Continuing the trend of basing Broadway musicals on hit movies, DreamWorks Theatricals and Neal Street Prods. Ltd. are bringing Shrek to the Stage this fall. Shrek the Musical will hit the Great White Way after an exclusive, world premiere engagement at the 5th Avenue Theatre in Seattle from Aug. 14 to Sept. 21. Preview performances will begin in early November at a Broadway theater to be announced.
Directed by Jason Moore, who staged the Tony Award-winning puppet musical comedy Avenue Q, Shrek The Musical features a book and lyrics by Pulitzer Prize winner David Lindsay-Abaire (Rabbit Hole), and music by Olivier Award-winner Jeanine Tesori (Caroline, or Change). The show is DreamWorks Animation’s first venture in legitimate theater, a set of boards Disney has walked successfully with shows based on the animated hits The Lion King, Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin.
The Shrek production was initiated by DreamWorks Animation CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg and filmmaker Sam Mendes (American Beauty). Mendes is producing with Neal Street Prods. partner Caro Newling, along with DreamWorks Theatricals president Bill Damaschke. Other members of the team include Tony Award-winning set and costume designer Tim Hatley (Monty Python’s Spamalot) and three-time Olivier Award-winning lighting designer Hugh Vanstone, whose Broadway credits include Spamalot, Bombay Dreams, The Blue Room and Art. The choreography is by newcomer Josh Prince, and Tim Weil (Rent) is serving as music director.
Rencet events have proved that the Shrek franchise is as popular as ever. Shrek the Third was the second highest grossing film of 2007, and the ABC television holiday special Shrek the Halls ranked as one of the most-watched TV programs of the year.
