AHS drama presents 'Shrek the Musical'

The popular green ogre Shrek will come to the Arlington High School’s stage during their production of ‘Shrek the Musical’ in March.

The play will be presented on March 4, 5, 11 and 12, at 7 p.m., with a matinee on March 12 at 1 p.m., as well.

“It’s not super different from the movie, but it is different,” said Arlington High School student Will Litton, who plays Shrek.

He said the musical version puts a little more emphasis on Shrek’s character development.

“It’s really fun to play this comedic, angry character where you get laughs out of people but it’s really telling the story of this character and his redemption arc,” said Litton.

The musical still keep the whimsical joy of the original film.

“It’s just so much fun,” said Arlington High School student Emily Colombo. “Everyone will find something they will enjoy and I think that’s one of the reasons why it was chosen."

Many of the actors for the play are familiar with the film from their own childhood.

Arlington High School student Carter Kikuchi plays the character of Donkey.

“It is just so fun to play such an iconic character, as well as work with my friend who is leading as Shrek,” he said.

“To play such well-known roles can be a daunting task, but it is so much fun because you get to take what these talented actors have done and add what you can to it,” said Colombo, who plays Princess Fiona.

Coen Reid, who plays Lord Farquaad, said he is enjoying getting into his role as well.

“He’s a very flamboyant short little man that has power issues, so basically I’ve just been doing a lot of screaming at people which is a lot of fun,” said Reid.

The musical version of the film was originally performed on Broadway and includes a suite of original songs.

“Whenever there are emotions you can’t express through words, it takes more than that. So the highs and lows of the stories and their character arcs are just made so much better, more emotional through these songs,” said Litton.

Student were glad to have a production with a lot of fun roles for actors.

“We’ve been in this rut for about two years without doing anything,” said Colombo, who added it was good to have something fun and energetic to do.

“It has a lot of little individual parts that everyone gets to do, and after two years of not being able to perform it gives everyone a chance to shine,” said Kikuchi.

Students said they enjoyed getting to bring the production to Arlington.

“These three people I’m working with I have been friends with for years. We’ve grown close over COVID and now getting this chance to work with them on stage on this passion project is one of the most amazing things I think I’ll experience in my life,” said Litton.

Tickets are already sold out for opening night and Litton thanked the community for their support.

Seats are still available for March 5, 11 and 12 and those tickets can be purchased at byrnesperformingarts.org. No tickets will be sold at the door.