The drama club presented Shrek: the Musical on March 7-9.
The show was the culmination of two months of tireless effort by the crew and cast, headlined by freshman Eli Ward as Shrek, senior Rachel Kantarovich as Fiona, senior Deshaun Williams as Donkey and senior Michael Karas as Lord Farquad.
As in the movie, the play depicts Shrek and Donkey journeying far far away to save Princess Fiona and bring her back to Duloc. On the trip, the characters make new friends and find love.
The performance consisted of intricate musical numbers alongside phenomenal props, costumes and visual effects.
The many diverse characters resulted in the use of whimsical ideas for props such as bucket heads, extremely short puppet legs and light up dragon wings that dazzled the audience.
The minimalist take on the props emphasized the amount of work everyone put into the show. Even backstage, their efforts were prominent on show night.
“My vision is more simplified than what you might see done professionally,” Director Taylor Mortensen told the Beachcomber in February. “For example, our Shrek and Donkey won’t be costumed in the traditional bald cap/head cowl or donkey suit, but instead will have clothing items that will allow the audience to recognize those characters without having to literally spell it out for them.”
Shrek is a comic take on a fairy tale, and many fairy tale characters are seen throughout the play, such as Pinocchio, the Fairy Godmother and the Gingerbread Man.
Like the movie, the play included many humorous moments such as farts, burps and slapstick comedy, which got the crowd laughing. The play was even able to pull off a bit all about how Donkey was an “ass”.
From farts to more witty mature jokes, the comedy kept the audience immersed in the story. The cast’s impeccable timing and delivery kept the audience laughing, especially when the musical needed some of Shrek and Donkey’s witty banter for much-needed comic relief.
From behind the veil of burps and farts, a thoughtful theme of camaraderie and perseverance arose. The show not only entertained with jokes but also conveyed the importance of acceptance and patience.
“I wanted to continue the themes of acceptance and ‘not judging a book by its cover’ that we shared with audiences this past fall,” Morensten said.
The musical numbers in the show were also impressive, including high-pitched, fast-paced numbers to slow, somber solos that got the crowd feeling a range of emotions.
The singing was particularly impressive, especially from leading roles such as Williams’ Donkey, Karas’s Lord Farquad, Kantarovich’s Fiona and Ward’s Shrek.
The cast put hours of work into preparing their performance, particularly Williams, who is relatively new to theater.
“I didn’t want to be there originally because I had never been in the arts,” Williams said. “But once I joined, it turned out to be a lot of fun. The positive attitudes from the cast and directors really helped us, especially when we weren’t excited about working on the play.“
The two months that the cast spent rehearsing was clear in the performance, as were the hours spent refining every detail of the show, from singing and dancing to painting sets and perfecting the choreography.
Be sure to keep an eye out for future productions from the BHS drama club.
