‘Shrek’ comes to Saenger, while ‘Beth’ wreaks havoc at Playmakers

Fall fun on local stages kicks off next week with a pair of shows that feature some “not very nice” protagonists. But the bad guy might not be exactly who it looks like at first.

There’s underhanded hilarity waiting in the wings on both shores of Lake Pontchartrain.

‘The swamps of home’

It’s actually rather fitting that “Shrek The Musical” makes a stop in Louisiana on its national tour.

After all, Shrek lives in a swamp overrun with fairytale creates. South Louisiana is a swamp and the Crescent City has no shortage of fairytale folk.

Based on the Oscar-winning DreamWorks animated 2001 film, the comedy looks at an ogre, his unwelcome sidekick Donkey (who is indeed a donkey), a princess, a treacherous lord and a host of wisecracking characters ranging from Pinocchio, the Three Little Pigs, Peter Pan and a dragon.

It seems that fairytale creatures are flooding Shrek’s swamp because Lord Farquaad wants them out of his “perfect” world. Accompanied by Donkey, he must rescue Princess Fiona from a dragon for Farquaad so the titled terrorist will return the swamp to the pastoral pit Shrek desires.

There’s music, dancing and fun in this Tony-winning production that has been rescheduled from the spring.

The show will run at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 6, 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. Sept. 7 and 1 p.m. Sept. 8 at 1111 Canal St. Tickets start at $29. Visit saengernola.com.

‘Strap yourselves in’

The plot sounds a bit like “All About Eve,” but in this case, it’s all about Beth. And it’s funny.

To start its 70th season, Covington’s Playmakers Theater stages “Til Beth Do Us Part,” a comedy about a successful woman and her devious assistant who worms her way into the businesswoman’s business — and marriage — with hilarious yet horrendous results.

The show is written by the same team who penned the 2023 Playmakers’ sold-out smash “The Savannah Sipping Society.”

The show features Joanna Parr, Shawn Patterson, Stephanie Sayles, Jehna Patterson, Laura Hayes, Daniel Jenkins and Nada Elkassouf. Directing the production is Derek Thrush, with assistant director Jehna Patterson.

The show opens Sept. 7 and will run at 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 2 p.m. Sundays through Sept. 22 at 19106 Playmakers Road. The curtains are a bit later to accommodate bridge construction traffic, according to officials with the playhouse. The new season also brings about Friday performances and reserved seating.

Tickets start at $15. For information, visit playmakers-theater-05.webself.net and for tickets visit bontempstix.com.

In production

“THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME”: 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays through Sept. 8; Slidell Little Theatre, 2024 Nellie Drive. Based on the Disney animated movie, the story centers on the 15th-century bell ringer for the famed Notre Dame who escapes into the city for a festival, the Feast of Fools, and runs into Esmeralda, a Romani who treats him with kindness. But she has also caught the eye of Captain Phoebus and archdeacon Dom Claude Frollo, who happens to be Quasimodo’s devious caretaker. slidelllittletheatre.org.