By Matt Mueller Culture Editor Published Dec 12, 2023 at 12:01 PM

Somebody once told me the world is gonna roll me ... and also that "Shrek: The Musical" will bring the swamp to Brew City for a pair of performances on March 22-23 at the Marcus Center. 

Based on the wildly popular DreamWorks animated film series, "Shrek: The Musical" follows the not-so-jolly green ogre as he goes on a quest to save his swamp that soon becomes a quest to save the entire kingdom, running into quirky takes on iconic fairy tale characters – as well as one very chatty donkey – throughout the whole journey. The Broadway musical adaptation originally opened in 2008 and was nominated for eight Tony awards – including Best Musical – winning one for costume design. 

The version coming to the Marcus Center next March, however, will be different as originators David Lindsay-Abaire and Jeanine Tesori have revisited the original show for this new national tour. 

“It’s been such a gift to get to revisit the show after all these years and rethink some of the choices and reimagine the piece as a whole," Lindsay-Abaire said, in a press release. "This all-new production is leaner and more focused. It’s joyful and funny and feels beautifully hand-crafted in a way that really brings out the things we first fell in love with – the heart and wonder and humor of the story.”  

"We wanted to make a show that families could come to, to laugh and be moved," Tesori said, in the release. "Something that would create a memory, because everybody has felt like an ogre now and then.”

Tickets for "Shrek: The Musical" in Milwaukee will go on sale to the general public beginning Friday, Dec. 15 at noon at the Marcus Center's website, in person at the venue box office or over the phone at (414) 273-7206. For more information about the show and other Marcus Center productions in the coming year, click here

And for more information on the shows coming to Milwaukee, check out our monthly concert guide

Matt Mueller Culture Editor

As much as it is a gigantic cliché to say that one has always had a passion for film, Matt Mueller has always had a passion for film. Whether it was bringing in the latest movie reviews for his first grade show-and-tell or writing film reviews for the St. Norbert College Times as a high school student, Matt is way too obsessed with movies for his own good.

When he's not writing about the latest blockbuster or talking much too glowingly about "Piranha 3D," Matt can probably be found watching literally any sport (minus cricket) or working at - get this - a local movie theater. Or watching a movie. Yeah, he's probably watching a movie.