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JERRY BECK
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AMID AMIDI
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Truth in Advertising: Shrek the Musical
by amid
September 20, 2008 7:18 am


They said it so I don’t have to: a surprisingly accurate ad for the Broadway version of Shrek.

Shrek Musical

09/20/08  7:38am

I guess this means that this season- Whack is the new Black?

09/20/08  7:42am
Roberto says:

Ha, ha, that’s priceless.

Odd poster design, I think I kinda like it for some reason. Maybe cause it’s abstract and doesn’t include ultra-realistic pores.

09/20/08  8:52am
Saturnome says:

It’s a very nice looking poster.

09/20/08  9:20am
BLORT! says:

I wasn’t sure if this was a joke when I saw it a few weeks back..
You see all kinds of odd stuff on the subway walls. But, I wasn’t ready for this….

P

09/20/08  9:57am
Andrew says:

Will it look the same in live-action as it does in CGI?

At any rate, advertisers are learning. :)

09/20/08  10:10am
Peter says:

It’s in a trial run right now in Seattle - reviews are unkind and they are already having to give away blocks of free tickets to try to fill the theater.

It’s THREE HOURS LONG!!!

09/20/08  10:27am

The posters do work… in a way. I think they’re definitely taking a risk with the copy though.

But the design is definitely more sophisticated than I would’ve expected. Then again, it’s for a musical and not a movie.

09/20/08  11:31am
Dan Pinto says:

I actually like the ad. Didn’t much care for the movie and definately won’t see the musical but, I don’t see whats so bad about the advertisement.

09/20/08  12:38pm
jip says:

I dislike Shrek a lot.
But this poster isn’t that ugly.
I like it!:)

09/20/08  1:46pm
Skip says:

The poster looks nicer than the films, for sure. But it’s also correct.

09/20/08  2:13pm
Scott-ism says:

I saw this in Seattle last week where it premiered. While it was fairly enjoyable and added a bit to the world of Shrek the most redeeming element of the production was Lord Farquad. he alone brought it up from bland to enjoyable for me. None of the songs really struck a chord that had me humming them 3 days later (a quality of a good musical) If you love all things shrek then yeah go see it. otherwise you may or may not like it.

09/20/08  2:42pm

Here’s hoping this paves the way for Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Titan A.E.

09/20/08  8:00pm
Bugsmer says:

I don’t think ANYONE’s ready for this.

09/21/08  10:57am
doug holverson says:

Is it trying out at the Paramount or someplace else in Seattle?

09/21/08  11:14am
Aleksandar Vujovic says:

All-right! Ugly hasn’t been in since the 80’s!

Actually, this is grievous news.

09/21/08  6:06pm
Pedro Nakama says:

Is it just me or does it seem like there’s nothing to look forward to in the entertainment industry? All plays are now being based on movies. All movies are now being based on TV shows.

09/21/08  10:22pm
Bob says:

I wish these would have been the posters for the movies.

I miss graphic simplicity in animation.

B.

09/22/08  10:57am
Ryan W. Mead says:

The tagline plays on a Justin Timberlake lyric, “I’m bringing sexy back.” To tell you the truth, Shrek isn’t really that ugly- but he sure as heck ain’t sexy, either.

09/22/08  3:17pm
King Zilch says:

It’s at the Fifth Avenue, not the Paramount.

I saw this a couple weeks ago, when my wife and I were given tickets as an anniversary present; otherwise, I wouldn’t have even considered going. Overall, well, I’ve seen worse. Lord Farquaad steals the show, and manages to find lots of inventive new gags with the old “put shoes on your knees to play a short person” bit. I fell in love with the gorgeous Sutton Foster as Fiona, and there was a lot of great business with the exiled fairytale characters.

On the downside, certain scenes felt padded and poorly paced. And worst of all was Shrek himself. They felt the need to cast a typical Broadway leading-man type, thin and athletic, then disguise him under tons of padding and makeup. Most of the time he just stood there, seemingly off-balance from all the padding to make him look fat and menacing. I know this idea is blasphemy these days, but how about casting a fat actor, one who’s used to moving with the extra padding? Remember, Meat Loaf got his start in musical theater, in early productions of Hair and Rocky Horror. In addition to his limited physicality, the guy’s performance was nothing more than a half-assed attempt to sound like Mike Myers. I realize that this was probably mandated by Dreamworks, but I hope they’ll realize that an actor has to be free to make a part his own.

In all, I’d say they do what they do well enough, but they have to decide if it’s worth doing. I don’t regret going, at least not when the tickets were a gift, but it’s not something I would have paid for. My recommendation, skip this, and wait and see Sutton Foster in a better show.

Mmmm, Sutton Foster….
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLDq-2e2JC0

09/22/08  6:04pm
acetate says:

Still copying Disney I see as they move their animated feature to Broadway. Not original, but at least he’s consistent.

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