'Shrek: The Musical' captivates audiences, explodes Southern stages on first night

On the evening of July 12, at Hoa Binh Theater (HCMC), the first performance of the musical Shrek: The Musical organized by The YOUniverse officially debuted to audiences in the South. From early morning, the audience "flocked" to the theater, filling the auditorium almost to capacity, waiting for a night of enjoying grand and attractive art.

Shrek: The Musical exploded on its first night.

The musical is produced by a creative team of experienced experts: artistic advisor - Meritorious Artist Dang Chau Anh, director - Mr. Jesse Donaldson Jarret, artistic director - Nicholas Gentile, stage manager - Minh Anh Le

Broadway musicals require actors to not only act with real emotion and sincerity, but also have good choreography and a stable singing voice; as well as know how to combine all three elements smoothly to shine.

"A Broadway musical is different from a regular play because of the music and choreography and how they create emotional sublimation," revealed the musical's director, Jesse Donaldson Jarrett. "Broadway musicals require actors to not only act genuinely and emotionally, but also have good choreography, a stable voice, and know how to combine all three elements to shine on stage. Singing, dancing, acting, that's how the actors convey the emotions and plot of the musical to the audience."

Due to the strict requirements of the musical, right from the casting stage, the selection of actors suitable for the role has been carefully considered and invested heavily by the crew. During the rehearsals, the actors are always closely trained in choreography, singing, and acting skills, ensuring that the young actors have a shining performance on stage and bring many emotions to the audience. Not only paying attention to the script and selecting actors, in this comeback, the musical will be larger and more magnificent in scale, with many investments in scenery, stage, sound, lighting, costumes... to put on a new coat for Shrek .

In particular, the Shrek costume team has adopted sustainable fashion by using recycled materials such as denim, applying hand-sewn techniques and materials, and choosing sustainable sourcing. These measures not only help protect the environment but also create unique and beautiful costumes for the musical.

The audience came to see the first performance at the Hoa Binh Theater (HCMC) full house.

The story is captivating and engaging from start to finish.

Spectacular scenery, beautiful costumes

Hai Phong's "young" audience was enthralled watching the Shrek: The Musical actors "entertain" on the stage of Hoa Binh Theater on the evening of July 12.

The unique point of this year's play is the lighting, which is a combination of Eastern and Western styles. The lighting will show the linearity of time and the expansion of emotions. Even the lighting of the musical contributes to the story that the actors are telling in each segment on stage.

A great and emotional night

Spending a weekend night taking his two grandchildren to see a musical, Mr. Truong Van Qui (Binh Tan District, Ho Chi Minh City) was extremely surprised to see such a good and emotional art program: "My grandchildren were captivated by the stories of Shrek with the donkey, the princess and the castles in the wild swamp. The actors had a wonderful performance."

Ms. Bui Thi Na (Binh Thanh District, Ho Chi Minh City) admired the artistic work of the actors and the crew who had practiced tirelessly for a musical with great passion and effort. "I think everyone was satisfied when watching this first performance," Ms. Bui Thi Na shared.

It is known that Ho Chi Minh City is the first destination of the Shrek: The Musical tour this time, followed by Hanoi. The main message that Shrek wants to bring is equality: gender equality, class equality, appearance equality, respect for the differences of each individual and everyone deserves to be happy. A warm space connecting families, where parents and children immerse themselves in humane and meaningful stories; parents have the opportunity to enjoy and contemplate with their children profound lessons about love and equality in life.

Audiences are captivated by Shrek's stories, along with the donkey and the princess.

A warm space connecting families, where parents and children immerse themselves in humane and meaningful stories and contemplate profound lessons about love and equality in life.

Audience took souvenir photos with Shrek: The Musical

According to the representative of The YOUniverse - the only unit in Vietnam that owns the copyright of Broadway musicals and organizes the production of major musicals in Vietnam such as Alice in Wonderland , Shrek: The Musical , added: "In the summer of 2025, we will bring Shrek to many other cities such as Quang Ninh, Da Nang, Nha Trang so that many young people and many Vietnamese families have the opportunity to see this play. The play is special not only in its profound humanistic content, but also in its construction according to the "golden standards" of Broadway musicals. Through that, the audience will see the talent of young Vietnamese people, see their confidence on big stages. By bringing musicals like this to domestic audiences, The YOUniverse really hopes that one day in the near future, we can bring Vietnamese actors and Vietnamese musicals to the world."

Longest, largest scale tour ever

In 2024, The YOUniverse will bring the musical Shrek: The Musical to Vietnam on a national scale, promising to be sublime with explosive performances with 5 shows in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. This is the longest and largest tour ever by The YOUniverse, with 5 shows and 13,450 seats.

In more than 15 days of ticket sales, information was reached to 1.3 million people, 2,600 new people were reached to learn about the musical and about 2,000 post interactions; customers who bought tickets for the musical Shrek were of many ages, Vietnamese and international from many countries.

Shrek: The Musical will be performed at Hoa Binh Theater (HCMC) from July 12-13 and at the National Convention Center (Hanoi) from August 2-3.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/shrekthe-musical-hop-hon-khan-gia-bung-no-san-khau-phuong-nam-ngay-dem-dien-dau-tien-185240713092346822.htm