As many of you may know, this is my first year at Monroe-Woodbury High School and it has been such a joy to get to be part of this wonderful community of students, admin, faculty, and families. I have felt truly welcomed by this amazing group of people and I want to take a moment to express my gratitude to the Crusader community for their acceptance and support. I would like to give a special thank you to Ms. Balousek, Mr. Clark, and Mr. Kerstanski for their hard work and dedication to the technical side of the show. Principal Correa-Soto and the admin team for all their support throughout this process. Anthony Scarrone for a donation of lights to use in the show. The Drama Boosters for helping to set up the Senior Citizen special performance. And, as always, the final thank you goes to my amazing, talented, and dedicated cast and crew. It is a privilege getting to work with you all, and you surprise and delight me every day with your wonderful, unique ideas and passion for your art forms. I can’t wait for this audience to get to experience all that amazing work on stage.
One thing I think that the theatre does very well, is celebrate uniqueness. The best actors are those with an undeniably unique and interesting way of looking at the world. Too often in life we are told to hide that uniqueness, that it makes us “weird” or “uncool”. Shrek is a musical about embracing what makes you unique, what makes you special, and not letting anyone put you into a box. It is a musical about taking control of your own story, and not letting others tell it for you. It is a musical about being true to yourself, while also being open to opportunities to change and grow. It is also a musical about fart jokes. Let’s just say it has layers.
Thank you for coming to our show. We appreciate each and every one of you in the audience. I know you will enjoy watching it as much as I enjoyed working on it. So, sit back, relax, and let your freak flag fly!
Best,
Mr. Kaplan
