Ogre and under: Cardboard Playhouse presents 'Shrek the Musical Jr.'

In 2015, Cardboard Playhouse Theatre Company performed the Broadway musical “Shrek the Musical Jr.,” based on the Academy Award-winning movie “Shrek,” for the first time in Albuquerque.

The production was in commemoration of the theater company’s ninth year.

In celebration of its 19th season, the company will present the musical at 7 p.m. Friday, Aug. 2; 2 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 3; and Sunday, Aug. 4, with repeats Aug. 9 through Aug. 11, at the Rodey Theatre on the University of New Mexico campus. “Shrek the Musical Jr.” marks the company’s 101st show.

Ogre and under: Cardboard Playhouse presents 'Shrek the Musical Jr.'

Cardboard Playhouse is a nonprofit, youth theater group in Albuquerque that focuses on developing children’s acting skills and gives youth a space to learn about theater. The company is funded entirely by ticket sales and grants, so child actors do not have to pay to participate in the group.

Kristin Berg, co-artistic director of Cardboard Playhouse, said the show will focus more on the origin stories of Shrek and Fiona, following the characters as 7-year-olds to see how they developed into the adult characters people recognize from the movie.

“The plotline is basically identical, with the exception of getting that prestory of how Shrek ended up being Shrek,” said Berg. “We see him at (age) 7 and how he has to leave home at seven. That’s what all ogres do and that’s how he became Shrek. Then we see Fiona as a young princess being sent to the tower that she has to live in with the dragon.”

Berg said watching the cast learn to take a well-known script and make it their own was fun. Actors experimented with different voices and accents to make the characters truly their own.

“Our Shrek does not have a Scottish accent,” she said. “Originally, Shrek wasn’t even Scottish until Mike Myers took over the role. That was a choice he decided to make, but that is not the choice that you have to make, and we definitely don’t ever want the kids to do any kinds of impersonation of things that they have heard or seen. That’s one thing I always made sure to remind the kids of.”

The company auditioned over 80 people for the show. The final cast comprises of 47 children ranging from 6-to-18 years old.

Berg said the musical is a blast from the past, as there are a few cast members who performed in the musical in 2015. Now, as they prepare to age out of the theater group, they will be playing older roles.

“We’re a theater company, so we do work with the same kids over and over again,” she said. “We have kids that started with us when they were 8 years old, and are now getting ready to age out of our program. They’ve been with us for 10 years, so it’s really fun to see that transition.”

Though a large group of children with such wide age gaps sounds like a chaotic rehearsal, Berg said the group remains efficient and organized and works well together.

“Our kids are really professional and our older kids take really good care of our younger kids,” she said. “Everyone is called when they’re needed, so nobody has to sit around.”

Berg said that the theater group has grown in size and popularity over the years and it has been amazing to see.

“We used to perform in The Box, which only fits like 50 people,” she said. “We were getting to the point that we couldn’t keep putting on our shows there, so we moved to the South Broadway Cultural Center and then we started selling out that place too. The nice thing about Rodey is it fits 400 people and you can pick any seat you like, which is something we’re really excited about.”

As the group continues to grow, Berg hopes to put on more shows and encourage more youth to join theater.

“Theater for kids is so important because it teaches them to be versatile,” Berg said. “It teaches them public speaking and confidence and all those things that we want to get from arts. But really, just versatility and being able to be flexible is such a huge lesson that we try to teach our kids.”