Shrek Starts Broadway Performances

The new stage musical version of Shrek starts performances on Broadway today. Brian d'Arcy James, who has been on Broadway in many shows including Titanic and Sweet Smell of Success, stars as Shrek himself, and Sutton Foster (most recently seen on Broadway in Young Frankenstein) plays Princess Fiona. The big green musical will have its official opening at the Broadway Theatre on December 14.

Casting For Broadway Shrek Announced

At last, after a long casting process, Broadway has its Shrek. Broadway and New York theater regular Brian d'Arcy James (Titanic, Sweet Smell of Success) will play the big green ogre -- presumably with some sort of fat suit and make-up, as James is neither large, nor green. Chester Gregory II (Cry-Baby, Tarzan, Hairspray) will play Donkey, the character voiced memorably by Eddie Murphy in the Shrek films. And John Tartaglia, best known for playing puppets Princeton and Rod in the original Off-Broadway and Broadway companies of Avenue Q, will be Pinocchio. As previously announced, Sutton Foster (currently on Broadway in Young Frankenstein) will play Princess Fiona.

Off-Broadway Musical Next To Normal Opens

The new Off-Broadway musical Next To Normal, written by Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey, opens tonight at Second Stage Theatre in New York City. Alice Ripley and Brian d'Arcy James, both Broadway regulars, star in the production, which is directed by Michael Greif (most famous for helming Broadway's Rent). Composer Tom Kitt's most recent New York show was High Fidelity, which had a very short run on Broadway's Great White Way.