UCM to bring magic through ‘Shrek the Musical’

Published 11:55 pm Monday, November 9, 2026

By Joe Andrews

WARRENSBURG — A beloved fairy tale featuring an ogre, a talking donkey and a princess is making its way to the stage at the University of Central Missouri.

The UCM Division of Theatre and Dance and Division of Music will present “Shrek the Musical” Nov. 13-15 and Nov. 19-21 at the Highlander Theatre.

The musical is directed by guest director Steve Barth along with co-musical directors Daniel Doss and Jack Renfrow. Ashley Miller-Scully is the choreographer and Allie Whitbey is the associate choreographer.

“The show came out on Broadway years ago,” Barth said. “Everybody loves the movie. There have been many sequels and reincarnations of the movie. So people all know Shrek. If you see an image and it’s Shrek, I mean kids, adults – everybody knows it for either nostalgia or they connect to it as a kid.”

To anyone that has seen the Oscar-winning animated movie “Shrek,” released in 2001, the plot of the musical will not be a surprise.

The musical follows Shrek, portrayed by Matthias Klestinski, and Donkey, portrayed by Kahlel Palmer, as they embark on a mission for Lord Farquaad, portrayed by Christopher Jack, to rescue Princess Fiona, portrayed by Anna Fletcher.

Fiona is being held in a castle surrounded by lava and guarded by a dragon, portrayed by Brynlee Jones. The planned outcome: Farquaad gets to marry Fiona and Shrek gets the deed to his swamp – evicting fairy tale characters banished there by Farquaad.

The musical visits Shrek and Fiona’s origins – with flashbacks to young Fiona portrayed by Jaccarino-Plunkett, teen Fiona portrayed by Lizzy Molina and young Shrek portrayed by Charlie Welker.

“When you’re watching the movie, you don’t think, oftentimes, you think of the friendship that you get from Donkey and Shrek, and you know the princess and the ogre fall in love, but you don’t get a lot of depth into the relationship of Fiona and Shrek, Barth said. “Like, how has Shrek felt since he’s been in this swamp by himself for this many years? How has Fiona felt being locked in a tower for many years? We must accept that in the movie, but in the musical, they allow us to dive deeper into that relationship and how they connect with each other.”

The elements added through the theatrical production will, however. In addition to its human cast, “Shrek the Musical,” also includes puppets – used to bring Dragon to the stage, along with several of the main fairytale characters to appear.

“Not only [does the audience] know Shrek, but they know Donkey, they know Fiona, they know Lord Farquaad,” Barth said. “Finding the way to create a show on stage that was started with an animation is always a challenge. How do you bring cartoon characters to life on stage in front of everybody? How do you create magical moments for everybody? There’s a lot of fun gimmicks that they found within the Broadway production that have since trickled down to theaters across the country that are doing it.”

The production features the involvement of over 85 people — including cast, crew and musicians.

It contains strobe lighting, haze/fog effects and loud sound effects and is recommended for ages 5 and up.

“When people come to the show, they’re going to get everything from the movie in terms of the characters, the storylines,” Barth said. “We’re still going to get the classic ‘I’m a Believer’ song that you see in the movie. But now you have not only all of that, but additional songs — and those additional songs come with great spectacle from the lights and the scenery on stage to the dancing and the choreography as well as the beautiful ballads where the artists really get the chance to really find some depth in the characters.”

Finding the way to incorporate the many scenes of Shrek onto a single stage proves to be a challenge.

“In an animated film, you can create a different location at the drop of a hat,” Barth said. “On stage, it takes a little more work. We have to begin in a swamp, then we have to almost instantaneously transport to Lord Farquaad’s castle in Dulac. Then you go from Lord Farquaad’s castle in Duloc to Fiona’s tower that she’s kept in. Then you jump down from the tower and you have the dragon’s keep where you face this larger than life dragon. The hardest challenge is how do you navigate from one location to the next location on stage in a quick way that still translates to the audience.”

Barth, who is an artistic director of Crane River Theater in Kearney, Nebraska, said seeing the work of all involved come together is his favorite part of the production.

Other guests to UCM on the crew include guest stage manager Gabe Sokolowski and guest hair and makeup designer Kayla Jestila.

Sokolowski graduated from UCM last spring, while Kayla Jestila graduated from UCM in 2013 and served as an associate professor at the school from 2017-19.

“What I love about this production is there are so many unique students and artists that have come together in one show and taking those elements that make each of them great and highlighting and enhancing,” Barth said.” That has been the real joy. I think sometimes we lose sight that sometimes as an artist, the greatest asset we have is ourselves. Being able to not only create this great character, but find the element of ourselves that we can incorporate into the character and allow that to resonate on stage.”

UCM will perform “Shrek the Musical,” at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 13-14 and Nov. 19-21. Tickets are free for UCM students, active military personnel, veterans and military families upon presenting a valid student ID or military ID at the box office. General admission is $20, senior and UCM employee admission is $15 and non-UCM student admission is $10.

A Pay-What-You-Can performance will be held at 2 p.m. Nov. 15. Attendees may pay any amount, $1 or more, for a ticket. ASL interpreters will be provided for this performance.

Tickets can be purchased online at https://ucmboxoffice.universitytickets.com/ or from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday by visiting the Theatre and Dance Office in Martin 113.

“This is a perfect show for families of all ages,” Barth said. “I hope all of Warrensburg and surrounding areas come to the show. Whether you are two years old – there is going to be much spectacle on stage that is going to capture your attention. I don’t think a kid would be bored at all with this. And then if you’re older, you’re going to know and love the movie you’ve seen when you were younger. You’re also going to be able to find moments in the musical that go a little deeper and make you feel like that story that’s being shared is one you want to share with everyone around you.”

Joe Andrews can be reached at 660-747-8123.