“Shrek the Musical”: green ogre makes Johnson City his swamp

Once upon a time… A princess fell in love with an ogre in this musical sensation at the Martin Center.

From April 4 to 5, “Shrek the Musical” premiered at the Martin Center’s Grand Hall. Doors opened at 6:30 p.m., while house doors opened at 7 p.m. The show started at 7:30 p.m. Based off the 2001 animated movie of the same name, the musical is based off of the Broadway show that debuted in 2008. The story follows an ogre named Shrek, a wise-cracking donkey and feisty princess in a twist on storybook fairy tales. With the tagline, “Fall in Love All Ogre Again,” the musical presents all kinds of iconic fairy tale characters and enjoy a magical journey of love, loss and change. Tickets were $72.50 and $92.50 plus taxes and fees. This show was part of the Martin Center’s Broadway add on package. It was presented by Food City.

The cast included Demetrio Alomar, Jamir Brown, John Cardenas, Ally Choe, Naphtali Yaakov Curry, Cecily Dionne Davis, Nicholas Hambruch, Sage Jepson, Riley Johnston, Tori Kocher, Casey Lamont, Timmy Lewis, Katherine Paladichuk, Kelly Prendergast, Leon Ray, Cynthia Ana Rivera, Hope Schafer and Carson Zoch. Riley Johnston performed as the lead character, Shrek, for the April 5 performance. Casey Lamont and John Cardenas had to cover additional tracks, as well. The crew consists of scenic design of Steven Kemp, costume design by Linda Cho, lighting design by Herrick Goldman, sound design by Ben Selke, puppet design by Camille Labarre, prop design by Cam Upton, orchestration by John Clancy, direction and choreography by Danny Mefford and tour music by Chris Fenwick.

“The ugly duckling is back in the swamp [tonight]!” said Casey Lamont, on her Instagram Story during the April 5 show, when she had to swing as the Ugly Duckling.

Although the musical has gained criticism for its poor costuming and set design, especially compared to its Broadway predecessor, many patrons of the community enjoyed it.

Photo of “Shrek the Musical” flyer. (Contributed/@etsumartinctr Instagram)

“We loved Shrek at the ETSU Martin Center, What makes us special. Makes us strong,” said Samantha Davis, on a repost from the ETSU Martin Center’s Instagram Story.

To the general audience, “Shrek” was an enjoyable musical. To theatre critics, it is easy to find the flaws and see how cheap the non-union tour is. However, the main themes of the show appear with the audience’s reaction.

The next Broadway show at the Martin Center will be “Mean Girls” from April 29 to May 1.