WABASH – For his performance as Lord Farquaad in “Shrek The Musical”, Merritt David Janes does the whole show on his knees. Lord Farquaad is the short villain in the musical, which is based on the first and original Dreamworks® animated movie “Shrek”. “We call him the vertically challenged villain,” Janes said in a telephone interview Jan. 5. “I play him on my knees. I’m about 5’10” normally.” To shorten his stature, Janes has to get in a contraption with fake legs for each show. “It took me five weeks to get used to it in the rehearsal process. That’s as hard as it ever got, seven to eight hours of rehearsal a day. The show is not as long. It is pretty tricky getting used to all that. Now, it’s really easy,” Janes said. “Shrek The Musical”, sponsored by Beacon Credit Union, will make its way to the Honeywell Center’s Ford Theater Tuesday at 7 p.m. Tickets are $24, $38 and $54, and may be purchased at the box office from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, by calling 260-563-1102 or visiting www.honeywellcenter.org Based on the Oscar®-winning Dreamworks® film, according to a press release from the Honeywell Center, “‘Shrek The Musical’ brings the story of everyone’s favorite ogre to new life on stage. In a far away kingdom turned upside down, things get ugly when an unseemly ogre, not a handsome prince, shows up to rescue a princess. Toss in a donkey that never stops talking, a bad guy with a short temper, a cookie with an attitude and more than a dozen other fairy tale misfits.” Janes is on his fifth year of touring. His first was in “The Wedding Singer”, and followed that with “Sweeney Todd”. Last year he toured with “Beauty & The Beast”, and has been with “Shrek” since September. He is touring with “Shrek” through April. His favorite part of “Shrek”, Janes said, is when he gets to sing “Welcome To Duloc”. There’s a lot of choreography with the number. “It’s about him and what goes on. Duloc is the kingdom Farquaad rules over. The song is sort of about him being uptight and a little man,” Janes said. The musical is different than the movie, he said, because the musical has different layers to it, one being the songs. “The musical shows him (Farquaad) to be more eccentric than the movie,” Janes said. “Of all the roles I’ve done, this is the funniest,” Janes said. “This is a great part.” “We have a really fantastic cast doing this show,” he said of why people show come see “Shrek” at the Honeywell Center. “It’s a little different from the movie. Everyone can come see the show, it’s not just for kids. It has something for parents to come see and for the kids to come see. Everyone will love it. “The music brings a whole new layer to it that you don’t see in the movie. That’s why I like it more than the movie.”
