SHREK to Bump SISTER ACT and Play the Palladium in the West End?

Baz Bamigboye of the U.K.'s Daily Mail is reporting that Jeffrey Katzenburg, who runs Dreamworks Animation, has been looking around the London Palladium with the creative team of Shrek: The Musical, including director Jason Moore and designer Tim Hatley. 

Shrek will close on Broadway on January 3 after just over one year on Broadway, playing 441 performances and 37 previews.  It will begin a limited engagement U.S. tour at the Cadillac Palace Theatre in Chicago in July and run through September 5. According to reports, the plan is to open Shrek at the Palladium in October of 2010, meaning the theater's current tenant, Sister Act, will either need to relocate or close by the end of next summer.  Sister Act had announced an extension through December 18 of 2010, as previously reported, in August.

Shrek received eight 2009 Tony Award® nominations including Best Musical, winning Best Costume Design of a Musical (Tim Hatley). The show also received three Drama Desk Awards for Outstanding Actor in a Musical (Brian d'Arcy James), Outstanding Set & Costume Design of a Musical (Tim Hatley); and four Outer Critics Circle Awards for Outstanding Actor in a Musical (Brian d'Arcy James), Outstanding Actress in a Musical (Sutton Foster), Outstanding Set & Costume Design (Tim Hatley).

Tickets for Shrek on Broadway are available by calling Telecharge.com at (212) 239-6200, (800) 432-7250 outside the NY metro area, online at Telecharge.com, or in person at The Broadway Theatre box office (1681 Broadway @ 53rd St). Group sales are available by contacting Telecharge Group Sales at 212-239-6262, or 800-432-7780. Tickets on Tuesdays through Thursdays range in price from $41.50 to $121.50, and tickets on Fridays through Sundays range in price from $51.50 to $126.50. All tickets include a $1.50 facility fee. For more information, visit www.shrekthemusical.com.

Performance times for Sister Act at the London Palladium are running 7.30pm Mondays to Saturdays, with 3.00pm matinees on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Tickets, priced from £17.50-£60.00 available from the London Palladium Box Office on 0844 412 2704 and online at www.sisteractthemusical.com