The largest cast in the history of Four Corners Musical Theater took to the Farmington Civic Center stage Thursday for the opening of “Shrek the Musical.”
“Shrek the Musical” runs at 7:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and at 2 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays through Aug. 9 in the Miriam Taylor Theater at the civic center.
“We have a cast of 72,” said Randy West, director. “We have considerably more middle school and teenagers. We have fathers with sons in the show and mothers with daughters in the show.”
West said since the implementation of the summer musical theater program, which has a good number of community members performing beside professional actors, has been used “to bring people together in the summer.”
“It’s gotta be not just a musical theater company, but Farmington’s musical theater company,” West said, adding he has been “working diligently to grow roots into the community.”
“Shrek the Musical” is the second show of the summer season with the first being “Grease,” which was performed in the Sandstone Amphitheater at Lions Wilderness Park.
The full cast only had two weeks to rehearse for the show, so the locals needed to know their music and dances so they could “jump in with the professionals,” West said, adding the locals can blend into the full performance and professional actors are happy to mentor participants.
“We have the 14 days, and it’s nice to have performers, leads coming in knowing the material,” said JJ Novembrini, the musical director. “I had to focus on the ensemble. Professionals came in prepared, and I had more focus on the community group to get them integrated.”
Novembrini said he saw the second Broadway preview of “Shrek the Musical” with music by Jeanine Tesori and book and lyrics by David Lindsay-Abaire.
“I wasn’t wild about it, but they’ve tweaked it,” Novembrini said. “When I heard the talent that was going to be in the show, I knew I had to do it. I’m enjoying it more than the Broadway version.”
In addition to vocals, the local performers had to work on learning dance routines as well as the rehearsal process and stage direction, said Sarah Harkness, choreographer.
Her greatest challenge, she said, was taking all of those bodies and fitting them onto the Civic Center stage while still “helping them feel empowered with the movement.”
“Shrek the Musical” is based on the DreamWorks film “Shrek.” It has a “message of tolerance accepting people and learning about the world in a positive way,” West said.
“This was written for some of Broadway’s top talent. We are lucky we have the people to do this,” West said.
Tickets for are $16-$28 and are available at the Farmington Civic Center, located at 200 W. Arrington St. in Farmington. They are available online at https://www.farmingtonnm.gov/489/Civic-Center-Shows-and-Events or by calling (505) 599-1148.
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