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The ogre Shrek is living happily in his swamp until Lord Farquaad evicts the fairy kingdom to his land. With the help of Donkey, he rescues Princess Fiona in an attempt to regain control of his land, but ends up getting more than he had bargained for in the princess.

Based on the book by William Steig and the film of the same name

Lindsay-Abaire and Jason Moore (director) began working on the show in 2002, with Tesori joining the team from 2004. A reading took place on August 10, 2007, with Stephen Kramer Glickman in the title role, Celia Keenan-Bolger as Princess Fiona, Robert L. Daye, Jr. as Donkey and Christopher Sieber as Lord Farquaad.

Seattle Premiere (2008)
The musical premiered in an out-of-town tryout at the 5th Avenue Theatre in Seattle. Previews began August 14, 2008, with an opening night of September 10. The tryout ran through September 21, and played to generally favorable reviews, being cited as one of the few movie-to-stage adaptations "with heart". The principal cast included Brian d'Arcy James as Shrek, Sutton Foster as Princess Fiona, Christopher Sieber as Lord Farquaad, Chester Gregory II as Donkey, John Tartaglia as Pinocchio and Kecia Lewis-Evans as the Dragon.

During previews, "I Could Get Used to This" was replaced by "Don't Let Me Go," and "Let Her In" became "Make a Move". Also during previews, a brief reprise of "Who I'd Be" was sung after Shrek overhears Fiona's misleading comment about being with a hideous beast, which led into "Build a Wall". This was cut and "Build a Wall" was placed after "Morning Person (Reprise)". "Build a Wall" was later cut during previews, but re-instated towards the end of the run.

Broadway Production (2008-10)After extensive changes were made, the show began previews on Broadway at The Broadway Theatre on November 8, 2008, with the official opening on December 14. The cast included d'Arcy James as Shrek, Foster as Fiona, Sieber as Farquaad and Tartaglia as Pinocchio. Daniel Breaker took over the role of Donkey, as the creative team thought Chester Gregory II did not fit the part. The Dragon was voiced by company members Haven Burton, Aymee Garcia and Rachel Stern, instead of a soloist. Kecia Lewis-Evans, who played Dragon in Seattle, was offered a part in the show's ensemble but declined. Ben Crawford was the standby for Shrek, until he replaced d'Arcy James for the final months of performances.
Other changes the creative team made included the deletion of three songs: "The Line-Up", "More to the Story" and "I Smell a Happy Ending". "Story of My Life", "Build a Wall" and "This is Our Story" were added in their respected places. "Who I'd Be" changed from being a solo for Shrek, to a trio with Fiona and Donkey joining him towards the end.
The song "I'm a Believer", which was originally played as the audience left the theatre, was added to the score on October 2, 2009, and sung by the entire company at the end of the performance.
The Broadway production of the show received a total of twelve Drama Desk Award and eight Tony Award nominations, including Best Musical and acting awards for d'Arcy James, Foster and Sieber. The show won the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Musical for d'Arcy James, the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Set Design and Costume Design for Tim Hatley, as well as the Tony Award for Best Costume Design for Hatley again. At the Tony Awards, the entire cast performed a section of "Freak Flag" for the opening number medley; later on, James, Sutton and Breaker introduced Sieber and company, who performed "What's Up Duloc?". The cast recording of the show was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Musical Show Album. The cast performed "I'm a Believer" at the Thanksgiving Day Parade 2009.
The Broadway production closed on January 3, 2010, after 441 performances and 37 previews. At the time, it was the most expensive musical to open on Broadway, and despite generally good reviews, it failed to recoup its initial investment. The show was then extremely modified for the national tour.
US National Tour (2010-11)
A national tour of North America began previews at the Cadillac Palace Theatre in Chicago, on July 13, 2010, with opening night on July 25. Rob Ashford is the co-director, as the Broadway creative team revised changes. The production marked the debut of an all-new Dragon. On the subject, set designer Tim Hatley stated "The biggest change [will be] the dragon. It will be a different creature from the puppet/soul trio on Broadway [but] I think we've finally gotten it right". The tour also features a new opening, new songs and improved illusions, from those on Broadway.
Many changes made for the tour include a new song sung by the dragon entitled "Forever", replacing "Donkey Pot Pie". Dragon is also voiced off-stage by a single vocalist, with four puppeteers controlling the movements of the new 25-foot puppet. The song would feature in all subsequent productions. Sets and props were re-designed to fit the tour, and certain music/lyrics and tempo's were re-written and re-defined. Also, to fit the revised storyline, "What's Up Duloc?" is placed before "I Know It's Today". The Magic Mirror was also cut.
The original touring cast featured Eric Petersen as Shrek, Haven Burton as Princess Fiona and Alan Mingo, Jr. as Donkey. Carrie Compere plays the Dragon, with Blakely Slaybaugh as Pinocchio. The role of Lord Farquaad was first played by Todd Buonopane, however, an unexplained departure from Buonopane lead David F.M. Vaughn, who was playing the Big Bad Wolf at the time and was first understudy for Farquaad, to assume the lead role. No explanation was given of Buonopane's departure. Petersen, Burton and Vaughn all understudied their roles on Broadway.
The tour played its final performance at the Pantages Theatre in Los Angeles on July 31, 2011, ahead of a non-equity tour in September.
West End Production (2011-13)
A newly revised scaled down version, which included a new opening among other changes to appeal more to British audiences, began performances in the West End at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane, on May 6, 2011. Nigel Lindsay headlined as Shrek, Richard Blackwood as Donkey, Nigel Harman as Lord Farquaad and Amanda Holden as Princess Fiona. Landi Oshinowo plays the Dragon, with Jonathan Stewart as Pinocchio.
As with the US Tour, the scenery follows traditional simple cloths and less-complex sets to those on Broadway. In the tribe of fairytale misfits, characters were changed to fit the UK audience. In order to shorten the running time of the show, the musical number "Build a Wall" was cut. "Don't Let Me Go" - which was initially written for the UK version with extra verses for Shrek to sing - featured in previews, but was removed before opening night: instead, the scene which depicts Donkey's arrival, is entirely spoken.
The official opening night took place on June 14, 2011. Most critics were positive about the production, and in particular praised Harman's performance, branding him "hysterically funny". The production extended its booking period through October 21, 2012.
The show was nominated for a total of four awards at the 2012 Laurence Olivier Awards, including Best New Musical, Best Actor for Lindsay and Supporting Actor for Harman, as well as Best Costume Design for Tim Hatley. Harman won the award for Best Performance in a Supporting Role in a Musical for his performance as Lord Farquaad. The ensemble cast performed "Freak Flag" at the awards.
Kimberley Walsh, of UK pop group Girls Aloud, took over the role of Princess Fiona from October 5, 2011, after Holden announced her pregnancy.
On May 31, 2011, while the production was still in previews, most of the cast performed "I'm a Believer" on Britain's Got Talent and on October 26, 2011, "Morning Person" on The Alan Titchmarsh Show led by Walsh, which beforehand, featured an interview with Walsh and Nigel Harman. On December 26, 2011, Walsh appeared on a Christmas special of Jim'll Fix It hosted by Shane Ritchie, in which the show granted nine year old Emma Bate from Kingston, Cambridgeshire her wish to appear in the show. In the show's third live televised performance, Walsh and the cast performed "I Know It's Today" on This Morning, for the show broadcast January 6, 2012.
Dean Chisnall and Neil McDermott took over from Lindsay and Harman as Shrek and Lord Farquaad respectively on February 29, 2012. Carley Stenson later took over as Princess Fiona from May 23, 2012. On December 12, 2012, Stenson and Chisnall, as well as ensemble members Ste Clough, Aaron Lee Lambert and Oliver Eyre, sang the London company's cover of "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" on This Morning, in the musical's second appearance on the daytime show.
It was recently announced that the production will close in London on February 24, 2013 after a 20-month run. Producers have announced their plans to tour Shrek across the UK in 2014.
First Non-Equity US Tour (2011-12)
A second tour of North America, produced by NETworks and featuring a Non-Equity cast, launched September 9, 2011, at the Capitol Theatre in Yakima, Washington. Changes made for the London production, including the new opening, will be incorporated into the tour (with the exception of musical number "Don't Let Me Go", which is still featured).
First Non-Equity Asia Tour (2012)
The tour, which now saw Jeremy Gaston as Donkey and Courtney Daniels take on the role of Dragon, began at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Center in Malaysia June 19, 2012, and closed at the Shanghai Culture Square in China August 5, 2012.
Second Non-Equity US Tour (2012-12)
The second non-equity tour began October 5, 2012 in Anchorage, Alaska. It runs to April 7, 2013, concluding in Reno, Nevada.

