'Shrek The Musical'

It's Not Easy Being Green

Middle School Stuns in 'Shrek The Musical'

Photography by Peggy Keelan

When it came time to select 2022’s Middle School musical,

director Jason Kruger knew it had to be something special. Looking at his group of theater and choir students, he saw a group of students who were engaged, excited, and ready to take the stage, but whose performance experiences had been somewhat limited because of the pandemic. “We were looking for a show that would not only give the kids a lot of opportunities for roles, but something that would be fun for both them and the audience,” said Kruger. Shrek: The Musical fit the bill! Preparation began, with the cast and crew rehearsing songs like “What’s Up, Duloc?” and “Freak Flag,” creating otherworldly sets and costumes, and bringing to life the fairytale world

of Duloc. It was truly an all-handson-deck experience, even spanning grades outside of the Middle School. Olivia Stapleton ‘22 served as makeup artist as part of her Senior Project in which she learned the art of stage makeup and prosthetics and Greyson B. ‘32 and Madison B. ‘31 played Baby Shrek and Baby Fiona, respectively.

A large feat for Shrek in particular was the scope of work needed to bring a fantasy world like Shrek to life. When the musical in question is based on an animated film, Kruger needed to think through how to make the magic come alive on stage. “Costumes, scenery, props, lighting, and projections all had an exaggerated element. Since a lot of our budget was spent on costumes and building scenery, I spent many late night hours painting castle bricks and a giant bridge over lava in the dragon’s keep.”

One particularly fantastical element of the show was the giant dragon puppet, spanning twenty feet, that was used in several scenes. Even more special was the fact that the puppet was the exact one used in the national Broadway tour of Shrek The Musical! The puppet was enormous and required four Upper School students to operate it, and certainly brought a bit more whimsy to the production.

Though Shrek was Kruger’s last Middle School musical, he takes fond memories of the show with him in his new role on Southwest Parkway: “I’m so proud of this group of students. I’m proud of the story they created and their perseverance through Covid and everything else. It was wonderful to get to do one last show with my music director Alec Warn as well as my principal and friend Alice Nezzer, who has been in more Middle School musicals than anyone in history!” Shrek was a truly memorable show to both end Kruger’s time at the Middle School and to energize this group of talented Middle School performers to continue their theatrical career at St. Andrew’s.