By Emily R. Zarevich, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
“I’d have a hero’s ending. A perfect happy ending. That’s how it would be. A big, bright, beautiful world, but not for me,” mournfully sings the titular, green-skinned ogre at the end of the first act of Shrek the Musical. Right before intermission, audiences are left wondering, as they stand in line for the bathroom or snacks, whether this particular main character will triumph or fail in his quest for true love. Will he get the girl of his dreams, or will he return to his swamp alone after his adventure is done? But what’s most important in this number, “Who I’d Be,” is that Shrek is finally embracing, rather than repressing, his need for affection and companionship. Shrek the Musical’s first act ends on a key moment of character development.
In a Broadway musical, the finale of the first act, or the finale of the entire show, can offer the audience almost anything. A cliffhanger. A revelation. A love triangle resolved. A lifelong dream realized, or a new dream unlocked. At the core of it, what makes a Broadway finale memorable is its ability to leave audiences on a high note. A good finale leaves its audience satisfied. And that’s what director Michael MacLennan has done with his new production, Finales: Broadway’s Greatest Showstoppers, which was performed at Drury Lane Theatre in Burlington on Friday, June 13, and Saturday, June 14, 2025. MacLennan, in association with CCMP (City Centre Musical Productions), has devised what is, as a whole, a satisfying variety show.
Finales, which follows MacLennan’s first revue show with the CCMP, Leading Ladies, is a love letter to all the ending songs of Broadway hits that are, in turn, catchy, heartbreaking, inspiring, and celebratory. For this venture, MacLennan has assembled a cast of extraordinary Ontario-based talent to lead the audience on a journey that zigzags from musical to musical at a dizzying speed. The cast jumps from Funny Girl to Chicago, from The Witches of Eastwick to Waitress, from La Cage Aux Folles to City of Angels, and, of course, Shrek the Musical, among an array of others. It’s the fastest tour of Broadway you’ll ever experience. Audience members could be seen frequently glancing down at their programs and squinting in the dark. They whispered to one another, “Where is this song from?”
The songs are from all over, and the cast members are matched effectively with the ones that suit their styles and abilities best. Several particular performances stand out. David Grimason makes for a dorky, determined suitor, playing Big Fish’s Edward to Meagan Dowey’s Sandra in a charming rendition of “Daffodils.” Vincent Perri and Erin Mouchian razzle and dazzle in Bonnie and Clyde’s foot-tapping declaration of a life of crime, “This World Will Remember Us.” Karl Kwiatkowski and Misha Khorramshahi step into the roles of a doctor and a piemaker who can’t keep their hands off each other in“Bad Idea” from Waitress. And Nathon Irving’s powerful voice perfectly suits that of the agonized, lovelorn Beast for Beauty and the Beast’s “If I Can’t Love Her.”
Finales relies somewhat on the audience having at least a rudimentary knowledge of the musicals’ plotlines and the dramatic impact of the songs chosen. Hardcore Broadway enthusiasts will know, for example, that when Sweeney Todd and Mrs. Lovett sing “A Little Priest” at the end of the first act of Sweeney Todd, they’re officially embarking on their infamous murder-cannibalism business venture. When Doug Massey and Sharon Nimmo played Sweeney Todd and Mrs. Lovett on the Drury Lane stage, they had minimalist costumes and the bare minimum of props. They did a solid job of convincing the audience that their characters are psychotic and up to no good, but it helps to already know that what they’re singing about is Mrs. Lovett’s scheme to bake Todd’s victims into meat pies to sell in her London bakeshop.
Rest assured that the piemaker in Waitress at least uses ordinary ingredients. While listening to “Bad Idea,” it helps to know that the characters of Jenna and Dr. Pomatter are both in desperately unhappy marriages to other people, and their love is forbidden. All context is easily accessible through Wikipedia, though it’s advisable not to look these things up during the show.
