This weekend, the choir will put on three performances of Shrek: The Musical. Based on the famous movie, this musical includes all the fun and innovative aspects of the story we all know with song and dance. The musical retains all of the iconic scenes and dialogue, but also delivers something new, even if people have seen the musical performed before.

This is the choir’s first independent musical production, and it does a good job of standing out as such. The main character Shrek, played by senior Evan Welliver, goes all out in portraying an ogre. In green face makeup and a bulky frame, he sings as well as would be expected from a senior in choir. The same can be said for Fiona, played by senior Hannah Barnard. The expertise in singing is obvious, and their talents are well portrayed. Other standout vocal performances are all over the cast from big to small characters like Dragon (Sophia Gaunt) and, Gingy (Sydney Levine). It was extremely interesting to go from the movie, where Dragon is a simple non-speaking character, to the musical where she is powerfully singing a solo with confidence, sass, and depth. Gingy, the gingerbread man, is a squeaky-voiced felt cookie on a platter, but the person behind his voice delivers a complex and very well done twist on his character and provides high-pitch with the ability of still making the vocals sound beautiful. The vocal performances were by far the highlight of the musical, and my favorite vocal number was “Freak Flag,” a song about the Fairytale Creatures accepting who they are with sweet harmonies and a cute dance to match.

The story was also told with a bit more depth, done with song and more focus on smaller characters. Donkey, played by senior Corbin King, was the comic relief character of the show, and did not lack in any area. His solo song had solid vocals and funny acting mixed to make an overall entertaining performance. While the Shrek movie only touched on Shrek and Fiona’s relationship, it is seen further through performances like Donkey’s solo song. Another hilarious character was Lord Farquaad, played by sophomore Sam Smoot, who performed the whole show on his knees, which did not limit his vocal performance. I also enjoyed the Fairytale Creatures, who have an interesting and entertaining side-plot that comes together with the main plot in the end. They were a large group made out of many individuals with great personality, and all of them stood out in their own way.

Overall, it was a fun musical with great vocal performances and a nice story. There were some hiccups, such as a slur being used in the first act that could bother some audience members, but other than that the musical was enjoyable and I had a good time watching it. This was the first time I have seen a school musical, and I am glad I saw it. I congratulate the choir program on a well done first production, and I wish them luck this weekend.