By Patrick Baron
PONTIAC – The Vermillion Players will be looking a bit more green than usual in their upcoming musical production.
The group will be showcasing Shrek: The Musical. Discussing the production with WJEZ’s Todd Wineburner, play director Anita Nangle said the show has a draw for people of all ages.
“We’ve got some great vocal numbers, we’ve got some pretty energetic group numbers, and a tap dancing rat number,” said Nangle. “What more could you ask for?”
Nangle explained it’s a fun show with a positive storyline, which is what initially drew her to it.
Shrek is set in a colorful, vivid fantasy world with locations such as a backwoods swamp and an enormous castle guarded by a dragon. John Gahm, one of the show’s producers, said he has been working on the set for some time so it’s ready when it comes time to open the curtains.
“We’ve been working on this for six or seven weeks and I’ve had started building the set a little before that just as Anita came up with some ideas,” Gahm said. “We just wanted to get started right away and bring a great set to the stage for the cast to work in as soon as they could.”
Nangle proposed doing the show about a year ago. She said the musical will have a 12-15 member musical pit.
The show opens this Thursday at 7:30 p.m. and the show runs through Sunday. Tickets are available at the door costing $10 for adults, $8 for seniors, and $6 for children. Tickets purchased online will have an additional $1 convenience fee.
Patrick Baron can be reached at patrick.baron@cumulus.com.
