Everyone’s favorite ogre is back in top form. Shrek the Musical opened on Broadway last night, an adaptation of the 2001 blockbuster movie about an ogre with a heart of gold.

The New York Times gave the show a mixed review. Critic Ben Brantley says, “Shrek, for the record, is not bad.”

But Brantley’s main objection to the show, interestingly enough, is the costumes.

“Then there’s the issue of performers having to dress up to resemble fantasy illustrations, a process that, to put it kindly, tends to cramp expressive acting. As the title character, a misanthropic green ogre who learns to love, the talented Mr. James is so encumbered with padding and prosthetics that your instinct is to rush the stage and tap his head to see if he’s really in there.”

I haven’t seen the show, but based on the photos and video I’ve seen, I think the costumes look really good. Great, in fact. This show looks like a ton of fun.

[via New York Times]

 
Shrek the Musical will run on Broadway through Dec. 21, 2008. If you are able to get to New York City, you can purchase tickets online from Telecharge.com. The show runs for 2 hours and 30 minutes and is fun for the whole family (ages 4 and up).

A new Shrek movie is scheduled for a theatrical release in 2010, aptly entitled, “Shrek Goes Fourth.” Glad to see our big green buddy isn’t going away any time soon!

The Fly. It’s a horror film classic, whether you prefer the 1958 original or the 1986 remake. It’s a great story about a scientist whose experiments go wrong, combining him with a fly into one horrible monster. “That’s old stuff,” some might scoff, preferring new horror about girls coming out of TV screens and ghosts with grudges. But this old story has been given new life as an opera, which premiered in the US earlier this month in Los Angeles. It’s an interesting blend of old and new, cult film and high opera.

Unfortunately, it’s received less-than-awesome reviews concerning the singing and score, but they had nothing bad to say about the set design, and of course, the costumes. I’m intrigued by what I’ve seen online. Transforming a man into a fly-monster onstage certainly can’t be an easy task, and his costumes reportedly become increasingly gross and horrific throughout the second act. Here are some images I was able to dredge up online:

Wow! Nasty! I feel sick just looking at them! I would have to call it a costuming masterpiece. The costumes may not be pretty, but are they ever amazing.