Shrek The Musical is based on the Dreamworks film of 2001 (Is it really that long ago?), which was based on a 1990 children’s book by William Steig. The show has music by Jeanine Tesori (Caroline or Change; Fun Home), and book and lyrics by playwright David Lindsay-Abair (Good People). This team boasts serious creative heft.

The Broadway production premiered in December 2008 and, modified and rewritten, played for two years in London’s West End from 2011 before embarking on a British tour. It is basically this production that has now opened in Sydney, and will go on to Melbourne and Brisbane later in the year.

The Broadway production was reputedly the most expensive show ever to open at that time, with a $25 million budget. Friends who saw it on Broadway and have seen this production in previews told me there are fewer people on stage, and the staging is less lavish than the original. I wonder how much that matters? Shrek is a show that relies fundamentally on two things: humour and heart.

The version at Sydney’s Lyric Theatre (produced by John Frost and Glass Half Full Productions