“Once upon a time, there was a little ogre named Shrek…” And thus begins the tale of an unlikely hero who finds himself on a life-changing journey alongside a wisecracking donkey and a feisty princess who resists her rescue. Throw in over a dozen other fairy tale misfits, and you’ve got the kind of mess that calls for a real hero.

Zachary Glasscock, in his Waterworks Players directorial debut, will direct the production and will be assisted by Carole Harper (Music Director) and Laura Millon (Choral Director).

Auditions for Shrek the Musical will be held at Waterworks Players on August 20th and 21^st at 7PM and are open to actors of all ages. Those who audition will be asked to prepare a song from the show (16-32 bars) and perform cold readings from the script. There are both male and female singing lead parts, in addition to many chorus roles. The five principal roles include:

• Shrek is a big, green, terrifying ogre who lives alone in a swamp.
• Princess Fiona is a beautiful princess of Far-Far-Away, she transforms into an ogre every night when the sun sets.
• Donkey a talking donkey who joins Shrek on the run from Farquaad’s guards. Quite the chatterbox, he is not deterred by Shrek’s looks and practically forces himself into his good graces.
• Lord Farquaad the comically short, ruthless ruler of Duloc. He is in search of a princess to marry so that he can become king. Has an intensely unfair bias against fairytale creatures that stems from a resentment of his father. Self-absorbed, lonely, and cruel. Actor must be able to play this role on his knees for the whole show.
• Dragon has been charged with guarding Princess Fiona in her isolated castle.

Ensemble roles include fairytale characters (Big Bad Wolf, Three Little Pigs, White Rabbit, Fairy Godmother, Peter Pan, Wicked Witch, Ugly Duckling, Three Bears, Mad Hatter, Humpty Dumpty, Elf, Dwarf, Three Blind Mice); an angry mob; happy people; guards; knights; and rats.

The show runs October 20, 21, 27, & 28 at 8pm. There will be a matinee performance on October 22 at 3pm.

Shrek the Musical is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI). All authorized performance materials are also supplied by MTI. The book and lyrics are by David Lindsay-Abaire and music is by Jeanine Tesori. It was originally produced on Broadway by DreamWorks Theatrical and Neal Street Productions and directed by Jason Moore and Rob Ashford.

For more information or to volunteer, contact the Waterworks Players at 434-392-3452 or info@waterworksplayers.org.