When I hear the words “high school” and “musical” in the same sentence, and they aren’t referring to the iconic Troy Bolton biography, I am usually a little skeptical about what is about to unfold. Some high school theater programs, like my own, are infamous for producing low-effort and minimally entertaining shows. The cycle of being low-funded and poorly populated usually results in these catastrophes. However, this past week, a certain drama department blew my mind and all of those stereotypes out of the water.
I love a good musical. Even a basic high school production makes me a jolly woman. But, there’s always something. Kids are still in their awkward stage, so there always seems to be a few stragglers in the ensemble. Not every school has the funding to do fly systems and fog machines. But, when all the right pieces (and money) come together, you get the phenomenal performance of “Shrek” at Lincoln Southwest High School (LSW).
I didn’t think this column would come to reviewing high school drama productions, but here we are. The costumes, vocals, sound effects, lights, set and overall vibes were too impeccable not to share with this campus newspaper. I am going into this with the understanding that “Shrek” is synonymous with the ABCs in our generation, and henceforth does not need a synopsis of its glory.
I should start by naming some logistics. The Lincoln Public Schools (LPS) district gives the LSW drama department $2,000 for an entire year of performances. The budget for this show alone was $35,000. You might be asking, where does the other $33,000 come from? It comes from some heavy-duty fundraising and rather generous donations. I thought that was a typo when I saw it in the program. It was not. Holy cannoli, does that money go to good use, though? There was not one aspect of the show that I thought could have used improvement. Let me give you some examples.
Costumes: each costume seemed to be perfectly curated for every actor, even the ensemble. The whimsical dragon actress came with an absolutely ginormous dragon puppeteer to accentuate the monstrosity she is. Paired with fire vocals, I totally understand why Donkey was mesmerized. Pinocchio’s nose even grew with each lie he told. Fiona could’ve worn her dress to prom because it was that perfect. The Goldilocks bears looked so comfortable, yet so bear-like. Shrek looked like a proper ogre. Don’t even get me started on Lord Farquaad and his army’s wigs. Top-tier. Truly.
Vocals: not even a voice crack could have been heard because of the flawlessness of the songs. The diction was crisp, and the tone was perfect. Any one of those singers could have gone to auditions on Broadway, and no one would have batted an eye. Complimented by a pit orchestra, their first in about 15 years, the music was just as good, or even better than the movie. Ending the show with a rendition of “Believer,” even the grandma sitting behind me couldn’t help but boogie along.
Set: a fog machine underneath the bedroom of Princess Fiona as she awaits a prince? Are you kidding me?? Who even thinks of these things? I mean, it was awesome, don’t get me wrong.
It’s a shame they didn’t take a brief tour of Doane’s campus. I think Cassel would’ve made a great stage.
