Shrek the Musical opens at Globe Theatre

The swamp-dwelling ogre and donkey sidekick of Dreamworks’ fame will be going on a quest at Regina’s Globe Theatre as Shrek the Musical opens this week.

Daniel Williston is taking on the role of Shrek made famous by Mike Meyers in the animated movie. He doesn’t find it too daunting to try to live up to that well-loved performance, because he plans to make it his own.

“The one thing that I have that none of the other people who have played Shrek before have is that I’m me, so I’m going to be able to bring some of myself to this role and my own experience,” Williston told the CJME Morning Show in an interview.

“Hopefully be able to do as good a job but also do a slightly different job, so if people come and they’re hoping for just the Mike Myers (version), they might get something more than they bargained for,” Williston said.

Audiences will recognize all their favourite characters from the movie, but the plot will drift slightly away from the original to show more of the motivation for each character.

“The musical does go to great lengths to make the story much more clear about what each person is driving for and what Shrek’s journey is,” Williston commented.

Like the classic line from the movie, this rendition of Shrek will add more layers to the ogre’s character.

“I think there’s an element that’s really punched home in the musical that’s not so much in the movie about the courage it takes to be vulnerable,” he said.

Williston said Shrek wants to be alone and left to his own devices because he has been hurt in the past. So beyond slaying the dragon, his real hero’s journey is about confessing his love for someone and to let people in.

The show opens Wednesday, May 23 and has been extended to run until June 24, tickets are available online.