Kendall County Times

 Oswego East Student - Senior, Luke Ahlquist, was selected to be in the cast of the All-State musical, Shrek! for the Illinois High School Theatre Festival in January. The 2023 Illinois High School Theatre Festival (IHSTF), the largest and oldest non-competitive high school theatre festival in the nation, is proud to feature Broadway’s smash hit, SHREK THE MUSICAL, as its 2023 All-State production. SHREK THE MUSICAL features a select ensemble of high school performers and technicians from throughout the state of Illinois.

Based on the Oscar-winning DreamWorks Animation film, Shrek The Musical is a Tony Award-winning fairy tale adventure, featuring all new songs from Jeanine Tesori (Thoroughly Modern Millie; Caroline, or Change) and a side splitting book by David Lindsay-Abaire. Shrek brings all the beloved characters you know from the film to life on stage and proves there's more to the story than meets the ears.

"Once upon a time, there was a little ogre named Shrek...." And thus begins the tale of an unlikely hero who finds himself on a life-changing journey alongside a wisecracking Donkey and a feisty princess who resists her rescue. Throw in a short-tempered bad guy, a cookie with an attitude and over a dozen other fairy tale misfits, and you've got the kind of mess that calls for a real hero. Luckily, there's one on hand...and his name is Shrek.

Shrek presents a treasure trove of creative opportunities, including costumes, sets, puppets (there is a fire-breathing dragon after all) and more! Irreverently fun for the whole family, Shrek proves that beauty is truly in the eye of the ogre. (Musical Theatre International)

The All-State cast, crew, and pit orchestra are comprised of top student performers, musicians, and technicians from Illinois.Numerous students from across the state of Illinois auditioned for SHREK THE MUSICAL. 125 were selected for the final production Company from 60 high schools. The Director for this year’s production is Michelle Bayer (Oak Park and River Forest HS).

Rehearsals for SHREK THE MUSICAL take place over several long weekends during the Fall of 2022, with final rehearsals occurring the last few days before the actual performances. This year’s performance venue is the Tyron Festival Theatre at the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. This is a closed event for participants of the Illinois High School Theatre Festival. There are no public tickets available for these performances.

Original source can be found here.