"Ogres are like onions, they have layers." Shrek is one of our all time favourite movies as a family and we were excited to be given tickets to attend the opening night of Shrek the Musical at the Lyric Theatre.
Following the story of the original film, Shrek the Musical has Ben Mingay as Shrek, Todd McKenney as Lord Farquaad and a special appearance by Marcia Hines as Dragon. It runs for 2.5 hours including an interval and features 19 original songs that will have you up and dancing!
For me, Ben Mingay (Shrek) and Nat Jobe (Donkey) had massive shoes to fill and had to stick closely to the original script. It's hard to be as good as Mike Myers and Eddie Murphy. However, Todd McKenney as Lord Farquaad was SPECTACULAR! He was such a stand out and his performance showed why he's one of of most in demand theatre actors in Australia. The role of Lord Farquaad is definitely beefed up from the movie and he gets all the funniest lines, songs and adult jokes. I couldn't get enough!
Lucy Durack (Princess Fiona) also benefited from a loosening of the source material. She was fantastic, funny and incredibly likeable. Marcia Hines pops by for a big song as Dragon, and shows why she's considered one of our best singing talents, and the whole cast does a great musical number at the end.
Shrek the Musical is a great show for the family these holidays, Tully loved it and had an amazing time. I'd say it's great for kids 6+.
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