Detroit

Farms native plays Big Bad Wolf, Papa Ogre in ‘Shrek the Musical’

By K. Michelle Moran
C & G Staff Writer

DETROIT — For a guy who’s one of the understudies for the title character, you’d think Adam Steiner would be pretty familiar with the animated “Shrek” movies, but in reality, the performer’s only experience with the story has been with the stage version.

“I actually have never seen it,” Steiner said of “Shrek” and its subsequent cinematic sequels, which were, themselves, based on a book by William Steig. “I’m not really a movie person.”

Speaking by phone from Utica, N.Y., the Grosse Pointe Farms native is now on the road with “Shrek the Musical,” in which he plays Shrek’s father, Papa Ogre, as well as the Big Bad Wolf; Steiner is also one of two understudies for Shrek. Although he hasn’t seen the film, Steiner said a 2008 Broadway production of “Shrek the Musical” made him eager to audition for the touring version.

Last seen locally in a national tour of “Cats” as Rum Tum Tugger in 2010, Steiner will return to the Fisher Theatre with “Shrek,” which plays at the Fisher Feb. 28-March 11.

In the show, the swamp-dwelling title character and his annoying but sweet jester sidekick, Donkey, are on a mission to reclaim the deed to Shrek’s land. Along the way, Shrek falls for the spirited Princess Fiona and learns the meaning of love and friendship. Steiner said “Shrek the Musical” is true to the film franchise, but also adds elements, including a back-story featuring Mama and Papa Ogre that introduces young Shrek, and an assortment of misfit fairytale figures — including the Three Little Pigs, Pinocchio and Steiner’s older, lackadaisical Big Bad Wolf. He said the fairytale characters get dumped on the land of villainous Lord Farquaad, who keeps kicking them out.

“You’re going to have everything from tap dancing rats to big Broadway numbers,” he said, adding that the show is “visually spectacular.”

“The costumes are like nothing you’ve ever seen,” he said. “They’re so elaborate.”

Like the films, the musical has broad appeal.

“It is wonderful for children, but there are as many — if not more — jokes that go over the kids’ heads and (make) the parents giggle,” Steiner said.

Steiner, 27, now lives in Astoria Queens, N.Y., when he’s not on tour. He’s a middle child in a family of four boys: older brother Nathan is a mortgage banker, and of his younger brothers, Ryan works for their father’s silk screening and custom T-shirt businesses, while Kyle works in customer service for an online business. Dad Mark Steiner runs Steiner Silk Screening and ShirtBelly.com, and mom Lisa Steiner teaches at Grosse Pointe North High School. Adam, who earned a bachelor’s degree in music theater performance from Western Michigan University, is a 2002 graduate of Grosse Pointe South High School and took part in that school’s prestigious show choir. He was also involved in Grosse Pointe Children’s Theatre. Ellen Bowen, who heads the choir, said in a previous interview that she could see that Steiner had great potential from an early age, leading her to select him for her elementary and middle school group, Boys of the Pointe.

Lisa Steiner said Adam was a performer from the time he was in nursery school.

“When he was little, he was the most animated child,” she recalled. “He was full-blown excited about life.”

Whenever there was a play, he got tapped for a lead role, including playing Santa when he was 4 and the Pied Piper when he was in second grade. Besides renting movie musicals for their son to watch, the elder Steiners nurtured Adam’s talents by sending him to summer performance camps and twice-weekly private voice lessons in high school.

Lisa Steiner said she and the rest of the family are looking forward to seeing Adam in “Shrek,” especially after witnessing his show-stopping turn in “Cats” almost two years ago.

“He went to many, many shows at the Fisher and the Fox, and he couldn’t imagine being on that stage,” she said. “My heart felt like it was going to beat out of my body, because I knew his dreams came true.”

Steiner has been on the road with “Shrek” since Aug. 8, 2011, and he’ll be with the show until this leg of the tour ends April 29 in Springfield, Mo. After that, he said he hopes to settle in New York and find work there; after four and a half years on the road, the performer would like to spend time in one place for once.

Steiner would eventually like to launch a theater in Detroit modeled on The 5th Avenue Theatre in Seattle, which tours and produces Broadway-style shows. Steiner said he hopes to bring his knowledge of the Broadway world back home and put it to use here.

Detroit is second only to New York in the number of theater seats it offers, and Steiner feels some of the city’s venues — such as the historic Music Hall Center for the Performing Arts — are currently underutilized.

“I think there’s a million talented people (in Detroit),” he said. “And everyone is ready to revitalize Detroit. … The more that we offer, the more young people we can get to move there.”

Anyone interested in investing in Steiner’s theater venture can contact him by email at adamsteiner1@gmail.com.

In the more immediate future, Steiner hopes his appearance in “Shrek” inspires other young aspiring performers to chase their dreams.

“You’ll see that it’s possible to do whatever you want, if you work really, really hard,” he said.

The Fisher Theatre is located at 3011 W. Grand Blvd. in Detroit’s New Center. Tickets to “Shrek the Musical” are $29-$79, which includes parking. Tickets can be purchased from the theater box office or Ticketmaster by calling (800) 982-2787 or visiting www.ticket master.com, or at www.BroadwayinDetroit.com. For more information, visit the Broadway in Detroit website or call (313) 872-1000.

You can reach C & G Staff Writer K. Michelle Moran at kmoran@candgnews.com or at (586)498-1047.