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‘Shrek the Musical’ -- the ogre in a new shade of green

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Shrek, that grouchy green ogre, became a star after he left his swamp and saw the world in DreamWorks Animation’s hit 2001 movie. Now, he’s singing his way into town in the first national tour of ‘Shrek the Musical,’ the stage version of the Oscar-winning film based on the William Steig picture book.

The fractured fairy tale, which has a book and lyrics by David Lindsay-Abaire and music by Jeanine Tesori, begins performances at the Pantages Theatre on Tuesday.

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‘Shrek’ opened on Broadway in December 2008 to mixed reviews and ran for 13 months. The musical’s creators have seen the yearlong tour--which ends in L.A.-- as a chance to polish ‘the best stuff’ and ‘get under the hood and rethink some things,’ says Bill Damaschke, chief creative officer of DreamWorks Animation.

‘Once you work on a show for a while, the path is clearer,’ says Jason Moore, who directed the Broadway production and--with Rob Ashford--is co-directing both the national tour and the London production, which opened in June. ‘I think the tour has found a much nicer balance between theatricality and delivering what we hoped to from the movie.’

For more about ‘Shrek’ on stage read this article in Sunday’s Arts & Books.

RELATED:

Reviews of the Broadway show

Shrek on the Hollywood Walk of Fame

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