Michael Morgen is a believer that the Whidbey Children’s Theatre upcoming production of “Shrek, Jr. the Musical” is well worth the price of admission.
“I always want to tell people how good the shows are here because sometimes people think of them as only being for kids, because it’s a children’s theater,” the director said, “but I would hold a lot of our shows up against any other theater company on Whidbey as being really powerful and well done.”
The theater is bringing the evergreen and humorous classic to the Langley stage July 19-21 and 25-28, with Sunday matinees beginning at 2 p.m. and all other shows starting at 7 p.m. Tickets are $15 for youth ages 4-19 and $18 for adults.
Viewers of the beloved 2001 DreamWorks film animated film will find many similarities in the play, which follows the story of a surly ogre who, aided by his loquacious “noble steed,” goes on a quest to rescue a beautiful princess with an ugly secret so he can get his swamp back from the various magical creatures camping there. The story comes alive on stage with the addition of music, including a few songs from the movie soundtrack and several others that will be new to the audience.
For many in the all-ages cast, the musical has some profound themes that resonate with them.
“I think the story of ‘Shrek’ is really interesting because it’s basically a spoof on what we think of as the classic fairytale,” said 16-year-old Kenneth Martin, who plays the squat, evil Lord Farquaad. “So a lot of it is comedic but then when you look deeper there’s all these messages like being yourself and being accepting of other people and what it means to be beautiful or kind or good or a hero.”
One particular song, “Freak Flag,” is about “being your magical unique person despite what other people might say,” according to Morgen.
“I think it’s hilarious, it’s timely, because it’s about being yourself in a society that doesn’t approve of you, is really what ‘Shrek’ is about,” he said of the show.
The former South Whidbey resident is visiting from Pittsburgh to direct this summer’s rendition of “Shrek, Jr. the Musical.” It’s a full-circle moment in more ways than one for Morgen, who was supposed to direct the musical 10 years ago for the Whidbey Children’s Theatre. Unfortunately, the publishing house revoked the theatrical rights because at the time there was a professional touring production of the show coming to Seattle.
“We tried to tell them, ‘Um, we’re not exactly going to dent your numbers,’ but they have a rule where they don’t let anyone do regional productions within a certain radius of that,” Morgen said with a laugh.
A South Whidbey High School alum, Morgen’s own freshman musical took place on the Whidbey Children’s Theatre stage while a new stage was under construction at the high school.
“Shrek, Jr. the Musical” is the last show in the theater’s 2023-2024 season, which is fittingly titled “Encore!” since the plays have all previously been done before. “Shrek, Jr. the Musical” was the theater’s summer classic show in 2018.
Some of the actors in this year’s cast have fond memories of seeing their friends and older siblings in the production six years ago.
“That kind of sparked me into doing theater and this show’s just really special to me,” said 11-year-old Lydia Rieneckert, who plays a teenage version of Princess Fiona, as well as a Duloc citizen, Mama Bear and a forest creature.
Two alumni who are young adults have returned this summer from college to be part of the musical, but they’re not reprising their lead roles from the 2018 version.
“I would have loved to be Donkey again, but that time has passed,” said 21-year-old Callum Cassée. “It’s time for someone else to learn the things that we learned by playing those parts.”
Aidan Martin, 20, played Cassée’s counterpart of Shrek in the original production.
“We got to be really good friends last time we did ‘Shrek,’ so it’s kind of fun to play the two ogre parents this time,” Martin said.
The alumni have enjoyed passing the torch and watching the young actors growing closer together in their principal roles.
“Some of these younger kids are absolutely ridiculous, in the best of ways,” Martin said.
Theater remains an integral part of their lives, as they both are studying it in college.
Last year – the start of the “Encore!” season — also marked the 10th anniversary of the Whidbey Children’s Theatre moving from the downtown Porter Building to its current location at the South Whidbey Community Center, the site of the former middle school.
“As with all of the arts and with nonprofits, it was a leap of faith for sure to change locations and come into this new space and work with the school district,” Morgen said.
Martha Murphy founded the long-running theater in 1981, which usually puts on four to five shows per season.
For more information, visit wctmagic.org.
From left, the cast includes Leah Bixby (Pied Piper), Callum Cassée (Big Bad Wolf), Layla Akhtar (Peter Pan), Lydia Rieneckert (Mama Bear), Juniper Falker (Baby Bear), Aidan Martin (Grandpapa Bear), Kenneth Martin (Lord Farquaad), Tevrin Murray (Pinocchio), Noelani Martin (Donkey), Michael Morgen (Director) and Lily Cerda (Dragon). (Photo by David Welton)
From left, Tevrin Murray, Callum Cassée, Leah Bixby, Aidan Martin and Layla Akhtar as fairytale creatures flee from director Michael Morgen, who is standing in for the fearsome ogre Shrek in this scene. (Photo by David Welton)
Director Michael Morgen, acting as Shrek, looks out menacingly at the assembled fairytale creatures. From left, Tevrin Murray, Layla Akthar, Lydia Rieneckert, Juniper Falke, Aidan Martin and Callum Cassée. (Photo by David Welton)
