The good ogre: Broadway vet Brian d'Arcy James stars in "Shrek the Musical"

You can't blame Grace for being stunned by her dad's latest stage turn.

Grace, 6, is the daughter of the noted Broadway performer Brian d'Arcy James. She's watched him onstage before. But during an August visit to Seattle, she saw him perform in a preview of "Shrek the Musical," officially getting its world premiere Wednesday at 5th Avenue Theatre. And she was stunned by what she saw. And a little scared.

James had morphed into a reclusive, hulking ogre with a heavy Scottish accent and a bald, lime-green head with trumpet-like ears.

"It really took her by surprise, how different I looked," says the actor. "After she got over the shock, she had lots to say about the show and all kinds of favorite moments. And she gave me notes on my accent."

With family members like that, who needs theater critics?

Actually, James has been something of a critics' darling, even if few theatergoers beyond the Broadway precinct know his name. The actor — who lives in New York with Grace and his wife, actress Jennifer Prescott — has received Drama Desk award nominations, an Obie prize and a Tony Award nomination — the latter for his portrayal of a despicable New York publicist in the short-lived musical "The Sweet Smell of Success."

But in most of the dozens of parts he has played, James' own face — cleft chin, bushy black eyebrows, penetrating dark eyes — has been visible.

As Shrek, his features are obscured by a prosthetic head mask, and his body has been heavily padded to suggest the grouchy, winning hero of three hit DreamWorks animated movie features.

James leads an illustrious class of Broadway regulars in the musical, including Tony winners Sutton Foster ("Young Frankenstein") as Shrek's beloved princess and Christopher Sieber ("Monty Python's Spamalot") as Shrek's nemesis, the egocentric Lord Farquaad. Chester Gregory II (fresh from the musical "Cry-Baby") plays Shrek's donkey sidekick.

But it is James, after more than an hour in the makeup chair, who must carry the bulk of this pre-Broadway tuner. And as he sips tea in the Four Seasons Olympic Hotel, the unassuming actor seems to wear lightly the dual burden of playing Shrek his own way, and at the same time pleasing fans of the cartoon Shrek (voiced on-screen by Mike Myers).

"I'm definitely trying to honor what people who love the 'Shrek' movies expect," he says. "But we're also starting from scratch to redefine the story as a very theatrical piece."

James adds, "I like to stretch myself as an actor. There's some athleticism in this part, having to move and dance in that prosthetic and the big costume, and in elevated shoes. But I'm really a pretty lazy person, and a role like this forces me to keep in shape."

Lazy? A glance at his Web site refutes that. James' long list of roles also establishes that, despite his Irish-American good looks and potent singing voice, the 40-year-old actor has evaded typecasting.

A native of Saginaw, Mich., James looked up to his lawyer father and his Republican politician uncle.

But an older sister kindled his interest in theater. "When my sister played the lead in 'Bye Bye Birdie' in high school, I got to play Randolph, a snotty little kid. I loved it."

Eventually, James chose acting over law — decisively, after a college version of "Hair" he starred in transferred to Chicago, and earned James his Equity card and warm reviews.

Since moving to New York in 1990 James has worked onstage steadily. Before, "Shrek" (which previews at Manhattan's Broadway Theatre in November and is scheduled to open Dec. 14), James was a standout in such new musicals as "Titanic," "The Wild Party" and "Sweet Smell of Success."

He's also recorded and concertized, done the inevitable TV cameos (including "Cashmere Mafia" and "Rescue Me"), and sought out challenging, nonsinging roles as well.

A favorite: a "paid thug," in the Off Broadway, one-person play "The Good Thief," by leading Irish dramatist Conor McPherson. "That was a big success for me, professionally and personally," says James, a board member of Off Broadway's Keen Company.

But none of his previous gigs have had so much money and so many expectations riding on them as "Shrek" has. This is the first Broadway project of DreamWorks Theatricals, and the stage extravaganza is budgeted at well over $10 million. (DreamWorks won't give an exact figure).

James won the title part after several auditions for Jason Moore, the show's director, and Bill Damaschke, creative head of DreamWorks Animation and president of DreamWorks Theatricals, the show's producer.

"They wanted to go with someone relatively unknown," James says humbly. "I'm grateful for their confidence."

Preparing for the part, James wanted Shrek to "have layers. You want the audience to see that this is someone who's lived a life of solitude, someone people consider a hideous beast and threaten with pitchforks."

James claims DreamWorks gave the creative team (including author-lyricist David Lindsay-Abaire and composer Jeanine Tesori) creative freedom to concoct their own version of "Shrek," based on the first film version and the William Steig children's book that inspired it.

It entails elaborate visuals and stagecraft.

"The backstage choreography is a lot more intricate than what you can see onstage," James explains. "But we got through our first invited dress rehearsal with no problems."

James knows what it's like when it is not smooth sailing. "Our first public performance of 'Titanic' ran 3 ½ hours, and the ship sort of ran aground," he recalls, laughing.

With "Shrek," the only calamity so far has been daughter Grace's fleeting concern. "She got it over it. She knows now, it's just Daddy."

Misha Berson: mberson@seattletimes.com