Theater review | "Shrek" tickles young hearts without forced dazzle

Theater Review |

NEW YORK CITY — Some call it agreeable, delightful, even "fabulous fare." Others deem it flawed, desperate-to-please and (in the faintest praise of all, from The New York Times) "not bad."

The yes/no/so-so critical reaction to "Shrek the Musical" (which opened Sunday at the Broadway Theatre) is not the 21-gun fanfare DreamWorks Theatricals was hoping for in its first Broadway venture.

Then again, the Seattle-hatched "Shrek the Musical" is the only big-deal tuner aimed at the under-tween set to reach Broadway so far this season. It is largely likable, and has $1 million-plus in advance ticket sales. And its fate could well depend less on yea/nay reviews than on word-of-mouth chatter, and how pinched family entertainment budgets fare in this recession.

Based on the first of three hit animated films (which were inspired by a beloved William Steig storybook), "Shrek the Musical" is still much the same mild-mannered, raffishly amusing, unpretentious tuner about a grumpy lime-green ogre who learns to accept himself — and make nice with others.

The $10 million-plus effort was introduced to the world by DreamWorks Theatricals at 5th Avenue Theatre last August.

And how has it evolved since its warm (if not scorching) reception in Seattle?

David Lindsay-Abaire has made some nips and tucks in his book for the live show (which is in key respects faithful to the movie "Shrek"). And composer Jeanine Tesori and lyricist Lindsay-Abaire have polished their peppy, melodic and sometimes witty score.

One major role was wisely recast. Daniel Breaker now is shaking those hoofs as Donkey, Shrek's jive-spouting sidekick, making the part funnier, campier, more endearing.

At a recent press preview of "Shrek the Musical," a crowd of excited children and their adult escorts seemed engaged by the comic adventures of Donkey and Shrek (the latter still played, under mounds of fuzzy green padding, by intrepid Brian d'Arcy James), if not overwhelmed by them.

They followed alertly as Shrek tried to secure his swamp home, and shyly fell for Sutton Foster's dulcet-voiced, sweetly daffy Princess Fiona. (Foster's initial song "I Know It's Today," is still a delight, as is her exultant tune "Morning Person.")

The antics of a mob of misfit fairy-tale characters (led by John Tartaglia's rabble-rousing Pinocchio) drew hearty laughs. Though the (many) fart jokes earned more.

And as predicted, Christopher Sieber (as the tater-tot-sized meanie Prince Farquaad) won real hoots — especially in the Busby Berkeley-esque number, "What's Up, Duloc?"

As in Seattle, however, the pink puppet dragon that Shrek and Donkey encounter is still an eye-batting creature that neither scares nor tickles, and remains weirdly disjointed in physique. It's the weakest element in Tim Hatley's lushly colorful design scheme, and a missed chance to add suspense to a thin plot.

The gags cleverly wedged in by director Jason Moore and choreographer Josh Prince — to spoof such sister musicals as "A Chorus Line" and "The Lion King" — are best appreciated by adult Broadway mavens. And while Disney can surely absorb a few light blows, the gags may remind you that the DreamWorks Theatricals rival has several long-running family shows — "Lion King," "Mary Poppins" and "The Little Mermaid" — in theaters nearby, all sporting more razzle-dazzle (and drawing bigger crowds) than "Shrek."

Ironically, it is the more intimate, less machine-tooled aspect of the Shrek tuner that distinguishes the show from others of its ilk. Its pleasures are refreshingly unforced and modest — especially for those who've had it with overwrought commercial knockoffs of animated screen hits.

But given the global popularity of the "Shrek" brand — and the staggering profits the first three "Shrek" movies raked in, with fourth and fifth sequels to follow — the pressures on "Shrek the Musical" to become a DreamWorks blockbuster must be enormous.

A more likely scenario is that the show will run at least a year or more, divert audiences pleasantly, but may fall short of the heavy expectations placed on the ample shoulders of a big, green protagonist — a guy who'd just as soon be home rustling up a dinner of bugs and slugs as basking in the spotlight.

Misha Berson: mberson@seattletimes.com