Shrek, the Musical begins performances tonight

BY Dawn Rankins

It’s showtime. Shrek the Musical’s opening night is tonight with three more performances set for tomorrow and Sunday. The shows of the Canyon Lake Community Theatre will take place at the Elsinore High School Performing Arts Theater.

The first presentation will be tonight (Friday) at 7:00 p.m., followed by two performances tomorrow, the first one beginning at 2:00 p.m., followed by a second showing at 7:00 p.m. The cast will wrap up the show on Sunday at 2:00 p.m.

Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased either on the club’s website at www.clctheatre.com or at the door.

VIP seats for the first two rows are $20.00 each and for rows three and four are $15.00 each. All other seats are general admission tickets at $10.00 each.

“This is the club‘s first full production since the pandemic and we are super excited to bring this musical to you,” Michelle Swann, club secretary, said. “We have been feverishly rehearsing for the last several weeks to bring you ‘Shrek the Musical’.”

The musical presentation is intended for the entire family and is filled with musical numbers.

“You’ll be blown away when Chris Vecchione (Shrek) belts out his powerhouse vocals,” Beth, who plays one of the Three Little Piggies, said. “It gives me chills, and tears well up every time he sings, ‘Who I’d Be.’ I’ve seen the Broadway version and Chris blows it away.”

Due to the size constraints at the Canyon Lake Lodge, Nicole said the group was fortunate to obtain a large enough stage at Elsinore High.

“I’m so glad the community theatre is continuing to move forward with productions,” Bobby Swan, one of the cast members, said. “It’s been a long few years without activity.”

The show, much like the popular movie, is set in a mythical “once upon a time” sort of land.

Shrek the Musical is the story of a hulking green ogre who, after being mocked and feared his entire life by anything that crosses his path, retreats to an ugly green swamp to exist in happy isolation.

Suddenly, a gang of homeless fairy-tale characters (Pinocchio, Cinderella, the Three Pigs, and others) raid his sanctuary, saying they’ve been evicted by the vertically-challenged Lord Farquaad. So Shrek strikes a deal: “I’ll get your homes back if you give me my home back.”

But, when Shrek and Farquaad meet, Farquaad strikes a deal of his own. He’ll give the fairy-tale characters their homes back if Shrek rescues Princess Fiona.

Shrek obliges, yet finds something appealing–something strange and different–about this pretty princess. He likes her. A lot. But why does she always run off when the sun sets?

The Canyon Lake Community Theatre cast ranges in ages from three to 75.

“We have big green ogres and a bunch of nutty fairy-tale creatures of all ages, shapes and sizes,” Nicole Garvito said.

“Come see your favorites like Pinocchio, the Big Bad Wolf, the Three Little Pigs and Three Blind Mice and so much more.”