You know the ogre with the crazy green ears and brown homespun vest who hangs out with a wisecracking donkey and a princess who looks just like him? Merely Players will be bringing them to life on stage in “Shrek the Musical” for eight sold-out shows starting Friday at the Durango Arts Center Theatre.

“This is our big splash of the year,” said Mona Wood-Patterson, director of Merely Players.“It’s pretty spectacular.”

The show is based on the DreamWorks Animation movie and the book by William Steig. The books and lyrics for this production are by David Lindsay-Abaire with music by Jeanine Tesori.

And besides being a cute kids’ movie, “Shrek” has also been on Broadway.

“This is a full-out musical; it opened on Broadway in 2008 and featured Sutton Foster as Fiona and Brian d’Arcy James, who won the Tony award for his performance as Shrek,” Wood-Patterson said. “The story line is the same, you have the same characters: Lord Farquaad and Donkey. And there’s fabulous music.”

Merely Players decided on “Shrek” as this year’s big production after facing the challenge of finding a show that could integrate both adult and child actors.

“Initially, I chose the musical because there were all these fairy tale creatures in it who get kicked out of the swamp, and the subject matter’s appropriate and there was the opportunity for my design team to do really cool stuff,” Wood-Patterson said. “I saw the movie years and years ago when it came out, and I remember I loved it and thought it was really charming, but I chose it having no idea I’d become so enchanted by it.

“It’s got this beautiful story of learning to embrace diversity ... everybody’s got their own unique things, and it really captures the particular cast I have as well,” she said

For the production, there are 40 cast members, divided equally among children and adults. The youngest cast member is 9 and the oldest cast/crew member is around 69, so there’s a 60-year span of people working together, Wood-Patterson said.

Designing the costumes for such an odd cast of characters was not for the faint of heart.

“You would never guess how complicated Lord Farquaad’s costume is, with the little legs,” Wood-Patterson said. “The actor spends the whole show on his knees ... and he’s got these little fake legs in the front.”

And the dragon.

“She’s incredible,” she said. “She’s 14 feet tall, she’s puppeteered by four puppeteers, who are inside of her. She can move each claw and arm and turn her head left and right. Her eyes blink and change color.”

Wood-Patterson’s husband, Charles Ford, technical director and designer for Merely Players, has been working on the dragon’s design since last summer.

But it’s the commitment of the cast and crew that makes the show.

“This week, we’ve rehearsed until 10 each night,” Wood-Patterson said. “I’m so impressed: All these people have families, the kids have homework and most of the adults have jobs, and they’re coming and doing this for fun. There’s a magic about everybody working together toward a common goal ... but the magic takes a lot of hard work to create the platform for the magic to ignite from in the end.”

katie@durangoherald.com

Wait list policy

“Shrek the Musical” sold out all of its shows earlier this week, but if you didn’t get your tickets, you still have a chance to get your hands on some by getting on a performance’s ticket wait list.

To be placed on a wait list for the show, you must show up at Durango Arts Center an hour before the performance of your choice. After your name is on the list, you can leave and then return 20 minutes before the show to see if you were able to get in. You must appear in person to have your name added to the wait list. Names for the wait list will not be taken over the phone.

If you go

Merely Players’ production of “Shrek the Musical” will be held at 7 p.m. April 29, 30 and May 5, 6 and 7. Matinees will be held at 1 p.m. April 30, May 7 and 8.

All shows will be held at the Durango Arts Center, 802 East Second Ave., and all performances are sold out.