Favourite fairytales updated

During the intermission of “Shrek: The Musical” last Sunday at Muangthai Rachadalai Theatre, two young boys in front of me were asked by their aunt whether they preferred this show to “Disney on Ice”. The kids didn’t answer and I found it impossible to interpret their silence. 

Stage musical adaptations of popular animated films are a major trend in commercial theatre – we’re now awaiting Disney’s “Frozen” which is slated to hit Broadway in the spring of 2018. 

There are hits and misses of course, but producers are always confident that the audience will likely come in groups of three or more – a demographic almost always made up of two adults and one or more children. 

Among the few challenges faced by the production creative team is to prove that this live experience is more than just the same old familiar story told in a different medium and also to make sure that it can also be enjoyed almost equally by the accompanying adults. Visionary director Julie Taymor set the bar so high with Disney’s “The Lion King” that it’s difficult for anyone to topple her record. 

And while Dreamworks is pulling the market share from Disney, Dreamworks Theatricals, with this musical being the only production, cannot quite catch up with Disney Theatrical Productions.

With a running time of two hours and 10 minutes as opposed to 90 minutes for the 2001 film, Pulitzer Prize winning playwright and lyricist David Lindsay-Abaire masterfully added background story to both Shrek and Princess Fiona. In the end, all members of the audience agree that fairytales must be updated and not all people can simply be stereotyped as hero, heroine and villain like in the traditional Disney animated films. 

The American playwright also poked fun at popular musicals like “Les Miserables” and “Wicked” although most audience members here couldn’t catch these jokes. 

The international touring production put together by NET Works and brought here for five days in between its tour dates in Singapore and Macau by BEC-Tero Scenario featured a commendable American cast. 

Understudy Jack O’Brien in the title role never sounded nor looked like an understudy and he carried the show with charm and sincerity that could be felt through the thick make-up and heavy costume. 

He was, though, slightly upstaged by Lindsay Estelle Dunn as Princess Fiona – thanks in part to Lindsay-Abaire’s addition for this role – who had no trouble switching back and forth between the stereotypical helpless heroine and kick-ass woman determined to get whatever she wants. Another delight was Christian Marriner whose character Lord Farquaad was two feet shorter than him and delivered all the comedic punches. Standing out from the ensemble of fairytale characters was Tony Johnson whose Pinocchio balanced both cartoonish and human characteristics.

As the curtain went down on this colourful production, my feeling was exactly the same as when I watched it in West End a few years ago. Back home, I put “Shrek” into my DVD player and started dreaming that BEC Tero Scenario will soon bring here – though not necessarily in this order–“The Lion King”, “Once” and “Hamilton”.