Shrek the Musical

As with Shrek the movie, SHREK THE MUSICAL is funny, clever, and charming, for all the same reasons the movie is. It takes your typical fairy tale characters and turns them upside down, making the ogre the hero and the princess anything but princess-y. Many of the same jokes and favorite lines from the movie are in the play, and often they're just as funny, but sometimes they seem to miss the mark when played by real actors dressed up as, for example, a big green ogre or a talking donkey. Also, somehow the burps and gross-out humor seem even grosser when not delivered by a cartoon character.

Mostly the play itself feels somewhat unnecessary. Shrek the movie hit all the right notes, with hilarious voice actors, silly humor, and a really great soundtrack. Shrek the musical doesn't really add anything to the mix that's better than the movie. Although the actors are very talented, none of the songs is memorable. And, although many of the sets are impressive (there's a giant puppet dragon and some great dance sequences), they don't catch your attention the same way on video they would if you saw them on stage. Kids will probably be entertained by the play's humor, but they may be bored by the numerous songs and the play's more-than-two-hour run time.