40 Fun Facts About Shrek the Musical

Which of the Seven Dwarfs is revealed to be Lord Farquaad's father at the wedding in Shrek the Musical?

Grumpy storms the wedding to reveal that he threw his son out at 28 for refusing to leave the basement. Farquaad had sung earlier that his father abandoned him in the woods as a child.

How does the actor playing the tiny Lord Farquaad move around the stage in Shrek the Musical?

On his knees is the trick, with tiny fake legs dangling in front of him. In the London production the actor's real legs were strapped up behind him and hidden by a black curtain.

Which pop hit from the first Shrek film was added to the finale of Shrek the Musical during its Broadway run?

I'm a Believer had only been played as the audience walked out, until the whole company began singing it in October 2009. Neil Diamond wrote the song, which the Monkees first recorded in 1966.

Which New Yorker cartoonist wrote the picture book Shrek!, a source for Shrek the Musical alongside the DreamWorks film?

William Steig published Shrek! in 1990. In his book the ogre's parents kick their son out of the family home, a moment the stage show turns into its opening number.

Which supposedly perfect kingdom does Lord Farquaad rule in Shrek the Musical, banishing its fairy-tale creatures?

Duloc is purged of its fairy-tale creatures because their ruler brands them freaks, and they may not return on pain of death. The exiles end up camped on a certain ogre's doorstep.

In Shrek the Musical, how does the Dragon kill Lord Farquaad, whom she devours in the original film?

She breathes fire on him: the Dragon crashes through the window with Donkey and incinerates Farquaad just after he proclaims himself king. Shrek whistles to summon her.

Which two-time Tony winner originated the role of Princess Fiona in the Broadway production of Shrek the Musical?

Sutton Foster earned a Tony nomination as Fiona and stayed until the show closed in January 2010. Her two wins came for Thoroughly Modern Millie and Anything Goes.

Which nursery-rhyme trio backs Donkey in Make a Move, the Shrek the Musical song urging Shrek to woo Princess Fiona?

Three Blind Mice spring from Donkey's imagination as his backing singers, pushing Shrek to gather his courage and romance Fiona before the journey ends.

Which show beat Shrek the Musical to the Tony Award for Best Musical, winning ten Tonys that night?

Billy Elliot won ten of its 15 nominations at the 2009 ceremony, where Elton John, its composer, joined the cast's performance. Shrek's cast opened the same broadcast with a medley.

Which Britain's Got Talent judge played Princess Fiona when Shrek the Musical opened in London's West End?

Amanda Holden won a WhatsOnStage award as Fiona, then left the show ten weeks early in October 2011 because she was expecting a baby.

Which fairy-tale creature, tortured by Lord Farquaad, later rallies the exiles to revolt in Shrek the Musical?

The Gingerbread Man, known as Gingy, rants that being different is no reason to be hated and talks even a reluctant Pinocchio into marching back to confront their ruler.

In which Shrek the Musical song does Princess Fiona's singing make a bluebird explode at the start of Act II?

Morning Person has a cheerful Fiona duet with the bluebird until it bursts, then dance with a deer before throwing it off a cliff.

In which American city did Shrek the Musical play its out-of-town tryout before opening on Broadway?

Seattle saw the show first, in August and September 2008, and extensive changes followed before New York. Hairspray had tried out at the same theatre six years earlier.

Which was the only Tony Award that Shrek the Musical won from its eight nominations on Broadway?

Best Costume Design went to Tim Hatley, who also designed the show's sets and puppets. He later designed the stage versions of Life of Pi and Back to the Future.

Which actor originated Shrek in Broadway's Shrek the Musical, later playing King George III in Hamilton?

Brian d'Arcy James won a Drama Desk Award as the ogre, buried under padding and prosthetics. He was the original King George III when Hamilton began off-Broadway in 2015.

Kimberley Walsh, who took over as Princess Fiona in London's Shrek the Musical, sang with which pop group?

Girls Aloud singer Kimberley Walsh made her West End debut in the part in October 2011 and stayed until May 2012, when Carley Stenson took over.

What does Lord Farquaad promise Shrek in return for rescuing Princess Fiona in Shrek the Musical?

The deed to his swamp is the ogre's price, because the fairy-tale creatures Farquaad banished have camped there. Farquaad wants a princess bride so that he can call himself a king.

Who tells Lord Farquaad in Shrek the Musical that he must marry a princess before he can be king?

The Magic Mirror offers Farquaad three princesses to choose from, and on a henchman's advice he picks Fiona over Cinderella and Snow White.

Which composer of Fun Home and Thoroughly Modern Millie wrote the music for Shrek the Musical?

Jeanine Tesori joined the project in 2004, two years after work on it began. Her Fun Home score later made her half of the first all-female team to win the Tony for Best Original Score.

Which Shrek the Musical anthem did the cast perform at both the Tony Awards and London's Olivier Awards?

Freak Flag has the banished fairy-tale creatures resolve to stop hiding what sets them apart and to march on their tormentor. The Broadway cast sang part of it to open the 2009 Tonys.

