'Lord Farquaad' Lives in Arlington

Photo cred: Lisa Lapinski

Can Arlington’s Paul Alperin live up to the standard set by John Lithgow, who originally voiced arch-villain Lord Farquaad in 2001’s irreverent yet wholesome animated feature, “Shrek”? Probably! Lithgow can’t be too hard to follow, right?

We’ll find out this week when Open Door Theater puts on its production of “Shrek: The Musical,” with six performances scheduled on the weekends of March 20 and March 27 at the R.J. Grey Jr. Junior High School in Acton. More specific info and tickets are all on Open Door’s website here.

Alperin portrays Farquaad, an ambitious rapscallion seeking to rid the magical kingdom of fairy tale characters and derail the budding romance between Shrek and the noble Princess Fiona. Spoiler Alert: He fails on both counts.

Based on the eponymous Dreamworks film, “Shrek: The Musical” debuted on Broadway in 2008, and the rights to perform the play have been made available to independent production companies such as Open Door.

In the interest of universal accessibility, Open Door has enlisted ASL interpreters to join the 2 p.m. performance on March 22, and the March 28 noon matinee is designed for viewers with sensory disorders/autism spectrum challenges.