Shrek: the Musical

The idea of a stage musical of Shrek does not sound like anything that would make me rush out and arrange a vacation to New York to see it, although I bet it will attract enough families (the "Lion King"/"Little Mermaid"/other Disney stuff crowd) that it will probably recoup its investment pretty quickly.

But even if it's not something that excites me personally, I have to say that their putting outstanding talent behind it makes me more interested than I might be otherwise. The list of artists involved is intriguing:

Music by Jeanine Tesori (whose score for "Caroline, Or Change" is one of my personal favorites -- her involvement alone is enough to convince me to give the cast recording a chance when it becomes available, because Jeanine Tesori is, simply, a goddess).

Book and lyrics by David Lindsay-Abaire (Pulitzer Prize winner for "Rabbit Hole").

Directed by Jason Moore (director of "Avenue Q" and the recent Carnegie Hall concert of "Jerry Springer: The Opera").

Starring Brian D'Arcy James (pictured here), Sutton Foster and Chester Gregory in the three main roles.

Shrek is doing its out-of-town tryout in Seattle until September 21. Broadway previews are scheduled to begin November 8.