COLUMBIANA — After a year and a half delay due to COVID-19, The Millennial Theatre Company (MTC) will finally perform Shrek the Musical at the Crestview Performing Arts Center in Columbiana. The show performs August 13 and 14 at 7 p.m. and August 15 at 2 p.m. The production features a whole host of incredible local talent including Erich Offenburg as Shrek, Natalina Kazimir as Fiona, Ryan Lamb as Donkey, and Ty Hanes as Lord Farquaad. The production is directed by Joe Asente with music direction by Savannah Florkowski and choreography by Aubrie Morrison.

Shrek the Musical tells the tale of an unlikely hero who finds himself on a life-changing journey alongside a wise-cracking 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 fairytale 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.

Tickets are $20 for adults and $15 for students and seniors. Tickets are available online at millennialtheatre.org. A portion of the proceeds will go to the Crestview High School Drama Club to help with their upcoming production.

Asente, director of the production and Artistic Director of MTC, explains the challenges of producing the production over a year later, after having the production canceled one day before opening in March of 2020 due to COVID-19, “We were absolutely devastated when we realized that we would not be able to perform the show in 2020. Our cast had worked so hard and we were so close; this was an open wound for all of us throughout the last year and a half. We wanted to wait until we felt we could do the production safely, and now that our full cast has been vaccinated, we are finally ready and so excited to bring this show back to life.”

The cast features local actors from Trumbull, Mahoning, and Columbiana counties, including Erich Offenburg, Natalina Kazimir, Ty Hanes, Ryan Lamb, Emily Dezort, Ben Doss, Lauren Jones, Sarah Kinser, Khloe Stanton, Halina Bakeris, Mark Williams, Caitlyn Murphy, Lauren Engle, Daniel Chiaberta, Ryan Stewart, Rebecca Williams, Trevor Patchen, Michelle Jalbert, George Maillis, Aleea Morrison, Vinh Nguyen, Heleena Thomas, Natalie Toro, Angela Toro, and Aubrie Morrison.

Join MTC at the Crestview PAC in Columbiana for their production of Shrek the Musical. For more information concerning the event please connect with MTC on their website [millennialtheatre.org], Facebook, Twitter or Instagram (@mtc–theatre), or via email at millennialtheatrecompany@gmail.com.