Shrek, the musical based on William Steig's book, with clever book and lyrics by the rascally David Lindsay-Abaire and lively music by Jeanine Tesori, is a brilliantly designed (inspired set and outrageous costumes by Tim Hatley) children's fantasy extravaganza with enough anachronisms and references to the fairy tales we all know to also amuse the grown-ups in the audience.
Everyone loved the ogre, played by Brian D'Arcy James, singing and dancing Sutton Foster showed once again that she is a real star with great comic timing, Christopher Sieber is a great villain, and all the rest were lively and fun in their various roles. With cartoon makeup design by Naomi Donne, wild hair and wig design by David Brian-Brown, zany choreography by Josh Prince, Hugh Vanstone's evocative lighting, all set into non-stop action by director Jason Moore, Shrek is a lot of fun - a fairy tale entertainment with continuous startling visuals including an almost-scary dragon.
