This musical has been an unexpected labor of love. At the start of this school year, I had not intended on producing a full scale musical, especially not of this size. I had no way to pay for the production rights, and really no time for a production of this size, but where there is a will, there is a way. The students wanted to do a musical, and I just knew that this had to be the show.
Strangely enough, when Shrek the Musical came to the Pantages in Hollywood several years ago, I didn't even want to see it. I only kind of liked the movie, and I'm not a huge fan of turning animated movies into musicals in general. Last summer, however, my son played the Pied Piper in a youth theatre version of the show, and as he rehearsed, I found myself falling in love with the music and the story. When I saw his performance, I spent most of the show in tears.
The Broadway version of Shrek the Musical takes the message of acceptance to an entirely different level. Instead of just being about ogres falling in love, it is about outcasts standing up for themselves. The song "Freak Flag" brings tears to my eyes every time I hear it. The song says, "We've spent our whole lives wishing we weren't so freakin' strange. They made us feel that way. But it's they who need to change. The way they think, that is. It's time to stop the hiding. It's time to stand up tall. Sing hey world, I'm different, and here I am splinters and all!"
Theatre attracts the "freaks." Throughout the years, Vaughn's high school theatre productions have featured students with disabilities, students of various sexual orientations, and students who just don't fit in, alongside ASB officers, cheerleaders, and future valedictorians. But on the stage, they all find a home. Many of this year's students are new to performing arts, but through performing Shrek the Musical they have started to believe in their hearts that it is "time to stand up tall" and be proud of what makes them special, because truly, our differences are so often what make us strong.
I hope you enjoy the show as much as we have enjoyed putting it together. I hope that you see pieces of yourself within our fairy tale creatures, our conforming Dulocians, and our try-hard guards. I hope our show gives you the courage to stand up to anyone who tries to stop you from letting your freak flag fly.
Sincerely,
Nicole Mohr
Director
