Charlotte Varcoe
THE Sir Robert Helpmann Theatre stage will be transformed into a fairy tale swamp as St Martins Lutheran College brings Shrek the Musical to life.
Based on the classic early 2000’s film about everyone’s favourite green ogre, long-lost princess and talking donkey, students will perform the musical adaptation this week.
College drama teacher Andy Ahren said the idea for the musical “jumped out” at the students as the right choice for the school performance.
He said students in the performance were generally those who expressed a love for both music and theatre, with many also experienced dancers and singers.
“This is an opportunity for them to display their skills and anyone who did a musical at school probably remembers it with fond memories,” Mr Ahren said.
“These performances live with you forever and I love watching the development of the cast from the early rehearsals to the final rehearsals when they are all working together and supporting each other as a team.”
Mr Ahren said despite recent COVID-19 restrictions impacting rehearsal times, the cast had bounced back and has held extra rehearsals to get back on track.
“I believe this production of Shrek is going to be something very special and the wonderful music without multi-talented cast will bring their audiences a night to remember,” he said.
Taking on the role of the green ogre himself, Gajanan Frost said he was thrilled to be on the team during his gap year.
He said the most enjoyable part of portraying the fan favourite character was getting a good grip on how Shrek would act and interact with other characters.
“I am looking forward to performing the show with the rest of the cast, especially in full costume,” Mr Frost said.
“I think the audience is really going to enjoy the musical pieces and the dialogue but especially the music and vocalists which really brings the show to life.”
Playing Mr Frost’s right-hand man, Donkey, Rachel Lindsay said she looked forward to bringing the excitable and over-energised character to life.
“Donkey is in the moment all the time, he never holds his tongue and doesn’t give a damn what anyone thinks,” Ms Lindsay said.
“It really feels great to play a character that brings joy to everyone by just being himself.”
She said the audience could look forward to gorgeous harmonies and a number of captivating moments, especially when they meet Lilly Marr-McGuire’s character Fiona.
Ms Marr-McGuire echoed her fellow cast member’s excitement, stating the actors had developed a strong on-stage chemistry.
“We all work together to make the performance the best it can be and our band is incredible because the music they play sounds amazing and brings the entire show to life,” Ms Marr-McGuire said.
Opening night is scheduled for Thursday at 7pm with a follow-up performance on Friday at the same time.
Tickets are available at the Sir Robert Helpmann Theatre box office.
