TURNERS FALLS — It’s better late than never for the group of student thespians portraying an ogre and his donkey sidekick, along with a plethora of fairytale creatures, in “Shrek the Musical.”

“Shrek the Musical” was going to be the show at Turners Falls High School and Great Falls Middle School in 2020, Director Kimberly Rose said, but the pandemic put an end to the show that year. The idea to revive the performance with this new group of students arose because they’ve gained the skills to play lead roles and tell the story.

“The students who were appropriate for the lead roles graduated out and we just waited till people were ready again,” Rose said. “The timing is apropos, considering the world that we are currently living in, and the on-the-nose fairytale creatures being evicted from their homes and sent to go live in a swamp.”

“Shrek the Musical,” derived from the animated movie from 2001, follows the story of Shrek, the ogre, as he takes on Lord Farquaad, who has banished the fairytale creatures of Duloc to Shrek’s swamp and tries to marry Shrek’s true love, Princess Fiona, who is revealed to be an ogre herself. Along the way, the grumpy ogre makes friends like the charismatic Donkey, and their trials and tribulations tell a story of courage and acceptance.

Having put together a two-act musical that relies on detailed costumes and elaborate sets, the 60 students in the cast and crew are eager to show how they’ve worked since middle school to build their theater skills.

“I hope they look forward to seeing the progressions we’ve made as a theater group, because we’ve lost a lot of our good actors over the years,” said junior Clara Guidaboni said, who is playing both Princess Fiona and the Gingerbread Man. She said she has enjoyed exploring voice acting as the Gingerbread Man, and exploring the range of emotions Princess Fiona portrays in the show — something she said is out of her comfort zone having played mainly villains before.

Michael Waite, a junior who is playing Shrek, said he has worked to refine his portrayal of Shrek, between his Scottish accent and his layered emotions. He’s played lead roles before, but playing the namesake of a show is new to him.

“In this one, it’s like the lead, title character, and it’s Shrek, so you kind of have to meet an expectation,” Waite said.

After preparing for the role since December, Waite is hopeful the audience will see the chemistry between the student actors and enjoy the show’s iconic moments.

It’s not just the actors on stage who are getting a chance to flex their skills. Students working behind the scenes have helped create set pieces, including the dragon, with help from art teacher Jonathan Chappell.

Zachary Keeney, a senior who has been helping craft the dragon since December, said it is designed to have full range of motion in the head, blinking eyes and a moving mouth. It can be operated by freshman Athena Willor, who is inside the prop, while a student actor performs next to it.

“She takes a step, the dragon takes a step. Inside, she’s got the harness on, which she’s able to pivot, make it tilt back and forth,” Keeney said about the dragon. “It’s pretty cool.”

“Shrek the Musical” will be performed from Thursday, March 27, to Saturday, March 29, at 7 p.m. each day. There will also be a matinee performance at 2 p.m. on Sunday, March 30. Tickets are $15 for adults, $10 for students and seniors, and $5 for children ages 5 and under.

Erin-Leigh Hoffman can be reached at ehoffman@recorder.com or 413-930-4231.