Scoundrels Composer/Lyricist David Yazbek Eyes Stage Version of Shrek
Yazbek is something of a screen-to-stage specialist. He is returning to Broadway this season with the musical version of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, currently in previews at the Imperial Theatre. His Great White Way debut came in 2000, when his take on another movie, The Full Monty, opened. While The Producers juggernaut cost the show at the Tony Awards, Yazbek did win a 2001 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Music for his work on The Full Monty. A recording artist who frequently performs his own material, Yazbek also contributed some lyrics to the Broadway mounting of Bombay Dreams though he did not receive official credit and new lyrics for the Troika touring production of Starlight Express.
Jason Moore Avenue Q, the upcoming Steel Magnolias is on board to direct the musical version of Shrek. Sam Mendes will produce the show under the auspices of his new company SCAMP Film & Theatre, Ltd. in collaboration with DreamWorks Animation.
Shrek, which tells of a reclusive ogre and a talkative donkey on a quest to rescue a princess, opened in movie theaters in the summer of 2001 and went on to earn more than $267 million in the United States. Its sequel, Shrek 2, was an even bigger hit, bringing in over $436 million domestically. A second sequel is in development for targeted release in 2006.