Shrek the Musical, a production of Virden Collegiate, captivated the audience in the Aud Theatre with larger-than-life fairytale cartoon characters, a galloping script, dramatic vocals and just right dance numbers. Even young children paid rapt attention throughout the over two-hour show.
The show held pre-performance showings for Virden school children. Regular performances ran for four showings, Thursday through Saturday.
In this charming show, student actors were joined by a handful of community adults in supporting roles.
It’s a classic tale with a twist. A lovely princess is locked away in a tower guarded by a fire-breathing dragon, only to be rescued by an ugly green ogre and his silly ass – Donkey.
The rescue is a scheme by the conniving dwarf Prince Farquaad, played to perfection by Dane Leslie. The prince must marry the princess in order to become a king. Rather than risk his own life and limb Farquaad bargains with the ogre Shrek, assuring Shrek that his property – a swamp, of course - will be returned to him upon the delivery of Princess Fiona.
Brandt Unger as Shrek, and Noah Friesen as Donkey, carried it away with unflinching, even stellar, performances.
A few roles (nine in all) were double cast. In Thursday and Saturday’s performances, Princess Fiona was introduced as a child of seven (Charley Dunning), locked away in a tower. She re-appears as a young teen princess (Makenna Henry) and some moments later, when Shrek scales the castle tower to rescue her, we see Fiona as a young woman (Laura Eslinger).
Shrek was a show pulled-off in grand style with a strong team of local volunteers and a few professionals in the mix as well.
Producer/Director Michelle Chyzyk has, through the years, built a community of actors who are proving to be amazingly capable of the song and dance roles and split-second timing required to entertain audiences.
Dean Munchinsky was in the audience, and having worked on a number of musicals (acting and directing) with Chyzyk, stated, “For years, she has built into our kids, taking the better path and giving them opportunities they would never have in other communities. The truth is, Michelle spends hundreds of hours, with great thought to each participant, crafting every moment of the show.”
“It was thrilling,” stated a Virden musician and retired teacher and Roger Hurst. He took the opportunity to see Shrek with his visiting Calgary cousins who happened to also be Shrek fans. (More photos and the inside story to follow in a future issue).
