At face value, Shrek the Musical is a fun and whimsical tale about a princess looking for true love and hoping to find Prince Charming along the way. This story line is in no way unique. Disney has made millions retelling this very storyline through the eyes of many different princesses in uniquely different situations.
We selected Shrek the Musical as we believe the themes within this show are exactly the themes that both young and old should be focused on within society today. Yes, it is about a princess. However, unlike most Princesses, Fiona is not perfect. She, in fact, has been locked in a tower. She lacks family and friends to care for her and she lacks friendship, love and self-esteem.
Fiona’s rescuer, Shrek, is not exactly Prince Charming either. As an Ogre, Shrek has been judged and treated unfairly, throughout life, because of his appearance. Others mock him, talk about him, avoid him and even terrorize him because of who he is. Shrek, in giving up on the judgemental society in which he lives, chooses loneliness and isolation.
This is why Shrek is the perfect show for Middle School students engaged in society today. Our children are inundated with negative messages, on a minute by minute basis, through a variety of social media platforms that did not exist a decade ago. In addition, they are growing up within a political climate in which recognizing and demonizing our differences seems to grab more headlines than celebrating our similarities and working together toward solutions. Imagine if we can get young people today to avoid judging others based upon their appearance, help them to recognize their own inner-beauty, see the value in finding friendship even when those who befriend us are uniquely different and that true love comes in many different shapes and forms within our lives.
This show is all about celebrating individual differences. Each of our characters are “freaks” in their own right, but through accepting one another, celebrating each other’s differences and loving themselves and each other, their world is a better place. The recipe for us, the audience, is exactly the same within society today.
We hope that you walk away having enjoyed an amazing musical experience. We also hope you reflect on these powerful themes and that our performance will alter the way in which you think of and believe in yourself as well as impacting, in a positive way, the way you see and interact with others.
After all, we are all Special.
Mark Wilson & Susan Gronow, Directors
