Kids and kids at heart, get ready for a “shrek-tacular” treat. Shrek The Musical splashes into Newport Performing Arts Theater starting 31 October.

The country’s theater scene is thriving, and this is by far the biggest family musical of the year.

Full House Theater Company (FHTC) — the production arm of Newport World Resorts and the team behind The King and I, Annie, Ang Huling El Bimbo, and Buruguduy Stun Stugudunstuy—now brings the animated hit to the stage, based on the DreamWorks Animation motion picture and the book by William Steig. With book and lyrics by David Lindsay-Abaire and music by Jeanine Tesori, the stage adaptation first premiered on Broadway in 2008.

An all-Filipino cast and creative team will fill Newport’s 1,500-seat theater with a megastage, the widest in the country.

At the August 13 presscon, the media got a taste of the show with a few musical numbers. Rehearsals haven’t even begun, but the excitement is there.

FHTC artistic director Menchu Lauchengco-Yulo said the choice of material was deliberate.

“So basically, we want to be versatile and bring different experiences to audiences. We haven’t done a children’s musical in a while—our last one was Chitty Chitty Bang Bang—and after that, we focused more on adult material. With the holidays coming, we decided to bring back a musical that’s good for families. Shrek was the obvious choice to reconnect with that audience,” she explained.

Director Dexter Santos waded in with the same thought: “It’s always wonderful to see children in the mall. It would be great for families to come, be introduced to theater, and watch performances here in Newport.”

The cast of 47 features Jamie Wilson as Shrek, Krystal Kane as Fiona, Topper Fabregas as Donkey, Alfredo Reyes as Lord Farquaad, and Julia Serad as Dragon. All landed their parts through auditions.