The Green Ogre of Broadway in Istanbul

ISTANBUL

“Shrek the Musical,” which brings the green ogre and his companions to the stage, is in Istanbul for the first stop on its international tour. 

Starting on Jan. 22, the musical will be at the Zorlu Performing Arts Center until Feb. 7.

Speaking during rehearsals in Istanbul, tour director Stephen Sposito said the show had similarities with the first Shrek film, adding, “With brand new songs, fantastic costumes, new characters as well as the well-known ones like Shrek, Fiona and the donkey, and dances, it is a Broadway musical.”

The shows are accompanied by an orchestra, said Sposito. “We have a nine-person orchestra. They make live music in each show. The orchestra will perform some 20 new songs in the musical.” 

Jo McCrory from the production team said rehearsals of the musical started in New York and continued for three weeks. 

“The Shrek character’s special makeup is done in an hour. We cannot give much detail about it but he doesn’t have a similarity with the actor when the makeup is done. He completely looks like Shrek,” McCroy said. 


Since the 1990s

The storm of the green creature Shrek started hitting the coasts of popular culture in the early 1990s. Celebrated New Yorker cartoonist and author William Steig’s early drawings of Shrek came to full blossom with the moving picture of the same name in 2001, and the rest is a fun-fueled history. 

With the sweet smell of success came three more films and Shrek became a very well known, go-to character in popular culture. With his dry humor and eerie posture, he transformed into a celebrated hero for adults as well. After many video games and comic books came the musical within the same name.

“Shrek the Musical” hit the ground running in Broadway and accelerated its success on the most prestigious musical stages in the world over the last decade.


The critically hailed show’s fascinating music is composed by Jeanin Tesari and the lyrics have been put together by David Lindsay-Abaire. This fitting combination dominated many prestigious awards and the musical has been nominated for a Grammy, as well as eight Tony Awards.

“Shrek the Musical” will be staged 22 times in total with Turkish subtitles and the stage has been created from scratch, with 60 actors and actresses with the live orchestra.

This event is being organized by the Zorlu Performing Arts Center in association with the Alchemy Project.