In case you missed it, someone decided that we needed a musical made out of Shrek. I’m still not sure we deserve this kind of content. Shrek The Musical has played on Broadway and The West End, and now The All Star (pun intended) Australian cast is shreking all expectations.
Todd McKenney, who most recently appeared on Channel 7’s All New Monty and The Real Dirty Dancing, is the newest cast member. McKenney will play pint-sized patrician Lord Farquaad in the upcoming musical’s Melbourne and Sydney seasons. McKenney’s other stage credits include Grease, The Rocky Horror Show and The Boy From Oz. He’s also loved by mums nationwide.
McKenney joins Packed To The Rafters star Ben Mingay (Shrek), Marcia Hines (Dragon) and Lucy Durack (Princess Fiona) in the swamp from January at Sydney Lyric Theatre. The Sydney season will be followed by runs at Melbourne‘s Her Majesty’s Theatre from February and Brisbane‘s Lyric Theatre from May.
“I’m thrilled that Todd has joined the cast of Shrek The Musical” said producer, John Frost.
“Todd will bring to Lord Farquaad his wonderful sense of comedy and fun alongside Ben, Lucy and Marcia. I can’t wait to see him in this role. We have assembled a fantastic cast, which we will announce shortly.”
A musical with layers
Shrek The Musical features nineteen (count ’em) new songs, and a multi-million dollar budget. A rendition of ‘I’m A Believer’, popularised by The Monkees and covered by Smash Mouth in the 2001 film, also features in the stage show.
We can only hope that the film’s iconic Gingerbread man torture scene, catchphrases and risque humour make it onto the stage.
There is still no word on who will be tackling the roles of Donkey, Pinocchio or Gingy. Given the cast already assembled, I’m sure we’ll be OGRE the moon whoever it is. Sorry.
