Described as ‘larger than life’, Shrek The Musical next month returns to the Midlands for a second outing. What’s On caught up with producer Caro Newling to track the journey of this ogre of a show...
If anything’s got layers, it’s Shrek The Musical. If you thought Shrek and Donkey had a long journey to Duloc and back, it’s got nothing on what’s gone into the making of this mega show.
Once upon a time (2002) in a land not so far away (Covent Garden), director Sam Mendes and producer Caro Newling were brainstorming ideas for new theatre pieces.
The co-founders of London’s Donmar Warehouse were leaving to set up their own independent film and theatre company, Neal Street Productions, which, from the off, had strong ties to DreamWorks, the Hollywood studio behind Mendes’ biggest movies, including the Oscar-winning American Beauty.
DreamWorks had expressed an interest in making theatre with Neal Street, and it was Mendes who realised they had the ideal story in the form of their 2001 animated hit, Shrek.
“Musicals were a big part of what we did at the Donmar,” recalls show producer Caro Newling, “And Sam was clear that the ingredients of Shrek were brilliant for a musical.
“For a start, it’s a big old love story as well as a search for friendship by people who feel a bit lost. Then there’s the idea of updating a fairytale and the battle of good versus evil. And those characters, even the fairytale creatures - they’re all so brilliantly drawn.”
Visiting the DreamWorks campus in Glendale, California, and seeing the original designs and models for Shrek, Newling was struck by the parallels between animation and theatre-making. “The ingenuity involved in making the whole Shrek franchise live and breathe was quite extraordinary,” she says. “And an idea that was floated over dinner and could have flopped around indefinitely got picked up immediately.”
Not only was DreamWorks Animation CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg keen on the concept, but Bill Damaschke, Head of Creative, was a dyed-in-the-wool musicals man. And so Newling and Damaschke set out to assemble a team who could bring Shrek to the stage.
First on board in 2004 was David Lindsay-Abaire, the American writer of Fuddy Meers, Neal Street’s first production. Since then, he’s gone on to be a Tony-nominated, Pulitzer Prize-winning writer. And crucially, he got what they wanted to do with Shrek.
Shrek was never a simple screen-to-stage adaptation. Mendes and Lindsay-Abaire spent a year knocking a new script into shape. Meanwhile, a small show called Avenue Q was making big waves Off-Broadway. Damaschke was onto director Jason Moore like a shot, convinced he’d found the right man for the Shrek project.
Moore took over script development with Lindsay-Abaire (freeing Mendes up for film work) and was later joined in the directorial chair by Rob Ashford, choreographer of such West End hits as Guys And Dolls and Thoroughly Modern Millie. “While Jason was busy dramaturging, Rob took on the big stage picture,” says Newling. “The perfect pairing.”
When it came to composers, Jeanine Tesori was high on everyone’s wish-list. The native New Yorker, best known for scoring Tony Kushner’s Caroline Or Change, was “absolutely a woman of the theatre,” says Newling.
“She writes music for plays as well as being a composer of musicals, but she’s also written for Disney and knows a lot about the film world. So she became more and more obvious a fit.”
Shrek The Musical made its debut at the 5th Avenue Theatre in Seattle in September 2008, before heading back into rehearsals for its big opening on 14 December at the Broadway Theatre in New York.
With musical stalwart Brian D’Arcy James as Shrek and the award-winning Sutton Foster as Fiona, the show became a top-five, Tony-nominated hit, running for 444 performances until January 2010 and departing on a mammoth North American tour that July.
London was in the picture from day one, according to Newling. “DreamWorks recognised it would go down well in the UK because of our phenomenal response to the original Shrek movies. A lot of the humour of the first Shrek (on which this show is based) is very British: pun, satire, that subtle updating of the fairytale. There’s a darkness to it, but also lots of self-deprecation and a big heart.”
The Muffin Man must be happy. “That was one of the running jokes with the original Shrek team, that if we ended up in London, we’d be on Drury Lane,” laughs Newling. “It really was a dream come true.” And nearly wasn’t, she adds, with Shrek waiting in line for the theatre behind Oliver!
Three years on from the opening on Drury Lane, Shrek The Musical embarked on its first UK and Ireland tour to huge acclaim.
Now the tour hits the road for a second time. “We’re very excited to be bringing Shrek The Musical to the best venues across the UK and Ireland once more,” says Newling. “It was a joy bringing this much-loved story to cities across the country three years ago, and we’re thrilled to be giving audiences another chance to experience their beloved swamp-dwelling ogre, Princess Fiona, Donkey and all their fairytale friends live on stage.”
Shrek The Musical shows at Birmingham’s New Alexandra Theatre from Wednesday 14 to Sunday 25 February and Regent Theatre, Stoke-on-Trent, Wednesday 2 - Sunday 13 May.
