Earlier this year I did a ranking of Utah theaters and Hopebox Theatre in Kaysville was 2nd place in my ranking. Not only do I love their mission and find what they are doing to help cancer patients incredibly moving but their productions have been some of the most inventive and immersive I’ve seen each year. Whether it’s Oliver or Fiddler on the Roof the attention to detail in all aspects is outstanding. So when I say their current production of Shrek is a little underwhelming it’s only because I hold them up to such a high standard. It has many positives and is a fine night of community theatre but it doesn’t have the polish I usually see from Hopebox.

Let’s talk about the positives. First I found all 3 leads to be excellent and to have a nice chemistry together. Gregory Harrison has a sweet vulnerability as Shrek, Dusti Mulder is sassy with a beautiful voice as Fiona and Lance McDaniel gives his own fresh take on the character of Donkey (sometimes it can feel a little weird when a white actor is mimicking Eddie Murphy too much so I appreciate McDaniel didn’t do that.) I also liked the ensemble work particularly the tap dancing mice in “Make a Move.” It’s always amazing how they are able to pack in so many performers into the small stage at Hopebox and director Sadie Day has worked with choreographer Kayley Turner to get the most out of the large ensemble. The Duloc scenes and fairytale creatures are the especially big and energetic sections. Of course, it’s most important in community theatre that everyone seems to be having a positive experience together and that is always present in spades at Hopebox.

I’m afraid most of my negatives will come across as very nitpicky but again it’s only because I’ve come to expect such a high standard from this incredible organization. There are just little things they could work on. For example, the makeup could be more consistent. Even on Shrek most of the night the green didn’t go to the top of his head and there is a large streak in between the makeup and his cap. Fiona’s ogre makeup is practically non-existent and Shrek’s mother at the beginning has very little if anything on. The costumes are surprisingly minimalist for this company. Donkey, for instance, only has a normal suit with fur on hands and feet and ears. The Dragon has almost nothing to signify she’s a dragon. The sets are also pretty sparse with one castle set doing most of the heavy lifting and even then the stairs didn’t clamp down like they should so they were giving the actors a lot of grief moving around throughout the night. They could make the settings more unique by little things like having fabric lava at Fiona’s castle or more signs to distinguish Duloc.

Anyway, now that I feel like a big meanie that’s going to join Lord Farquaad in his villainy I’d still say Hopebox is worth supporting and that Shrek is a fun night of community theatre. Tickets are $16-21 and can be purchased here. It runs through Sept 6th.

Shrek: The Musical has music by Jeanine Tesori, lyrics and book by David Lindsay-Abaire and is based on the animated film and book by William Steig.

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