Muny 2013: Shrek

All you need to know - Lord Farquaad steals the show. I know he's the villain and all, but I actually found myself looking forward to his scenes. Not to mention, the actor was on his knees the entire time. Impressive.

The rest of it? Meh. I wasn't really impressed. The scenery was really nice, and it's the best use of that digital screen I've seen so far, but the musical itself sort of drags. That's not at all the Muny's fault - the pacing is just off.

The first act ended with Fiona being rescued by Shrek and Donkey. Correct me if I'm wrong - that happens in like the first 15 minutes of the movie, no? I understand the importance of character development, but man, the first act was just slow.

The second act was much better, faster, despite having something like 9 or 10 scenes and 15 songs listed (I was worried, and counting down, obviously). But it all just sort of wrapped up suddenly. When the fairytale characters reappear in the end half of the second act to sing 'Freak Flag' - supposedly the flagship song of the musical - I'm thinking, 'Oh, I forgot you guys were in this show, too.' We hadn't seen them in so long!

Bonus points for the dragon (love me some puppetry), the use of the digital screen, and the casting of 2013 Tony nominee Rob McClure as Lord Farquaad.

Deductions for odd pacing, too many snoozer songs, mic issues and those new fans not being on high enough.

Read my other Muny reviews.