A casting notice for the roles of Shrek and Donkey says that the reading will be held Feb. 23, 2007. Rehearsals for that one-day event will begin Feb. 12.

Produced by Dreamworks Animation & Neal Street Productions, Shrek features music by Jeanine Tesori and book and lyrics by David Lindsay-Abaire. Jason Moore directs.

As recently announced, Tony Award winner Tim Hatley (Private Lives, Spamalot) will handle sets and costumes while Tony-nominated Hugh Vanstone (Spamalot, Bombay Dreams) will cover lighting for the eventual full production of the musical, which is looking toward a 2008 debut.

Based on a William Steig children's book, the green ogre-with-a-heart character has been featured in "Shrek" and "Shrek 2"; a third chapter is currently scheduled to be released in theatres on May 18, 2007.

DreamWorks Animation's first venture in legitimate theatre, the developing production was initiated by Jeffrey Katzenberg and Sam Mendes when the studio made a first-look deal with Mendes' producing entity, Neal Street Productions, Ltd. *

Auditions for the roles of Shrek and Donkey will be held Oct. 28 at 10 AM in Manhattan at the Ripley Grier Studios, 580 Eighth Avenue on the 16th floor.