The theatre version of Shrek was just as hilarious as the film, writes Bibi Nurshuhada Ramli.
ONE always wonders how a film-turned-theatre production would fare.
The stage is a totally different ball game after all. So how interesting or different would this version be?
Shrek, originally a picture-book, was adapted into a computer animated movie featuring fantastical creatures.
Surely things would be more challenging to bring it to a live setting? It’s also a highly celebrated Dreamworks production, so there would be protective fans to cater to as well.
The recently staged Shrek The Musical at Istana Budaya certainly put all those questions to rest. Presented by Base Entertainment Asia, it managed to capture the essence of the animated movie and featured an entertaining experience onstage.
Geared towards a young audience, it was a bright and vibrant affair with plenty of colour, dance sequences and joyful characters.
The storyline was exactly like the one in the first film of the Shrek franchise, although it was a condensed version.
In it, Shrek, an ogre feared by humans and other magical creatures, prefers solitude. But Donkey, whom he meets, doesn’t grasp that fact at all and continues to bug him.
Fiona, on the other hand, is a princess who was cursed from young so she is locked away in a tall tower, waiting for a valiant prince to save her.
The devious and cunning Lord Farquaad has a hidden agenda (he wants to be king) in saving her but hatches a plan to get someone else to do the dirty job.
His victim is Shrek, who doesn’t care about Farquaad’s plans. The king-to-be promises the ogre that he will remove the magical creatures, who have taken refuge in Shrek’s swamp, if Shrek goes and saves Fiona for him.
Shrek and Donkey’s journey to save Fiona was depicted nicely, but another important part of the story was the romantic tale between Fiona and Shrek.
The musical didn’t neglect to include emotional and heartwarming scenes in the staging, which were successfully portrayed by the actors.
There were some new elements to the plot as well.
The jokes, both new and old, were the best thing about this musical! Older audiences, not into the more childish features of the show, could find comfort in the humour.
One scene had Farquaard lifting weights with the actor counting in Malay.
“Satu! Dua!” and then “Enam ratus!”
As expected, Shrek and Donkey also made fun of Farquaad’s height. One was during their description to Fiona of her height-challenged saviour.
“People of his stature are in short supply” and “Keep your expectations low”, they said with glee.
The portrayals of the characters were on point, especially Donkey (played by Jared Howelton). The actor seemed to be channelling Eddie Murphy, who voiced Donkey for the film.
Kyle Timson made Shrek as disgruntled as we all knew him in the film, while Farquaard (Tyler Brandon) was vain and sassy. Fiona (Lindsay Dunn), on the other hand, was rather quirky but lovable.
Timson also looked believable as Shrek with green prosthetics on and even sounded like Mike Myers, who voiced Shrek in the films.
Dunn’s singing voice was stunning and she embodied the Disney princess persona so well.
In all his scenes, Brandon had to kneel the whole time to suit Farquaad’s Napoleonic stature. It looked weird, but hey, that’s what we call dedication.
Aside from the winning cast, the musical also featured entertaining song sequences, with really catchy tunes to boot!
The dancing performances were pleasing to the eyes, thanks to the dancers’ colourful costumes. There were so many different types of dance styles, including tap dancing, which was performed by a group of blind mice.
In one scene, Farquaad even danced to Beyonce’s scorching hit, Single Ladies!
The stage production featured simple backdrops and props to paint a picture of various scenes like in the woods, at the Dragon’s Keep and in Duloq, which Farquaad had taken control of.
Lighting is important as well, and the team members behind the musical were clever enough to use different styles and levels of brightness to represent the mood of the scenes.
Some scenes were clearly inspired by the movie, such as the exploding bird, and Pinocchio’s nose elongating whenever he lied.
Presenting a stage production might be limiting, given the source material, but Shrek The Musical offered a fascinating flavour to its audiences to stand successfully on its own.