'Shrek The Musical' Delights All Ages

From February 28 to March 3, 2018, the Upper School's winter production of Shrek The Musical had fans of all ages cheering for their favorite green ogre at three virtually sold-out shows in the Trustey Family Theatre, as well as at a special matinee performance for Beverly students and seniors.

Based on the Dreamworks Animation film Shrek—which drew on source material in William Steig's 1990 picture book of the same name—Shrek The Musical tells the now-familiar story of a misunderstood ogre who just wants to be left alone in his swamp, only to find himself accompanied by a donkey sidekick on an adventure to rescue a princess with a surprising secret. Watch the complete video below.

Staging such a fanciful tale—with its heavy reliance on special makeup, prosthetics, and fairy tale costumes—presented unique challenges for director Sarah Carlin and her team of talented student singers, dancers, and crew members, and the numerous teachers and parents who helped realize her vision.

"There were nearly 50 students in this cast," said Carlin, "and almost every one of them needed an extended makeup and costuming session at the start of each show; some needed additional character changes in between scenes, as well!" Carlin and parent volunteers spent hours before each staging to conjure characters including the Three Little Pigs, the Big Bad Wolf, the Three Bears, Humpty Dumpty, Peter Pan, and Shrek's road-trip companion, Donkey. Some were particularly challenging: bringing Pinocchio to life required the team to track down a remote-control wooden nose, and creating a convincing Wicked Witch meant fabricating custom pointed nose and chin prosthetics.

That's not to mention the musical's central character, Shrek, who wore a "fat" suit and prosthetic ogre's head mask with bright green airbrushed face and neck makeup to match. Additional ogres—Shrek as a child, Shrek's parents, and Princess Fiona, who is transformed into an ogre each night—all required their own ogre ears, face makeup, "fat" suit, and giant green hands.

Long before the makeup sessions, faculty members had worked with the students almost daily throughout the winter to perfect dance routines choreographed by third grade teaching assistant Kate Ventimiglia, and to fine-tune songs from the catchy, contemporary score, conducted by Upper School music teacher Jenn Boyum. Simultaneously, student crew members worked with iLab and theatre manager Cam McNall, third grade teacher Sam Hamlin, and sixth grade math teacher Kent Vienot to build and paint sets, props, and one extraordinary character: the lovable, 10-foot-tall dragon who guards Fiona's castle and ultimately enables her to marry Shrek required two crew members to operate her mouth, eyes, and body as she "sang" and "danced" around the stage during pivotal moments.

All the effort certainly paid off, a fact that was evident at the first full performance: a special matinee presented for more than 200 fourth and fifth grade students from Beverly's Hannah and Centerville elementary schools, as well as seniors from Herrick House, Colonial Gardens, and the Beverly Council on Aging. These invited guests were thrilled to attend their own private staging of Shrek The Musical, and they took in the performance in the Trustey Family Theatre as if it were Broadway. As did the audiences at the three public shows that would follow, they clearly appreciated the enormous talent of the cast, the professionalism of the pit musicians, the attention to detail in the costumes and makeup, and the artful stage sets, lighting, and sound.

But perhaps what most stuck with audience members as they left the darkness of the theatre was the many moments throughout this comedy when quiet emotion came through in an actor's glance, when a kiss shared between two ogres brought forth viewers' squeals of surprise, or when real joy and longing seemed to flow in the notes of a solo by Shrek, Fiona, or even the dragon. These, of course, are the things we most love about musicals, and the reasons middle school students so readily accept the challenges in their production.

"If there is one thing I will remember about this show, it will be its heart," said ninth grader Alex Oder, who played Shrek. Referring to previous recent Shore musicals, he explained, "Where Mary Poppins had its magic, and Bye Bye Birdie had its energy, Shrek had pure and contagious passion. From the cheers and laughter of Shrek’s opening night, to the tears and somber embraces at its end, each cast member wore their joy and sorrow like a badge of honor."

Another ninth grader, Charles Hoffman, who played a variety of roles in Shrek The Musical, said, "This is a show that emphasizes the idea of a happy ending, and that’s exactly what this show gave me." He continued, "Though the cast and crew represented a mix of grades seven through nine, you would never have guessed which kids are in what grade, because of the way we bonded through the story. These are some of the best actors, dancers, singers, performers, and friends I’ve ever known, and I couldn’t be prouder of this family that I’ve been blessed to be a part of."