Shrek a fun, family outing

In our house, Dreamworks computer-generated Shrek has always shared the altar of great film animation along with Cinderella, The Jungle Book, Toy Story and WALL-E.

So it was with some trepidation that I wondered how Shrek, The Musical could pull off a successful stage rendering of an iconic animated film.

Nevertheless, the St. Albert Children's Theatre delivers the story of a gruff green ogre and his love for a beautiful princess with a healthy dose of humour and humanity.

Although it received mixed reviews on Broadway, it's a production that fits well in the Arden Theatre and Thursday's full house gave the actors a standing ovation.

Shrek's plot strength is that it blows fairytale convention out of the water. Unfortunately, it doesn't quite have the dark edge of Stephen Sondheim's Into The Woods. But it is earnest, brash, poignant and loaded with enough burp and fart jokes to entertain kids of any age.

Part of the credit goes to David Lindsay-Abaire's book that provides a back-story to the robust Shrek and feisty Princess Fiona. It seems that at a young age both were banished from their family to lead a life of seclusion.

Shrek stumbled into a rancid swamp. Fiona was locked in a tower. While Shrek grew into a testy misanthrope with a raw Scot's accent, Fiona morphed into a frustrated romantic waiting for Prince Charming to rescue her.

Tying the story together is Jeanine Tesori's commercially-appealing score that runs the gamut of Broadway tunes and ends with the energetic Monkees' bubblegum hit I'm a Believer.

And while the music is frothy, there's that powerful underlying message of accepting ourselves as we are.

Fun from the start

Right from the beginning, the fun starts as fairytale characters are banished from Duloc and resettled on Shrek's swamp. And it heightens as the undersized Lord Farquaad strategizes to grab the throne by marrying Fiona.

There are many good performances throughout the evening. Steven Angove, as the lonely outcast ogre who yearns for love, is quite touching. Unfortunately his Scottish brogue slipped in and out and occasionally distracted from an otherwise fine performance.

Arielle Ballance as Princess Fiona came across as hard-edged and shrewish. But in the song I Think I Got You Beat, a burp-and-fart duel with Shrek, she sheds some walls and reveals Fiona's sweeter inner core.

Kaden Wilson may not be Eddie Murphy, but as Donkey he injects his own captivating brand of full-throttle energy that breaks through the walls Shrek has built around his life.

But the ultimate scene stealer is Adam Klatchuk as the vain, social-climbing Lord Farquaad wearing short artificial legs as he scrambles across the stage on his knees. At one point he does a campy version of himself flicking his locks and performing a saucy high-kicking routine with the help of prop legs.

The evening's real joy lies in the quality of Marissa Kochanski's sets and props and Melissa Cuerrier's costume designs. Kochanski designed a set that opens up like a child's storybook, taking us straight to this quirky fantasyland.

And her flirtatious Chinese dragon puppet, voiced by the powerful vocals of Emma Henderson, is so startlingly large that four visible puppeteers fly it across the stage.

Cuerrier's costumes are a non-stop parade of colour and texture. Yet each stunning garment has a personality that distinguishes the character without it speaking a word.

Shrek may not reach the supreme pecking order as musicals go, but it's great family fun and a good warm-up to the Christmas season.