Which Pulitzer-winning playwright of Rabbit Hole wrote the book and lyrics for Shrek the Musical?

David Lindsay-Abaire began work on the show in 2002 with its director, writing the script and every lyric. His Pulitzer for Rabbit Hole arrived in 2007, while the ogre was in development.

Which former EastEnders actor won an Olivier Award as Lord Farquaad in London's Shrek the Musical?

Nigel Harman, the soap's Dennis Rickman, took the 2012 Olivier for best supporting performance in a musical. He went on to direct the show's UK and Ireland tour.

Which Shrek the Musical song is shared by three actresses playing Princess Fiona as a child, a teenager and an adult?

I Know It's Today follows Fiona from the age of seven as she waits in her tower for a knight, growing stir-crazy but never losing faith in her storybooks.

Which Shrek the Musical duet has Shrek and Princess Fiona compare sad childhoods, then bond over rude noises?

I Think I Got You Beat begins as a contest over who had the worse upbringing, since both were sent away by their parents at seven. A shared love of disgusting noises turns the rivals into friends.

Which song closes Act I of Shrek the Musical, as Shrek tells Donkey about the lives he wishes he could lead?

Who I'd Be ends the first act as a trio: Fiona, hidden away for the night, stands apart listening and joins in because she shares his sense of being alone.

Which song was written for the Dragon on Shrek the Musical's first US tour, replacing Donkey Pot Pie?

Forever gave the Dragon a new solo on the 2010 tour. The number it replaced survives on the cast album and in the filmed Broadway performance.

Which actor earned a Tony nomination as Lord Farquaad in Shrek the Musical, four years after one for Spamalot?

Christopher Sieber was nominated as Sir Galahad in Spamalot in 2005 and as Farquaad in 2009, both times as a featured actor. He repeats the role in the filmed version of the show.

Which actor played Donkey in the original Broadway cast of Shrek the Musical, later joining Hamilton and Hadestown?

Daniel Breaker took over the part after the pre-Broadway tryout, when the creative team felt the first Donkey did not fit. He earned a Drama Desk nomination for it.

Jason Moore, director of Shrek the Musical, earned a Tony nomination for staging which puppet-filled show?

Avenue Q brought Moore a 2004 nomination for his direction, and one of its puppeteer stars went on to play Pinocchio for him in the ogre's show.

John Tartaglia, Broadway's first Pinocchio in Shrek the Musical, joined which children's TV show as a puppeteer at 16?

Sesame Street took him on part-time as a teenager, and he went on to understudy Elmo. In the ogre's show he also helped to operate the Dragon puppet.

The composer and lyricist of Shrek the Musical reunited for which show, winner of the 2023 Tony Award for Best Musical?

Kimberly Akimbo won five Tonys in 2023, including the awards for its book and its score. It grew out of a play its lyricist had premiered in 2001, before the ogre's show existed.

Which American TV show is parodied when Lord Farquaad is offered three princesses in Shrek the Musical?

The Dating Game is the model for a segment that presents each princess as a contestant. Farquaad rushes off to plan the rescue before he can hear what happens to his choice at night.

Where are the fairy-tale creatures being resettled when they decide to rebel in Act II of Shrek the Musical?

A landfill is to be their new home once Farquaad has evicted them for a second time. On the road there they resolve to turn round and confront him instead.

Who sang for the Dragon in Broadway's Shrek the Musical, before the tours switched to one offstage vocalist?

Three women together voiced her on Broadway, a soul trio drawn from the company. For the 2010 tour a single offstage singer took over, alongside a new 25-foot Dragon worked by four puppeteers.

Which historic West End theatre housed Shrek the Musical for its London run of 715 performances?

Drury Lane, whose Theatre Royal stands on the oldest theatre site in London still in use, hosted the ogre from 2011 until February 2013. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory moved in next.

Joanne Clifton, Princess Fiona on a UK tour of Shrek the Musical, won which TV dance contest as a professional?

Strictly Come Dancing crowned her in 2016 alongside the presenter Ore Oduba. That was her last series as a professional before a run of touring musicals.

Which American YouTube star played Donkey when Shrek the Musical reached London's Hammersmith Apollo in 2024?

Todrick Hall, who found fame on American Idol and through his online videos, joined the touring British production only for its London engagement.

Which fairy-tale musician does Princess Fiona help with his work early in Act II of Shrek the Musical?

The Pied Piper gets a hand with his rat-charming from Fiona, in a sunny routine that works out far worse for the other animals she meets.

In which city did the first US national tour of Shrek the Musical open, unveiling a redesigned Dragon?

Chicago launched the tour at the Cadillac Palace Theatre in July 2010, and the Dragon's new solo was later recorded live there. The tour finished a year later in Los Angeles.

Broadway's original Fiona and Donkey from Shrek the Musical reunited in which fairy-tale musical revival in 2024?

Once Upon a Mattress cast him as the Jester opposite her in 2024, sixteen years after the pair opened as princess and sidekick in the ogre's show.