Described as ‘larger than life’, Shrek The Musical next month returns to the Midlands for a second outing. What’s On caught up with producer Caro Newling to track the journey of this ogre of a show...
If anything’s got layers, it’s Shrek The Musical. If you thought Shrek and Donkey had a long journey to Duloc and back, it’s got nothing on what’s gone into the making of this mega show.
Once upon a time (2002) in a land not so far away (Covent Garden), director Sam Mendes and producer Caro Newling were brainstorming ideas for new theatre pieces.
The co-founders of London’s Donmar Warehouse were leaving to set up their own independent film and theatre company, Neal Street Productions, which, from the off, had strong ties to DreamWorks, the Hollywood studio behind Mendes’ biggest movies, including the Oscar-winning American Beauty.
DreamWorks had expressed an interest in making theatre with Neal Street, and it was Mendes who realised they had the ideal story in the form of their 2001 animated hit, Shrek.
“Musicals were a big part of what we did at the Donmar,” recalls show producer Caro Newling, “And Sam was clear that the ingredients of Shrek were brilliant for a musical.
“For a start, it’s a big old love story as well as a search for friendship by people who feel a bit lost. Then there’s the idea of updating a fairytale and the battle of good versus evil. And those characters, even the fairytale creatures - they’re all so brilliantly drawn.”
Visiting the DreamWorks campus in Glendale, California, and seeing the original designs and models for Shrek, Newling was struck by the parallels between animation and theatre-making. “The ingenuity involved in making the whole Shrek franchise live and breathe was quite extraordinary,” she says. “And an idea that was floated over dinner and could have flopped around indefinitely got picked up immediately.”
Not only was DreamWorks Animation CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg keen on the concept, but Bill Damaschke, Head of Creative, was a dyed-in-the-wool musicals man. And so Newling and Damaschke set out to assemble a team who could bring Shrek to the stage.
First on board in 2004 was David Lindsay-Abaire, the American writer of Fuddy Meers, Neal Street’s first production. Since then, he’s gone on to be a Tony-nominated, Pulitzer Prize-winning writer. And crucially, he got what they wanted to do with Shrek.
Shrek was never a simple screen-to-stage adaptation. Mendes and Lindsay-Abaire spent a year knocking a new script into shape. Meanwhile, a small show called Avenue Q was making big waves Off-Broadway. Damaschke was onto director Jason Moore like a shot, convinced he’d found the right man for the Shrek project.
Moore took over script development with Lindsay-Abaire (freeing Mendes up for film work) and was later joined in the directorial chair by Rob Ashford, choreographer of such West End hits as Guys And Dolls and Thoroughly Modern Millie. “While Jason was busy dramaturging, Rob took on the big stage picture,” says Newling. “The perfect pairing.”
When it came to composers, Jeanine Tesori was high on everyone’s wish-list. The native New Yorker, best known for scoring Tony Kushner’s Caroline Or Change, was “absolutely a woman of the theatre,” says Newling.
“She writes music for plays as well as being a composer of musicals, but she’s also written for Disney and knows a lot about the film world. So she became more and more obvious a fit.”
Shrek The Musical made its debut at the 5th Avenue Theatre in Seattle in September 2008, before heading back into rehearsals for its big opening on 14 December at the Broadway Theatre in New York.
With musical stalwart Brian D’Arcy James as Shrek and the award-winning Sutton Foster as Fiona, the show became a top-five, Tony-nominated hit, running for 444 performances until January 2010 and departing on a mammoth North American tour that July.
London was in the picture from day one, according to Newling. “DreamWorks recognised it would go down well in the UK because of our phenomenal response to the original Shrek movies. A lot of the humour of the first Shrek (on which this show is based) is very British: pun, satire, that subtle updating of the fairytale. There’s a darkness to it, but also lots of self-deprecation and a big heart.”
The Muffin Man must be happy. “That was one of the running jokes with the original Shrek team, that if we ended up in London, we’d be on Drury Lane,” laughs Newling. “It really was a dream come true.” And nearly wasn’t, she adds, with Shrek waiting in line for the theatre behind Oliver!
Three years on from the opening on Drury Lane, Shrek The Musical embarked on its first UK and Ireland tour to huge acclaim.
Now the tour hits the road for a second time. “We’re very excited to be bringing Shrek The Musical to the best venues across the UK and Ireland once more,” says Newling. “It was a joy bringing this much-loved story to cities across the country three years ago, and we’re thrilled to be giving audiences another chance to experience their beloved swamp-dwelling ogre, Princess Fiona, Donkey and all their fairytale friends live on stage.”
Shrek The Musical shows at Birmingham’s New Alexandra Theatre from Wednesday 14 to Sunday 25 February and Regent Theatre, Stoke-on-Trent, Wednesday 2 - Sunday 13 May.