SHREK THE MUSICAL
A musical about an Ogre who falls in love with a princess, based on an animated movie by Disney's DreamWorks? That does not sound like the stuff of good musical theater, especially for adult viewers, but the Area Stage Company at Coral Gables' Riviera Theater does such a stellar job bringing the musical to life that you'll soon forget any qualms.
While the production is decidedly aimed at a family audience, the quality of its acting and the imagination of its crew elevates the musical beyond its R rating.
If you are expecting a costly production spectacle, then Shrek The Musical is not for you. This is not the $24 million version that debuted on Broadway in 2008, or went on the road in 2010, or played London's West End theater from 2011 to 2013. Instead it is a stripped-down version, with street clothes, half costumes and a half-dozen principle players who take on other roles.
Michelle Gordon & Ryan Bauta
Having said that, what you get instead is a young crew bursting with talent, enthusiasm and clever solutions to stagecraft challenges that quickly enthralls its audience.
"The way this was staged was the deliberate choice of the director," says Area Stage Company marketing/development director Rebecca Ashton. "He felt the way it was done [on Broadway] sort of dehumanized the story. Of course, we are more limited than a Broadway production, but he made the choice to do it this way."
Director John Rodaz, who is all of 22, a playwright himself, and the son of the theater's founders, imaginatively used silhouettes and moveable stage props to pull of scenes that range from a swamp to a palace, creating a sense of intimacy and fantasy with the audience.
None of the ingenuity on stage would have worked, of course, if it were not for a superlative ensemble of actors.
While the titular role of Shrek was played well by Ryan Bauta, who did a find Scottish accent a la Mike Meyers, the star of the night was Michelle Gordon, a 17-year-old currently attending the New World School of the Arts. Her energy and self-composure in stage us stunningly good, with a voice right from central casting in any Disney production. Take your pick - Ariel in The Little Mermaid? Belle in Beauty and the Beast? Anna in Frozen? - her sound is right up there.
Malik Kamau-Archibald
Not to be outdone, the cast also includes a humorous, crisp performance by 18-year-old Malik Kamau-Archibald as the Donkey. He cracks contemporary jokes like, "Think of me as a GPS with fur" or "After this is over I'm going to need some serious therapy." And then there is the crowd-pleasing performance by 'veteran' 24-year-old actor Corey Vega, who brings down the house with his persnickety, over-the-top rendition of an effeminate, diminutive Lord Farquaad.
Corey Vega
Overall, the performance is contemporary in its feel, with modern language and jokes - like playing 'punch buggy' on an actual buggy; or when the Donkey confesses that "after this is over I'm going to need some serious therapy"; or when think of me as a GPS with fur, or we have to stick together like Donuts and Diabetes; princess' she likes pina coladas and walking in the rain.
While the Area Stage Company is not a community theater, per se - in the sense that it pays its actors and is far from amateurish - it is a community theater in the best sense of that phrase, with its own Conservatory Program that trains and channels young talent from the Gables area, and is backed by grants and grass roots support. Shrek the Musical is a perfect example of how such a theater interacts with its community to encourage and develop world-class talent.
SHREK THE MUSICAL
Area Stage Company
Riviera Theater
1560 S. Dixie Hwy
305.666.2078
Through June 3rd
Friday at 7:30 pm
Saturday at 2 pm, 7:30 pm
Sunday 5 pm
