[For the remainder of the year, my San Jose and Peninsula theater reviews will be posted on Talkin’ Broadway with only introductions to those reviews on this site].

Playwright/lyricist David Lindsay-Abaire and composer Jeanine Tesori have conquered Broadway individually and as a team.  Their second collaboration was the highly decorated Kimberly Akimbo, 2023 Tony Award winner for Best Musical and four other Tonys.  Their first was Shrek the Musical, an adaptation of the film which had received glowing reviews and huge box office returns.

The moderately successful Broadway showing was reworked for the highly popular West End production and again for touring.  The final result offered by Broadway San Jose is a charming and whimsical journey with all of the production values expected from a touring show.  While its fairy tale atmosphere and roots in animation suggest an appeal to pre-teens, the themes and references are very adult, and the theater audience tilts toward young adults who may have seen the movie as children.

Shrek is a ponderous, green-faced, self-loathing ogre whose swamp has been overrun by fairy tale characters.  The devious Lord Farquaad owns the swamp, and Shrek arranges to deliver Princess Fiona for Farquaad to marry in turn for Shrek’s regaining control of the swamp.  Accompanied by the loquacious Donkey, Shrek triumphs over obstacles on the route, except that he falls in love with Fiona who shows contempt for her captor.

Please continue to https://www.talkinbroadway.com/page/regional/sanjose/sj265.html for full review.