Hey, everybody. I’m back. And, I’m here to talk about a Broadway musical starring a green protagonist who is ostracized by the rest of society because of their appearance but eventually overcomes adversity and ends up embracing who they are. Wicked? No. Shrek the Musical.
I have a very deep and personal history with Shrek the Musical, believe it or not. When I was thirteen years old, I auditioned for a production of Shrek the Musical at a local community theatre company. I got called back for the role of Pinocchio. Not to pat myself on the back but… the way I ate that audition up at the ripe age of thirteen… EGOT incoming, I fear. Just kidding. But I have to admit that I nailed that high-pitched, annoying, borderline Mickey Mouse sounding Pinocchio voice. Is it because I am just as annoying in real life? Perhaps. Perhaps I simply am a method actor. Anyways, can you guys guess what happened next? I got the role! Just kidding. I did not get the role. This is a Lauren Del Mar article, what did you expect? This is just another thing I could add to the long list of things that I will never get over ever in my life.
I ended up playing one of the Three Blind Mice. Stay with me now, this is where it gets interesting. The Three Blind Mice have a song with Donkey called “Make A Move”, a song that encourages Shrek to pop a mint and freshen up that onion-scented breath of his so he can flirt with Princess Fiona. During this time, I had a massive crush on the boy playing Donkey in our show. What can I say? He was a tenor and he was tall. As you can probably tell, I would get this song sung at me by my friends constantly as they would tease me and tell me to “Make A Move”. Long story short, that showmance actually ended up in me getting my first boyfriend who I dated for eight months until the pressure of our long distance relationship became too much to handle (we lived 30 minutes away from each other but neither of us knew how to drive). Shoutout to my parents for driving me to our movie theater dates. With that being said, this is also a public apology to my parents because I am sorry that you had to drive your hormonal fourteen year old daughter to the movie theater to meet up with her theater boyfriend. I would also like to apologize to the movie theater audience of Jumanji for making out with my theater boyfriend throughout the entirety of the film.
During my sophomore year of high school, I joined my high school’s improv team. I made the mistake of wearing my Shrek The Musical cast shirt to one of our practices. From then on, I was labeled as the Shrek the Musical improv girl in high school. No, I did not date anyone in high school, if you were wondering. For years, I have tried to hide my history with Shrek The Musical, but I am ready to come clean and embrace my past. I am a Shrek The Musical stan.
If you’re on musical theatre TikTok like I am, you may know that a lot of people are attempting to do the three-part “I Know It’s Today” harmony sung by the three versions of Princess Fiona. My initial response upon seeing this triggered feelings of embarrassment and made me cringe tremendously as it reminded me of my middle school/ early high school self. However, as a junior in college, listening to this song being sung reminded me of the sweet young version of myself who loved being onstage more than anything. It reminded me of the life-long best friends that I have made through musical theatre and how we would scream-sing show tunes in the car. But it also reminded me, despite how weird and odd the concept of Shrek The Musical might seem, how incredible the show actually is.
Shrek The Musical is honestly one of the most poetic musicals I have ever listened to; it combines the edgy comedy of the Dreamworks original but also adds a fresh twist that quite literally brings tears to my eyes. There is something that is so incredibly magical about musicals and their ability to convey a character’s internal struggle. This can be seen through Shrek’s power ballad titled “Who I’d Be” right before the show’s intermission. The song focuses on Shrek’s desire to be more than what people think of him, and it shows that he has dreams that he wishes would come true. There is a lot of heart in this musical because, like ogres and onions, it has layers.
I was finally able to listen to Shrek The Musical again and, once I started, I couldn’t stop. I listened to it the entire weekend and I don’t regret a damn thing. I highly recommend that everybody gives it a chance, lets their freak flag fly, and opens themselves up to the “Big, Bright, Beautiful World” of Shrek The Musical.