Shrek, Fiona, Donkey and friends come to CST stage

Coeur d’Alene Summer Theatre brings its season to a close with “Shrek the Musical,” the Tony-nominated Broadway musical based on the hit Dreamworks animated film.

You know the movie. The one in which a large green ogre beats out an evil – and very short – lord to find true love with a princess, helped by his pal Donkey and a host of fairy tale creatures.

Erik Gratton will don the fat suit and a lot of green paint to play Shrek, while Liz Shivener plays Princess Fiona. It’s a role that should come easy for her, as she played the same role on the national tour.

Director Kasey Davis said it’s been a boon to have Shivener and her experience in the cast.

“She’s been really great,” Davis said. “Because there’s magic that has to happen in our show, she has some insight that isn’t necessarily clear just written into the script.”

There are technical issues to manage. Making Gingy the gingerbread man come to life (he’s a puppet). Making Pinocchio’s nose grow. Then there’s Dragon. Fortunately for CST, Dragon isn’t coming from too far away; the company is renting the 24-foot-long, 75-pound Dragon built in 2013 by volunteers at University High School in Spokane Valley. It takes five puppeteers to run Dragon. Her eyes change color and she breathes smoke.

“We were really lucky to have access to this really great Dragon,” Davis said.

She’s also had some fun directing her husband, Jadd, CST’s artistic director. He plays the diminutive and nasty Lord Farquaad.

“I was joking on the first day of rehearsal that it’s a wife’s dream to be able to direct her husband and have him be on his knees the whole time,” Davis said.

Jadd Davis said he was keen to bring “Shrek” to the CST stage because it’s a family show that has a good message of acceptance.

“It’s a remarkably well-written show,” he said. “I’m not always a fan of adapting a hit movie for the stage because it can feel like it’s just a way to make money. But I think the adaptation of ‘Shrek’ is superb. It’s different enough from the movie … that it was worth doing.”

The show is recommended for ages 6 and up.

“There’s a large sequence of farting and burping between Shrek and Fiona that is pretty hilarious,” Kasey Davis said. “I think kids are going to fall out of their seats because it’s so funny. I think everyone will.”