Now showing at the Newport Performing Arts Theater, Shrek the Musical is a fun-filled, engaging musical that will be a Christmas season family outing favorite. It’s a smart move on the part of the producers to stage this musical and veer away from all too familiar shows that will crop up this time of the year. Within the context of Christmas offerings, it’s practically counter-programming, and I’m sure it will work, given how effective the Newport people are in promoting and marketing their shows.

Of course, it’s based on the 2001 film Shrek from DreamWorks, includes elements from the sequels, and was originally staged in 2008. Music is by Jeanine Tesori, and the book is by David Lindsay-Abaire. Here, it’s directed by Dexter Santos, with Michael Williams and Cara Barredo assisting. Ejay Yatco is the music director, and Stephen Viñas provides the choreography. The premise is Shrek teaming up with Donkey to rescue Princess Fiona from Lord Farquaad, with the ogre’s swamp overrun by a bevy of fairy tale characters.

Jamie Wilson takes on the role of Shrek, Krystal Kane is Fiona, Topper Fabregas is Donkey, and Alfredo Reyes portrays Lord Farquaad. It’s imaginative casting all around, and I’ll give the cast full marks for inhabiting their characters with genuine enthusiasm and acting with such energy and vitality. They know that children make up a tough audience, and they have to keep the kids engaged throughout the show’s running time.

In fact, one thing I noticed right away during Act 1 is how the volume of the singing and dialogue is kept at a deafening volume. If I didn’t know better, I’d say this was done on purpose - so that if any young children are restless or crying, they’ll be drowned out by the volume level and not disturb the other children watching. The action on the stage was also kept frantic, so there would be a lot of movement to distract the young audience. When possible, the characters would also occupy the aisles of the theater to make the production feel more immersive! What would be more engaging than to see the characters just a few feet away from you, and not stuck to the stage?

Issa’s close friend was watching with her husband and kids, and the boys were declaring it their best show ever - so if that’s what it takes to bring children to love and appreciate live theater performances, I’m happy that Shrek is achieving this. It was more as an adult watching the musical that I had some reservations, and I’ll explain why.

In the film Shrek, there was a snarky vibe to Shrek. He is, after all, an ogre, and between providing him with an arc and creating dialogue that had hidden meanings referring to the studio system in the USA, we adults could laugh and enjoy Shrek, while our children enjoyed it on another level of appreciation. The musical loses this aspect in its attempt to make Shrek likable from the start. They’ll use body humor like farts to make him seem naughty, but there’s no real arc anymore, and no hint of ogre nastiness. I missed that, and can only surmise it was to make him child-friendly from the start.

So that’s my beef: what I loved about the original Shrek had been diluted and homogenized. The rapport between Shrek (Wilson) and Donkey (Fabregas) is intact, the songs and portrayal of Fiona (Krystal Kane) have wonderful clarity and depth, and Farquaad is a hoot in the hands (and feet) of Bibo Reyes. So, I’d say it’s the material that lies at fault, for trying too hard to make it wholesome family entertainment, and losing much of the spark and bite that made the DreamWorks film such a joy, even for adult viewers.