Broadway
Act I
"Overture" / "Big Bright Beautiful World" – Mama Ogre, Papa Ogre, Shrek
"Story of My Life" – Guard, Fairytale Creatures
"The Goodbye Song" – Shrek, Fairytale Creatures≠
"Don't Let Me Go" – Donkey
"I Know It's Today" – Young Fiona, Teen Fiona, Adult Fiona
"Welcome to Duloc" / "What's Up, Duloc?" – Lord Farquaad, Duloc Performers
"Travel Song" – Donkey, Shrek
"Donkey Pot Pie" – Donkey, Dragon
"This is How a Dream Comes True" – Fiona, Shrek, Donkey, Dragon
"Who I'd Be" – Shrek, Fiona, Donkey
Act II
"Morning Person" – Fiona, Pied Piper
"I Think I Got You Beat" – Fiona, Shrek
"The Ballad of Farquaad" – Lord Farquaad, Thelonius, Guards
"Make a Move" – Donkey, Three Blind Mice
"When Words Fail" – Shrek
"Morning Person" (Reprise) – Fiona
"Build a Wall" – Shrek
"Freak Flag" – Fairytale Creatures
"Big Bright Beautiful World" (Reprise) – Shrek
"This Is Our Story" – Fiona, Shrek, Donkey, Fairytale Creatures
"I'm a Believer" – Entire Company≠ (as of October 2, 2009)

≠ Not included on the original Broadway cast recording.

West End
Act I
"Overture" / "Big Bright Beautiful World" – Shrek, Mama Ogre, Papa Ogre, Fiona, King Harold, Queen Lillian, Villagers
"Story of My Life" – Guard, Fairytale Creatures
"The Goodbye Song" – Shrek, Fairytale Creatures
"Welcome to Duloc" / "What's Up, Duloc?" – Lord Farquaad, Duloc Performers
"I Know It's Today" – Young Fiona, Teen Fiona, Adult Fiona
"Travel Song" – Donkey, Shrek
"Forever" – Dragon, Donkey, Knights
"This is How a Dream Comes True" – Fiona, Shrek, Donkey, Dragon
"Who I'd Be" – Shrek, Fiona, Donkey

Act II
"Morning Person" – Fiona, Pied Piper, Rats
"I Think I Got You Beat" – Fiona, Shrek
"The Ballad of Farquaad" – Lord Farquaad, Thelonius, Guards
"Make a Move" – Donkey, Three Blind Mice
"When Words Fail" – Shrek
"Morning Person" (Reprise) – Fiona
"Freak Flag" – Fairytale Creatures
"Big Bright Beautiful World" (Reprise) – Shrek
"This Is Our Story" – Fiona, Shrek, Donkey, Fairytale Creatures
"I'm a Believer" – Entire Company

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