Dancing Hotdogs

December 12th, 2008

By Rosa

Dancing Hotdogs got invited to see the new Broadway show, Shrek the Musical based on Shrek the movie which was wildly popular with everyone.

Let me start my saying Shrek the Musical WAS AMAZIING. 

Quick synopsis for those who have not watched Shrek, (where have you been? There have been three movies!)

Shrek the Ogre and Donkey the talking donkey are commissioned by Lord Farquaad to save Princess Fiona from her tower.  After saving the Princess and on the way home, Princess Fiona realizes she may have more in common with her unlikely knight then the Lord.  Through the journey they meet a colorful cast of characters like the Gingerbread man, Pinocchio, the wolf and other favorites from popular fairy tales.

The movie and the musical were very similar with even some lines being exactly the same like “not the gumdrop button” and “do you know the muffin man” but they also added parts to the story that were not in the film. Like when Shrek and Fiona are sent away from their homes and the big moral of the show, being an individual and being unique is really wonderful.   Also, little girls who cannot connect to Disney princesses will love Fiona, she’s not your ordinary princess and little boys will connect with Pinocchio and his happily ever after.

I really liked how they emphasized that you have to be your own person no matter if it is not the social norm.  A good family experience and a lesson for kids and adults.  You cannot beat that!

Even with the changes the whole family will enjoy the show.  The actors had excellent voices and were very talented.  The cast was made up of known Broadway stars but the average Joe and Jane would not recognize anyone.   The story was great and of course hilarious with many jokes aimed at the adults in the audience. Donkey was my favorite character because he was comic relief. 

The stage and scenery were fantastic and really gave you the illusion that you were walking with Shrek, Donkey and Fiona on their way home.

The costumes were really good with Donkey sometimes walking on all fours and all the fairy tale characters costumes being very detail oriented so the audience member really did feel they were looking at Pinocchio etc on stage.

Walking into the show I was not sure how the movie would translate to a musical.  I was not disappointed and would definitely recommend everyone to see the show.  Even guys who are not Broadway junkies will be entertained by the jokes. I was very happy on my way home and everyone I went with said they had a wonderful time.

As a side note, they had really cute souvenirs.  I wanted the Gingerbread man T-shirt that said “Eat Me” but they were out of smalls.  Oh well, Divina got the “Not your ordinary Princess” T-shirt.

For ticket information and show times or fun wallpapers and e-cards got to

http://www.shrekthemusical.com/index.html