Playhouse South Presents SHREK THE MUSICAL, Now thru 5/17

Everyone's favorite upside-down fairytale comes to Kettering when Playhouse South presents Shrek the Musical, a song-and dance-filled stage adaptation of the Oscar-winning DreamWorks animated film. Shrek the Musical opens tonight, May 8, 2015 and runs through May 17, 2015.

As the 2014-2015 Season Closer, Playhouse South re-creates the fantasy Kingdom of Far Far Away-with many hilarious, irreverent twists. Instead of a knight riding a noble steed, the hero is Shrek, a swamp-dwelling ogre teamed up with a chatterbox donkey. And the princess? She's the slightly temperamental Fiona. After Shrek rescues Fiona from a dragon-guarded tower, the two fall in love before she reveals there's more to her than meets the eye. Other fairytale misfits add surprises: from a Gingerbread Man with an attitude to Three Blind Mice channeling their inner Dreamgirls.

This entertaining, family-friendly show features a terrific score, with 19 songs including "Travel Song" and "I've Think I Got You Beat." The songs come from Jeanine Tesori, who wrote the music, and David Lindsay-Abaire, who wrote the book and lyrics.

Shrek the Musical also draws from a 1990 children's book by famed New Yorker cartoonist William Steig. Like the first 2001 Shrek film, the musical stays true to Steig's fractured fairytale vision where dragons are friendly, swamps are better than castles, and the true hero isn't handsome or noble but a grouchy-on-the-outside, tender-on-the-inside ogre who is more or less content with himself and his life in a swamp.

After Shrek the Musical premiered in 2008, as the most expensive show ever produced on Broadway, it played for more than a year and earned numerous Tony and Drama Desk Award nominations.

For Playhouse South's production, Becki Norgaard directs, with Lorri Johnson-Topping as vocal director, choreography by Annette Looper, costumes by Meagan Kuchan and team and Jason W Clark conducting. The incredibly talented 52-member cast features: Zach King as Shrek; Esther Hyland as Fiona; Tia Seay as Donkey; and Jim Brown as the villain, Lord Farquaad.

Shrek the Musical performs May 8, 2015 through May 17, 2015 at the Clark Haines Theatre located in the Kettering Board of Education Building, 3750 Far Hills Ave, Kettering, OH.

Tickets are $13.00 for adults, $11 for Seniors and Military and $8 for Students.

For tickets, call 888-262-3792 or visit www.playhousesouth.org.