SHREK
by David Lindsay-Abaire and Jeanine Tesori
Produced by Weathervane Theatre Co., August 2013.
Directed by Jacques Stewart
Sound Design by Tony Tambasco
Cast
Shrek .... Robert Koutras*
Fiona .... Liz Schivener*
Lord Farquaad .... Andrew Foote*
Donkey .... Paris Nix*
Wicked Witch .... Claire Neumann*
Big Bad Wolf .... Robert H. Fowler*
Pinocchio .... Schyler Conaway*
Dragon .... Tanesha Ross*
Band
Conductor / Piano .... Colin Keating
Keys .... Paul Marszalkowski
Guitar .... Mark Sundermeyer
Bass .... Ross Krater
Drums .... Andrew Short
Reed .... Alyssa Comeau
Crew
Director .... Jacques Stewart
Musical Director .... Colin Keating
Asst. Musical Director .... Paul Marszalkowski
Production Stage Manager .... Brendan O'Brien*
Stage Manager .... Julianne Menassian*
Sound Designer .... Tony Tambasco
Dance Captain .... John Watson Stewart*
Choreographer .... Taryn Herman
Scenic Designer .... Suzette Subance
Costume Designer .... Meghan Leigh Pearson
Lighting Designer .... William Joseph Gibbons-Brown
Makeup Design .... Jeni Ahlfeld
Props Master .... Stephanie Meraz
Technical Director .... Bethany Taylor
Producing Artistic Director .... Jacques Stewart
Being only passingly familiar with the movie, I wasn't especially looking forward to Shrek, but Lindsay-Abaire's script and Tesori's music took me by surprise. I quickly thought of Shrek as a better musical than one about a flatulent green monster has any right to be. But even that notwithstanding, the chance of mixing something with a rock and roll feel, and of exploring the acustic world of fantasy creatures would have won me over.
As a rock show, Shrek was more consistently louder than our other offerings in the 2013 season, but the return of the band to its offstage pit meant I had to work a little harder to get the driving rock beat of the music to come through. While the musical dynamics of Les Miserables were often subtler and more detailed, I often found myself working harder in Shrek to deliver the feel of the show. Given that the audience left dancing in the aisles just every time, I think I did a pretty good job with that.
The other really fun thing about Shrek, of course, is balancing the voices of fantasy creatures enacting their roles as fantasy creatures, contrasted with the way these creatures reveal their inner lives. We made the decision early on to record Shrek's and the Dragon's roars, not only to spare the voices of the actors, but also so I could add effect layers to them that I would have been unable to live. Still, I tried to find moments, especially with Shrek, where his "ogreness" crept into the actor's voice with subtle tonal shifts and dabs of reverb, and likewise helped reinforce the dragon's size by making her vocally bigger than everyone else on stage with her.
Blog: "Story of Our Lives." The Adventures of Tony. In this post, I blogged some of my thoughts on the similarities and differences between Les Miserables and Shrek.
Design Plates
Sound
Plot
Signal
Flow
