Allison Kunkler needs no vivid imagination to figure how miserable the fictional Shrek’s swamp can be.
While she and her Mill Race Theatre Company castmates sweated through a recent rehearsal in a toasty Judson Erne Auditorium without its air conditioning on yet for the show, the fun-loving actress offered her observation of the famous ogre’s living space.
“We’re getting slightly familiar with one another’s odors,” she said, laughing.
The leading actress as Fiona was kidding. But the longtime local troupe is ready to let its freak flag fly with “Shrek: The Musical” after COVID-19 cancelled last year’s summer production. Granted, the presentations Friday, Saturday and Sunday will be limited to about half capacity seating and masked viewers in the 1,000-seat venue.
Yet, director Matthew Frick remains happy for the opportunity to give any audience a chance to laugh and love a message of love, acceptance and inclusion.
“We’ve all been once again reminded how much we need live theater,” Frick said.
Especially live theater with the humor, warmth and flat-out fun of such a production.
Actor Nick Hogan, playing the role of Shrek’s faithful-but-flighty friend Donkey, gets the fun part as well as anyone. He recently posted a shot on Facebook of himself in front of a donkey at the Bartholomew County 4-H Fair. He added the caption, “Found some of my family at the fair.”
“Something that people don’t often realize is that this is a story that’s really about community,” Frick said. “And that is especially with how Shrek and Donkey rely on each other and need each other. And then there is the romantic plot between Shrek and Fiona. She needs him to rescue her, and of course, she shows him more about himself than he could possibly have understood without her.”
Online plot summaries highlight the story as one of an intimidating, smelly, green ogre who, after being mocked and feared his entire life by anything that crosses his path, retreats to an ugly green swamp to exist in happy isolation — until storybook characters come to live in the swamp. Frick and others faced one obstacle recently when the main character costumes, clearly a key element of the show, had not yet arrived with less than a week until opening night.
But Kunkler was drawn to what was inside the character of Fiona, anyway, and acknowledged that she “fell in love with her” as rehearsals began.
“She’s quirky and weird, and those definitely are character traits that I like,” Kunkler said. “She’s also very independent and willing to stand alone. … Her story is really unique and beautiful.”
Daniel Kane stars as Shrek in his first Mill Race presentation that he calls “a joy and an honor.” In a high school production of this show, he played Lord Farquaad and his brother played Donkey.
“So this is kind of too good to be true,” Kane said. “I see Shrek as this incredibly emotional creature who hates that quality about himself. But really, it’s one of his strengths that allows him to be strong and advocate for other people. To get to highlight those tensions in a character makes for a really cool experiment.”
But Kane is drawn to one other, more basic aspect of the role.
“Shrek is a gross character,” Kane said. “And it’s so much fun to get to be gross.”
He does, after all, live in a swamp — with only natural air conditioning.
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What: Mill Rave Theatre Company’s presentation of "Shrek: The Musical," presented through a special arrangement with Music Theatre International. Set in a mythical “once upon a time” sort of land, Shrek the Musical is the story of a hulking green ogre who, after being mocked and feared his entire life by anything that crosses his path, retreats to an ugly green swamp to exist in happy isolation — until storybook characters come to live in the swamp.
When: 7:30 p.m. Friday; 2:30 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday and 2:30 p.m. Sunday.
Where: Judson Erne Auditorium, 1400 25th St. in Columbus.
Tickets: $10 and $15 at tickets.millracetheatre.org
Will be online pre-sale ONLY. No tickets will be sold at the door.
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