ELMIRA, N.Y. (WENY) -- In 11 short days on May 7th and 8th, Shrek the Musical will have you "falling in love all ogre again" when the performance visits Elmira's Clemens Center. The beloved Dreamworks animated film is packed from the first act through the last with laugh-out-loud moments. Naphtali Curry previewed his character, the donkey, with WENY News Thursday afternoon.

"Parfaits everybody loves parfaits and they have layers," said Curry, playing the Donkey. "Have you ever met a person and said hey, let's go get some parfaits? And they say heck, no, I don't like no parfaits." 

Curry was cast as the donkey back in September 2023, but rehearsals did not begin until the end of January 2024. As an essential and main character, Curry says the musical spotlights every character whether they're good, or evil. 

In case it has been a minute since you've seen the animated film, Curry gave a quick recap. 

"It's a fairy tale, but a fairy tale about characters that have never given their {or} had their story told. When you think of it gives, in a way, the villains in other stories actual life and character and it's more of an accepting story for different people. When you think of ogres, a lot of times you think, oh, they're the evil person of whatever show you're listening to. But this take was the first time that you actually saw characters that weren't the usual heroes, given the hero arc, which I think is what allowed so many people to connect with it," explained Curry. 

The cast made up of Shrek, Princess Fiona, the Donkey, and a plethora of characters all bring their many characteristics and humor to the show.

One characteristic seen in the Donkey is his willingness to listen and be a therapist, but he can also be quite witty. 

"Donkey is further along in just how he sees life, and so he sees these two people who have been given the short end of the stick and he's trying to bring out who they truly are and trying to get them to see life in his eyes so they don't sit in this darkness that they're always in," says Curry.

The tour is performing across the country, and tickets are on sale through September 2024. Shows in New York State continue through most of May. 

  • May 9-10: Forum Theatre Binghamton, NY
  • May 11-12: West Herr Auditorium Theatre Rochester, NY
  • May 16-19: Shea's Performing Arts Center, Buffalo, NY 

Tickets for Shrek the Musical coming to Elmira can be found here, and for details about the national tour, click here.