2008 at 05:58 PM
Hello! I learned about Shrek becoming a musical a little while back, but now that it's official I'm interested to see where this musical goes. The cast so far is looking good, I LOVE Sutton Foster! And I remember Christopher Sieber from the TV-show "Two-of-a-Kind"! Do you know anything about the songs yet? I'm so curious to see what songs they've put together for such a show. I just blogged about this show too on my theatre blog! Have a wonderful day and hope to hear from you!
Sincerely,
Kathleen
Posted by: Kathleen | February 17, 2008 at 01:31 AM