A 90-minute makeup session turns actor into Shrek

[December 24, 2008]  NEW YORK (AP) -- It's a little after 6 p.m. in the star dressing room at the Broadway Theatre, where a sign on the door warns: "Do not disturb. Shrek makeup in progress."

In progress -- and moving methodically along.

Two makeup artists -- Dave Presto and Angela Johnson -- work quickly and quietly on Brian d'Arcy James, transforming the affable, soft-spoken actor into a mean, green ogre, the title character in "Shrek the Musical," a lavish new stage version of the DreamWorks animated movie.

There is an almost Zen-like tranquility to the scene. Music drifts quietly from a radio; a fan whirls softly. And James, wearing a white bathrobe that covers a spiffy, striped blue shirt and almost hides his crisp jeans, looks positively relaxed, his eyes often closed during the 90-minute makeover.

He sits in a black-leather barber chair placed in front of a mirror in the large, brightly lighted dressing room, once the home of such Tony winners as Patti LuPone in "Evita," Jonathan Pryce in "Miss Saigon" and, more recently, LaChanze in "The Color Purple."

"It's the biggest makeup show ever," says Johnson, production makeup supervisor for the musical, as she works on the right side of James' face. Presto, billed as the Shrek makeup artist, is on the left.

After all, this is a fairy-tale musical and there are other creatures, including several other green ogres, as well as Donkey, Pinocchio, the Three Bears and more to get ready to paint.

After a rubber skull cap is placed on James' head, these artisans get down to work, gluing and painting the various pieces of prosthetics that will turn James head and neck into the top half of Shrek. Their instruments of choice? Long cotton swabs and small brushes, which they use with delicate, small strokes.

"The amount of glue applied to each actor is unprecedented," says James during one of the moments he is allowed to talk during the transformation.

"You literally have to put on a skin, a thick skin, as it were," James continues. "The makeup has an effect on how I move my head, my neck ... and how it looks in conjunction with my body."

Standing by is James' dresser, Jack Scott, ready to help the actor put on the costume that will complete the changeover. Check out the huge green hands that slip onto James' fingers like gloves.

And when the transformation is done, there's Shrek, complete with a Scottish accent, ready to face that evening's audience. And what is that green ogre singing as he warms up those vocal cords? A show tune, of course: "I Feel Pretty" from "West Side Story."

[Associated Press; By MICHAEL KUCHWARA]

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