Montgomery Theatre - The Golden Bay Times

Shrek has a perfectly reasonable dream: to be left alone in his swamp. Unfortunately, peace and privacy disappear when a crowd of displaced fairy-tale characters turns up on his doorstep. Their unwelcome arrival sends the grumpy ogre toward Lord Farquaad, the ruler responsible for this sudden housing crisis. Farquaad offers a bargain, but it involves rescuing Princess Fiona from a dragon-guarded tower, which is considerably more work than Shrek had in mind. Along comes Donkey, a traveling companion whose enthusiasm is matched only by his inability to stop talking. Fiona, meanwhile, has spent years imagining a rescue that follows all the proper fairy-tale instructions. A green ogre was definitely not in the brochure. As their journey unfolds, clashing personalities and carefully guarded feelings complicate what seemed like a straightforward transaction. With music by Jeanine Tesori and a book and lyrics by David Lindsay-Abaire, this musical comedy delights in turning familiar storybook expectations upside down. Beneath the jokes, oversized attitudes, and gloriously impolite behavior is a story about outsiders trying to find where they belong. Shrek may want his swamp back, but the road home has other ideas about what he needs.

In Germany in 1891, the adults have plenty of rules and remarkably few useful answers. For a group of teenagers beginning to discover desire, identity, and independence, that arrangement is becoming impossible to live with. Wendla wants to understand her changing body, but honest explanations are difficult to obtain. Melchior questions the beliefs and authority surrounding him, while his friend Moritz struggles beneath academic expectations and feelings he cannot make sense of. Their lives intersect in a society that treats curiosity as disobedience and silence as protection. Behind respectable manners and strict classrooms, questions multiply, friendships deepen, and the distance between generations becomes increasingly dangerous. With music by Duncan Sheik and a book and lyrics by Steven Sater, this musical pairs its nineteenth-century setting with an alternative rock score that gives the characters’ private emotions a fierce contemporary voice. Tenderness, frustration, longing, and rebellion collide as young people search for understanding in a world determined to keep them uninformed. The story’s tension comes from that widening gap between what the teenagers experience and what their elders will acknowledge. Growing up is confusing enough; here, even asking the right question can bring trouble.

The Oklahoma Territory is looking toward a new century, but matters of the heart remain stubbornly complicated. Cowboy Curly has charm to spare and his eye on Laurey, a farm girl who is not about to make courtship easy for him. Their teasing exchanges unfold amid a community where farmers and cowboys have strong opinions about one another and very little hesitation about sharing them. With a box social approaching, choosing a companion becomes more consequential than anyone would like to admit. Curly’s romantic confidence meets resistance, rival attention introduces unease, and the cheerful surroundings conceal feelings that cannot simply be laughed away. Elsewhere, Ado Annie and Will Parker contribute their own wonderfully tangled approach to love, proving that commitment can be surprisingly difficult when temptation keeps arriving. Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II fill this rural world with sweeping melodies, playful humor, and characters caught between personal wishes and community expectations. The musical moves from flirtation and comic misunderstandings toward deeper questions about jealousy, belonging, and the future people hope to build together. Across the farmland, everybody seems ready for a fresh beginning, provided they can first survive the business of choosing a sweetheart.

Jean Valjean leaves prison hoping to reclaim his life, only to discover that freedom does not erase the label society has attached to him. In nineteenth-century France, finding work, shelter, or simple kindness can feel like another sentence. An unexpected encounter offers the possibility of a different future, but Inspector Javert remains committed to a world where the law defines a person completely. As Valjean attempts to build a life beyond his past, that relentless pursuit stretches across the years. Around him, poverty narrows choices, love creates new loyalties, and a restless society edges toward confrontation. Private struggles become entangled with the larger hopes of people who believe their world must change. Based on Victor Hugo’s novel, this musical brings an enormous human landscape into focus through intimate questions: Can someone truly begin again? What does justice require? How much will a person risk for another? Its sweeping score includes “I Dreamed a Dream,” “One Day More,” and “Do You Hear the People Sing?” The scale is grand, but the emotional stakes remain personal, following people whose dreams persist even when circumstances give them every reason to surrender.

Peggy Sawyer arrives in New York with talent, ambition, and considerably less experience than Broadway generally prefers. A young dancer from Allentown, Pennsylvania, she hopes to earn a place in a business where countless hopefuls are chasing the same opportunity. Landing a chorus job in a new musical is a promising start, but backstage life quickly reveals that putting on a show requires more than knowing the steps. Rehearsals bring demanding expectations, bruised egos, and the uneasy awareness that a production’s future can change in a moment. Against the hardships of the Great Depression, the company is working to create an evening of glittering escape. When an unexpected crisis threatens the show, Peggy’s abilities become part of a much larger question about whether the curtain can rise at all. Featuring music by Harry Warren and lyrics by Al Dubin, this backstage musical celebrates the effort behind theatrical glamour. Songs including “We’re in the Money” and “Lullaby of Broadway” supply the sparkle, while the story follows performers trying to turn determination into a livelihood. For Peggy, the distance between the chorus line and a real opportunity may be shorter, and more frightening, than she imagined.

Emma Nolan wants something that should be simple: to attend her high school prom with her girlfriend. In her Indiana town, however, that wish becomes a public controversy, drawing the attention of parents determined to control the dance. Enter four Broadway personalities whose careers could use a rescue and whose understanding of humility could use considerably more rehearsal. They spot a worthy cause, imagine some flattering publicity, and head toward Indiana prepared to help in the loudest possible fashion. Emma suddenly finds herself surrounded by theatrical confidence, unsolicited advice, and people who can turn almost any conversation into an audition. As their grand gestures collide with local resistance, the difference between supporting someone and taking over their story becomes increasingly clear. With music by Matthew Sklar, lyrics by Chad Beguelin, and a book by Bob Martin and Beguelin, this musical comedy mixes show-business satire with a teenager’s search for acceptance. The Broadway visitors supply extravagant personalities and comic chaos, but Emma’s ordinary hope gives the story its heart. Before anybody can enjoy a dance, they must navigate pride, prejudice, and the tricky business of listening to the person they came to help.