‘Shrek the Musical’ Comes To Long Beach High School

LONG BEACH, NY — A swamp, a castle and a dragon’s lair all took shape in Long Beach this month, as the Long Beach High School theatre department produced “Shrek the Musical” over the weekend of Mar. 12, 13 and 14.

A stage adaptation of the Dreamworks animation classic, “Shrek the Musical” follows a curmudgeonly ogre, Shrek, as he confronts some rowdy new neighbors in his previously tranquil swamp, storms a castle to rescue a princess and attempts to defeat a dragon guarding said castle. The movie, district officials noted, was actually based on the picture book by William Steig.

With a cast and crew of over 100 students, Long Beach officials said the production was a team effort.

“Our students worked incredibly hard to bring these characters to life, and we were so excited to share their talent and dedication with the community,” Long Beach Director of Media, Visual and Performing Arts Julia Lang-Shapiro said.

Luke Morita played Shrek, Reilly Sanfilippo played Princess Fiona, Ronin Morita played Donkey and Michael Macaluso Vosganian was Lord Farquaad. Those roles were played in the original film version of Shrek by Mike Myers, Cameron Diaz, Eddie Murphy and John Lithgow, respectively.

District officials said Alex Austein served as director of the production while Michael Capobianco was its musical director, Leigh Yazak was the conductor, Christianne Donohue was the choreographer and Scott Scheinson was the production designer.

“With such a large and dedicated cast, the production was a true testament to the hard work and creativity of the students, leaving the audience thoroughly entertained and impressed with their outstanding performances,” district officials said.