Playwright: book and lyrics by David Lindsay-Abaire, music by Jeanine Tesori. At: Broadway In Chicago at the Cadillac Palace, 151 W. Randolph. Phone: 800-775-2000; $25-$90. Runs through: Sept. 5
There's some deep psychology lurking beneath the Crayola hues in William Steig's modern fable: our hero, warned by his parents that his will be a lonely and unloved life, has learned to embrace solitude. Our heroine is afflicted with a birth defect leading to her incarceration until a cure can be found. Even our villain's cruel "ethnic cleansing" policies are rooted in his own low self-image. We also encounter a hostile thug ( who only needs a little tenderness ) , a whining crybaby ( who learns to assert himself ) and numerous other allegorical personae who come to celebrate their diversity even as Amor conquers Omnia for our well-met lovers.
For those ( like me ) unfamiliar with the animated films from which this theatrical adaptation draws its story, the plot is precipitated by the evil Lord Farquaad's ejection from his realm of all "freakish" fairy-tale personnel. In order to preserve his swampland home from infestation by strangers, Shrek the Ogre offers to plead their case at court. Upon arriving at Duloc Castle, accompanied by a Donkey companion, Shrek is assigned the task of fetching the princess whom Farquaad plans to marry. But don't worryin the end, the deserving are rewarded and the unregenerate punished.
A text rhyming "granny dress" with "tranny mess" and has Pinocchio declare, "I'm wood! I'm good! Get used to it" is clearly aimed at grown-ups, but this is not Into the Woods. While very young children may get restless during the two and a half hours between curtains, the issues are confronted at distinctly juvenile levelsindeed, the farting contest providing the ogre sweethearts their bonding moment will likely set the adults to squirming. Assisting the message of tolerance are sly visual and musical references to everything from Motown to Philly soul ( did I mention the dragon who sings like Jennifer Hudson? ) , from Neil Diamond to Judy Blume, from Lion King to Wicked to Les Miz.
The inside humor, however, is only the decoration on a sophisticated pop score delivered by the mighty-voiced, but always endearing, Eric Petersen, augmented by Haven Burton's rebellious Fiona, Alan Mingo, Jr.'s, resourceful Donkey and David F. M. Vaughn, wearing a cageful of prosthetics, as theum, vertically challenged Farquaad. If the tap-dancing rats ( long drape, furry shoestrust me, you'll love it ) and the surprise encore don't win you over, then you're grumpier than Farquaad's deadbeat dad.