‘Shrek the Musical’
Performances are scheduled for June 20-22 and June 26-28 at the Historic Crawford School. Times are 7:30 p.m. June 20-21 and 26-28, and at 3 p.m. June 22. Tickets are $20 and can be purchased at artso.booktix.com.
Arts!Oglethorpe will wrap up its 30th season with a production of “Shrek the Musical,” set to open Friday, June 20 at the Historic Crawford School.
The show will run for two weekends, from June 20–22 and June 26–28.
Based on the popular animated film, “Shrek the Musical” follows the story of an unlikely hero, tackling themes of acceptance and identity through humor and music.
“I think Shrek tells a great story of being judged because you might look different or sound different or live in a different way,” director Penny Miller said.
Arts!Oglethorpe founder Bly Hartley said the show’s broad appeal and heartfelt message made it a perfect fit for the organization’s milestone year.
“I pushed really hard for Shrek because since it’s our 30th anniversary, we wanted to do something that was family friendly and something that would include at least a couple of kids, but not a children’s show,” Hartley said.
Among the cast are several actors from Hart County Community Theatre, including Bradley Sullivan and Rickey Leware who will play Shrek and Donkey. For Sullivan, this will be his first musical.
“We have a very strong cast, which is exciting,” Hartley said. “We have a wide spectrum of folks in there. We have some people who’ve never done a show before. We have some people who’ve never done a musical before.”
Adding to the production’s sense of nostalgia is Sonja Roach, who appeared in Arts!Oglethorpe’s first-ever show, “Music Man,” and is returning to the stage alongside her family.
“It’s like a full-circle moment, that she's come back to celebrate this with us,” Miller said.
Roach is cast as the Sugar Plum Fairy and Gingy, and her son, August Thompson, will play Pinocchio. Roach’s husband, Robert, will play Thelonious.
Roach reflected on the experience of sharing the stage with her son, who was just 3 years old when she first performed with Arts!Oglethorpe.
“He vaguely remembers me doing something there, but not really. He was so little,” Roach said. “But it’s really nice to be sharing the stage. Anytime we can be in a production together is fun.”
The cast and crew hope to bring depth to the familiar story with the musical stage adaptation.
“I’m excited to share the music with people because I think that most people’s experience with Shrek is the movie and not the musical,” Miller said.