Shrek -- the Musical - is Coming to Town Thanks to Charlotte High School Drama Troupe

In a faraway kingdom turned upside down, things get ugly when, instead of Prince Charming,  an unseemly ogre shows up to rescue a feisty princess. Then there's the donkey who won't shut up, a bad guy with a short temper, a cookie with an attitude and over a dozen other fairy tale misfits, and you've got the kind of mess that calls for a real hero.. that hero?  Shrek, of course.

And this February, Drama Troupe 0922 of Charlotte High School will bring Shrek to Punta Gorda in Shrek the Musical live at the Charlotte Performing Arts Center.  

The lead, Shrek, is played by Daulton Lunsford,  a sophomore and also a member of CHS's elite show choir, Charisma.  For those who saw CHS's production of West Side Story last year, he regaled the audience with "Officer Krupke".   "It's quite a thing to close your eyes and listen to Daulton sing, because you would never guess that the voice you're hearing is coming from such a young person," Wendy Paul, Technical Director and Operations Manager of CPAC exclaimed when discussing the production with us.

The part of Princess Fiona is actually acted by three people since the audience gets to see Fiona during three periods of her life. We see her as a small girl of approximately seven, as a teenager, and then we spend the most time with her as an adult. The adult Fiona is played by Sara Hart who is a senior. Sara is also a member of Charisma, was voted Homecoming Queen, "Most Talented", and has won several honors including the highest ranking of "Superior" at both district and state thespian competitions. "She is an incredible comedic actor with a natural sense of  "funny" which is a must for Princess Fiona because she is just that - "Funny,"" Paul noted.


Other cast members include:

Donkey: Jesse Howard
Farquaad: Bailey Tietsworth
Gingy: Alley Pope
Pinocchio: Joe Parent
Dragon: Tai Blake

Tickets are just $15. Show times are 7 pm on February  8, 13, 14, 15, and 3 pm on the 9th and 16th. More information.

Troupe 0922 is Charlotte High's Drama Club.   The Troupe is  part of  the International Thespian Society (ITS),  the Educational Theatre Association’s student honorary organization. ITS recognizes the achievements of high school and middle school theatre students. Since 1929, EdTA has inducted more than 2 million Thespians into ITS. That number continues to grow, with more than 36,000 students from around the country being inducted each year.