‘Shrek’ Set to Close on West End February 24

The West End run of “Shrek The Musical” will come to an end early next year.

The musical, which currently plays at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, will close on Sunday, February 24, 2013, producers DreamWorks Theatricals and Neal Street Productions announced recently.

“When we moved to Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in March 2011 we knew that it would be the perfect home for “Shrek the Musical” and so it has proved to be,” said Bill Damaschke, Chief Creative Officer for DreamWorks animations, in a press release. “Joining an illustrious list of new musicals that have played this venue is a source of pride for me personally, and for the whole transatlantic team that works on the show every day.”

The performance, based on the DreamWorks Animation film “Shrek,” originally began previews on West End on May 6, 2011. The official opening was held June 14 of that year. The show was later nominated for four Laurence Olivier Awards, and Nigel Harman won the Olivier Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Musical for his portrayal of Lord Farquaad.

A Broadway production of the musical ran from December 2008 to January 2010. The production was nominated for eight Tony Awards. Since that opening, the musical has undertaken a national tour of the U.S., and also has played in five different countries. Later this year, performances are scheduled to begin in Brazil, Italy, Denmark and the Netherlands.

In the press release announcing the closing, Damaschke said the news is bittersweet.

“Of course, it is not without sadness that we have decided to leave next year but it is some consolation that Sam Mendes and Caro Newling, our producing partners at Neal Street Productions, will retain the lease of this remarkable building,” he continued. “At DreamWorks Theatricals our attention turns to planning a UK tour of “Shrek the Musical” in 2014, the introduction to the UK of “Madagascar Live!” and our live arena tour of “How to Train Your Dragon” which we plan to bring to the UK in late 2013.”