The San Benito Stage Company will be filling the Granada Theatre stage with fairytale creatures starting on Friday for its run of “Shrek the Musical.” The show runs weekends through July 27, with tickets available at Postal Graphics and San Benito Bene.
Michaela Conners, a co-producer on the show, said the production features actors from age 6 to 67.
“We have so many different ages involved and we really love it,” the college student said the week before the show opened. “It makes it so much more fun – having different ages and different experiences.”
Conners said the show follows the same storyline as the first “Shrek” animated film, but it has a lot of music that is different from the movie. The story tells of a grumpy ogre who finds himself on a quest to save a princess against his will.
“A lot of people are familiar with the movie so we are hoping it will draw in a big crowd for us,” she said. “This is definitely a family-friendly show.”
The excitement about the show started with the auditions, when they had a big turnout of people interested in the show.
Conners, who acted in many Stage Company shows herself before serving as a production assistant on “Spamalot,” said her favorite part of being involved behind the scenes is seeing the kids.
“We have a lot of younger kids up on stage,” she said. “I come from my background of being in theater my whole life and I enjoy seeing the kids and newcomers up there. It warms my heart to see so many people involved in theater.”
Conners is not the only San Benito Stage Company actor to return from college for the summer production. She said the stage manager, choreographer and one of the leads are all college students who came home to help with the production. A portion of the proceeds from the summer show will benefit the theater group’s scholarship fund.
“It shows how much it attracts college students to come back and support our local community theater,” Conners said.
