Review: SHREK THE MUSICAL at Palm Canyon Theatre

If the creativity and excitement of live theatre have been dammed up these past two years, the dam has broken center stage with Palm Canyon Theatre's current production of Shrek the Musical. Rarely have I seen such energy, excitement, color and talent in a local production.

First, let's clear the air about which audiences this musical is suited for. Even though the highly successful Shrek movies were animated, the humor and situations were never targeted at children. However, none of the material is too scandalous for young audiences. Alas, none of us ever fully outgrow fart jokes, and they are as pungent in this show as anywhere else. But the whole concept of familiar fairy tale characters having a housing problem, an ogre who was kicked out of his family home at seven, and the dilemma of whether you should hide or celebrate your differences are themes that are humorously but meaningfully explored. The anthem "Let Your Freak Flag Fly" celebrates the characters' uniqueness, and brought simultaneous tears and laughter as virtually the full cast of 30 boasted their differences in a splashy production number. They finished it all the way downstage, practically in the audience's laps. Hats off to director/choreographer Se Layne (also the company's co-artistic director) for this number and the brisk, smooth movement of the entire show.

Layne has assembled an incredible cast, starting with her leading ogre - oops, I meant man. Dr. Eric Stein-Steele claims in the program that he is returning to stage after a 20-year sabbatical. It's lucky for us that he has finally returned to where he belongs. He easily carries the lead on his broad (well, okay, padded) shoulders, and with the ever-talented Derik Shopinski's costumes and makeup, he looks very much like the animated ogre. It seems he's wearing something like a green bathing cap that continues under his chin, but the join lines between prosthetic and his green made-up face weren't detectible even from the front row, and he was immediately acceptable. Stein-Steele owns Mike Meyers' Scottish accent, knows when to draw the line on gross-out humor, but most importantly, displays an incredible singing voice. We accept Shrek as a lovable loser, but when this actor cuts loose with a couple of power ballads in the second act, oh mama. He raises the roof. I hope his sabbatical is over for good and we see and hear him in many more musicals.

We first meet Shrek's paramour, the Princess Fiona, when she is a child locked in a tower. She starts the song "I Know It's Today" as a child, walks behind a wall and emerges as a teen, then walks behind the wall and finishes the number as the grown Fiona, played by Caroline McKinzie. The illusion of growth is not as effective as it could have been because the young and teen actresses (Victoria Herrera, Gracie Van Dijk) are virtually the same height and the youngest actress has surprisingly adult makeup. However, once McKenzie takes the role, she displays great skill in balancing a demure young lady and a very strong individual. When she and Shrek meet up, they have a body-noise competition, and he is amazed, then delighted that has met his belching equal (yep, and a lot more noises too). This actress has an angelic face that makes Fiona appear to be about 18. Then in a dance number, she trades her princess skirt for fishnets and mini-skirt and all of a sudden she's a very worldly adult. I believe that Ms. McKenzie is a guest artiste from out of town, but I would certainly love to see and hear her in more productions.

Donkey is portrayed by Lou Galvan, the Valley's funniest musical performer. He has wowed audiences at The McCallum playing the leads in COD's productions of Forum and Addams Family. He smartly envisioned Donkey as a Mexican vago who is searching for a friend, a characterization we Californians relate to. When Shrek doesn't immediately reject him, he declares them to be best friends. Galvan's sense of comedy is consistently "Just Right." Not too much, never too little. His and Shrek's "Travel Song" is a delight as the pair shuffle along in front of a moving background (though Lou occasionally blocks the puppets they meet along the way).

The ruler of the land where this all takes place is Lord Farquaad, hillariously played by Keith Alexander. Alexander's clown experience gained by traveling with Ringling Bros Circus, impeccable comic characterizations, and capable singing voice make him one of those characters you're always hoping will return to the stage soon. I first saw him in last summer's production of You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown, and see now that his excellence in that production was not a fluke. Lord Farquaad is about 3' tall, an illusion achieved by Alexander spending the entire performance on his knees with artificial short legs attached to his thighs. Between his appearance, his singing and his comedic skills, his performance is a joy - even if he is the villain the piece!

With a cast of 30, it's hard to single out individuals. Most of the characters are fairy tale creatures: the three little pigs, three bears, Peter Pan, etc. A few that especially caught my attention were Laurie Holmes as the Wicked Witch who sings an amazing start to "Freak Flag," Isabella Morisson as the prevaricating Pinocchio, and Danny Hargreaves' as the Gingerbread Man (puppet) being tortured by Lord Farquaad.

Set and lighting designer, J. W. Layne, made excellent use of a few multi-functional pieces which achieved different identities by facing them in different directions, and by projections which hit both those set pieces and the back cyclorama.

But if one person deserves additional credit for the production, it is Derik Shopinski. He designed the costumes for this unwieldly cast, and headed the fitting and construction. Some individual outfits such as the Mad Hatter, Three Pigs and Fairy Godmother especially stood out for their excellence, while the overall color and sparkle made the production numbers with the fairy tale creatures a visual delight. And if this wasn't enough, he stage managed the production, and I'll hazard a guess he operated some of the puppets.

Last, but far from least, is the musicians. Jaci Davis, Musical Director, plays the score live at the piano, and also manages to sing and speak for the Lady Dragon (she has played several strong leading ladies at PCT). Incredible on every count. She is joined in the pit by David Bronson on drums, Larry Holloway on bass, and John Pagels on Guitar. I'm pretty sure the baby grand piano was amplified, and a lot of the musical segments were surprisingly big and exciting. Hard to believe it was only four people producing the music!

Shrek The Musical continues for one more weekend, through November 7. Show times are 7 p.m. on Thursdays, 8 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, and 2 p.m. on Sundays. Tickets are $36, general admission; $32, seniors; $15, students.

For tickets or other information, call the PCT Box Office at 760-323-5123 or order online at PalmCanyonTheatre.org. Palm Canyon Theatre is located at 538 North Palm Canyon Drive, at the corner of Alejo Road. Box Office hours are Tuesday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.

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