Shrek The Musical Tour 2/24 in Buffalo!

[n2nbaby]

Posted: 2/26/11 at 2:03pm

Saw the tour in Buffalo a couple of nights ago and am only now getting around to writing up a little blurb about it because our car broke down in Buffalo after the show and we were about 135 miles away from home, so we were stranded, but after a very expensive trip, everyone I went with is all safe and sound. :)

Onto the show...

I saw the show on Broadway and thought it was quite cute, a bit overlong but it was cute. I wasn't as impressed with the tour.

The big reason I wanted to see it was Haven Burton and she was out, so I was disappointed right there but wouldn't let that ruin my evening. Her understudy Sandra Denise was serviceable, but didn't provide all the sass that Fiona should have but I did love her Morning Person and I Think I Got You Beat.

Eric Peterson as Shrek I was even less impressed with. His accent was all over the place and a lot of times I couldn't understand what he was saying, but he had his moments. Alan Mingo Jr. was very good as Donkey.

It was scaled down a lot more than I thought it would be. I wasn't a fan of the new dragon, not that the one of Broadway was anything fantastic either and I was disappointed that the mirror wasn't in this.

So overall, it was a decent evening but definitely not worth the three hour trip and all the problems we faced. My friend and her daughter loved the show though.

Also, I've never been to the Shea Theater before. HOLY CRAP! It's an absolute beast of a theater! I couldn't believe it when I walked in. It's a gorgeous theater but I think the acoustics aren't that great in there because from where I was sitting (in the balcony row G), the band wasn't loud at all and it was hard to hear some speaking and singing. But wow, it was gorgeous.. That ceiling was AMAZING! I was zoning out a bit during Act 2 because I was just looking around. Gorgeous barn of a theater.

[zepka102]

Posted: 2/26/11 at 2:43pm

I was there last night. I skipped it on Broadway because I did NOT want to see Sutton, but I thought Sandra was excellent. I love her voice. I thought the dragon was pretty cool the way it worked. I didn't mind this production. It wasn't a favorite, but it provided some good entertainment.

I always love returning home to Buffalo to go to Shea's. It's so gorgous! I MUCH prefer it to the touring house near me. I'm always in awe whenever I walk in, no matter where I sit (this time row M center mezz... waited to get tickets til last week).

[zepka102]

Posted: 2/26/11 at 2:43pm

Oops, double post... slow technology!

Updated On: 2/26/11 at 02:43 PM

[n2nbaby]

Posted: 2/26/11 at 2:58pm

I wonder if Haven is on vacation or something? It's funny, this is the second time I was excited to see someone in a tour and they weren't there. Last month was Lexi Lawson when I went to see In the Heights in Rochester.

[ohjustjake]

Posted: 2/26/11 at 3:14pm

I wanted to get tickets for this because I love Shea's so much, but I'm not too upset after reading your review haha.

So glad you like Shea's though! It's such a beautiful theatre and I'm glad they're gettin some big shows into there. I'm not sure about the accoustics because the sound designers/engineers or whatever should be able to alter the sound based on the venue, so it could've been an issue there. Not sure.

[zepka102]

Posted: 2/26/11 at 3:35pm

The sound was definitely coming more from the front, so I see where n2nbaby is coming from. It wasn't terrible, still caught most of it.

[Elphaba43]

Posted: 2/26/11 at 8:19pm

I'm going to see Shrek tomorrow at Shea's. Does anyone know if Haven will be back in it?

[IdinaBellFoster]

Posted: 2/27/11 at 12:37am

Her birthday was Tuesday, which obviously could just be a coincidence that she was out, but it's worth noting.

[BroadwayBound115]

Posted: 2/27/11 at 2:50am

I saw the tour in East Lansing on 2/13 and she was in the show. Her voice is incredible. She could be on vocal rest or something and took a show off to recoup. I saw Brian Gonzalez as Shrek and he was fantastic. It was uncanny how similar he looked and sounded like Brian d'Arcy James. David Vaughn as Lord Farquaad was amazing. Milking the audience for all it was worth and the audience loved to hate him. The new dragon song is one vocal beast of a song! The girl singing it had a huge voice but damn, how demanding it must be. The only one I was not impressed with was Donkey. It wasn't Alan Mingo Jr., it was an understudy. During the first act, I dreaded every time he opened his mouth, but his second act was a whole lot better, so I'm wondering if maybe he just was getting warmed up. But still an enjoyable evening out. I didn't like a lot of the changes from Broadway, but they were necessary to make this show travel easier. If I hadn't seen the Broadway show, I would've never known the differences made.

[Elphaba43]

Posted: 2/27/11 at 11:39pm

I saw the show tonight and I am happy to report that Haven was in the show tonight as Fiona. A lot of my friends told me that she was out a lot. Earlier this afternoon, my friend went to see the show and Sandra Denise was on.

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 2/28/11 at 12:19am

I saw it yesterday. It was fun and we had 5 understudy slips in our program. I heard on the radio that the flu has been making its way through the cast. It's that time of year. I thought Sandra Denise was great.

I enjoyed the show but its not one of my faves.

[n2nbaby]

Posted: 2/28/11 at 9:21am

Happy you saw Haven, Elphaba! :) Wish I got the chance to.

[zamedy]

Posted: 2/28/11 at 10:18am

I saw the matinee on Sunday and, as mentioned, Haven was out... which was a huge letdown for me. I was very much looking forward to seeing her perform (although her understudy did an admirable job). After hearing Haven was also out on 'opening night' here, I just assumed that she was taking this leg of the tour off. Surprised to hear she was in for the final show last night. I also noticed that there was no Ginger Bread Fairy in the cast (the role Haven played on Broadway). I am assuming this is because Sandra Denise was in as Fiona and they didn't have anyone to cover her part?

Overall, I thought it was a fun show with a few too many forgettable songs. I found myself bored at times, and some of the songs felt unnecessary..like they were just put there to give a character another song to sing (another Shrek ballad, really? Zzzzz). My favorites were definitely Freak Flag (loved it!) and the Finale. A great sendoff! Also, the actress playing the Dragon has an AMAZING voice. I almost feel like her talents are being wasted in such a small part (I know she also plays Shrek's mom in the first scene).

With all that said, glad to hear all the praise for Shea's. It truly is a gem in this community deserving of all the accolades it receives. And from what I hear, the touring casts enjoy playing there, too (although there are sound issues at times). Hard to believe that in the 70's, they came close to demolishing it and turning it into a giant parking lot. Thank God THAT didn't happen.

Let Your Freak Flag Fly!

[wickedphantomfan]

Posted: 2/28/11 at 9:18pm

Actually, Haven was not in on Sunday evening. I thought she was as well until I heard the people beind me saying there were lots of understudies. So during intermission I asked an usher and they said there were understudies on and said a lot of the playbills were missing the slips and she showed me one with all the slips inside. Sandra Denise was on as Fiona and Shrek was played by David Foley, Jr.