Embrace your Inner Ogre

Reviewed by Vicki Stokes

Headbands featuring green ogre ears and sparkly tiaras are dotted throughout the audience while excited children wiggle in their booster seats. The stage is a giant storybook, welcoming you inside. Shrek The Musical, which features an unlikely hero and familiar bedtime story characters, is now playing on the Main stage at Huron Country Playhouse.

Not a trace of doubt in my mind, I’m a believer that, if at all possible, you should take your kids or grandkids to see Shrek and the gang. When I took my seat in the theatre, I didn’t care too much about Shrek and the movies and hype, but I have changed my mind. This modern musical is not only a refreshing twist on traditional fairy tales, but a lavish production with incredible costumes and original music.

The show begins with the Ogre parents sending the young Shrek out to live in the swamp by himself. Likewise, the King and Queen lock their young daughter, Princess Fiona, in a tower protected by a fierce dragon.

Many years later, diminutive villain Lord Farquaad has evicted all the storybook characters and sent them to Shrek’s swamp. Shrek wants them off his land, so he agrees to find Farquaad a bride in return for relocating all the characters. Along with his sidekick Donkey, he faces danger head-on to retrieve the princess. After rescuing Fiona, Shrek falls in love with her, but a misunderstanding leads to Fiona heading to the altar with Farquaad.

Drew Plummer is impressive as Shrek, as is Jeremy Carver-James as Donkey and Jayme Armstrong as Fiona. Their voices are perfect for the characters. Shrek’s complexion is just right, not overly green or overdone.

The original Tony Award-winning costume design by Tim Hatley is used, featuring lots of textures and textiles of interest. The dragon consists of many different parts, all interesting in their own right. From a purple head and wings to skeleton and scales, she is humanized as the powerful singer Clea McCaffrey. There is plenty of attention to detail, such as the proportional size of Shrek’s and Farquaad’s hands.

Jeremy Legat is excellent as the short-statured Lord Farquaad. On his knees for most of the role, Legat’s voice more than makes up for his height. The ensemble is phenomenal in the multiple roles as storybook heroes, knights and other assorted characters (including two younger Fionas). And yes, Pinocchio’s nose grows when he tells lies. It’s not the most aesthetically pleasing nose, but it works.

One detail I noticed on opening night was the absence of the fire under the rickety bridge, as shown in the photos on social media. The presence of a glow that looks like fire is necessary to make the bridge appear more dangerous, since the bridge seems quite small and non-lethal on stage. Hopefully, it will make its appearance in subsequent shows. One other comment I would like to make in general is that the show is two and a half hours, not including intermission. I witnessed some cranky and sleepy children in the middle of Act II. Fortunately, everyone was able to perk up again for the finale.

Shrek is an ogre: there is belching, farts and the subsequent jokes. There’s also a lot of heart, positive messages, catchy original music, outstanding voices, creative costumes, colourful lighting effects, and some sneaky stage magic. There’s so much to love here, for adults as well as for the kids. Embrace your inner ogre and see Shrek if you can! If not at Huron Country Playhouse now, then at Hamilton Family Theatre in Cambridge from December 3rd to December 28th.

Shrek The Musical continues until August 31st at Huron Country Playhouse, Mainstage. Tickets are available by calling the Box Office at 519-238-6000, or Toll-Free at 1-855-372-9866, or by checking www.huroncountryplayhouse.com for availability.

Photo: Jeremy Carver-James, Drew Plummer, Jayme Armstrong. Photo by Hilary Gauld.

Shrek The Musical
Based on the Dreamworks Animation Motion Picture and the book by William Steig
Book and Lyrics by David Lindsay-Abaire
Music by Jeanine Tesori
Directed and choreographed by David Connolly
Music Director: Steve Thomas
Performed by: Drew Plummer, Jayme Armstrong, Jeremy Carver-James, Jeremy Legat, et al.
Produced by Drayton Entertainment
Mainstage, Huron Country Playhouse, Grand Bend
August 6 to August 31, 2025
Hamilton Family Theatre, Cambridge
December 3 – December 28, 2025
Reviewed by Vicki Stokes