Shrek: The Musical

Scoring eight Tony nominations, including Best Musical (and winning for Best Costume Design), Shrek: The Musical is a rousing, big-hearted belter of a show based on William Steig's beloved 1990 picture book Shrek! and the subsequent DreamWorks hit film. Directed by Jason Moore, and featuring book and lyrics by David Lindsay-Abaire, and music by Jeanine Tesori, this colorful, beautifully-staged 2009 production enhances the now-familiar tale with plenty of wink-wink Great White Way jokes and a fabulous score featuring 17 new songs. Brian d'Arcy James stars as the titular reclusive green ogre whose swamp now teems with squatting fairy tale characters evicted from their homes in Duloc by the ruthless diminutive ruler Lord Farquaad (Christopher Sieber). Since Farquaad needs a princess, and Shrek wants his land back, the pair strike a deal: Shrek—accompanied by the wisecracking Donkey (Daniel Breaker)—must rescue Princess Fiona (Sutton Foster) from a castle guarded by a dragon in return for his swamp. The cast uniformly shines, although the scene-stealer here is Foster, who winsomely combines innocence, heart, beauty, spunk, and the ability to cut a mean fart. And the standout score serves up several hummable tunes, including “Big Bright Beautiful World,” “I Know It's Today,” “Who I'd Be,” “Morning Person,” “I Think I Got You Beat,” and the foot-stomping tolerance anthem “Freak Flag,” not to mention an all-cast closing rendition of the Monkees' “I'm a Believer.” Extras include sing-along songs, and a brief “making-of” featurette hosted by Cameron Diaz. A wonderful home video release that will be much appreciated by those who simply don't have access to Broadway productions, this is highly recommended. (R. Pitman)