When you hear someone talk about the "dark years", you may have visions of the Great Depression, or maybe of when the bubonic plague swept across Europe.

When I talk about the "dark years," I am talking about something far scarier, far more fearsome.

Yeah, I am talking about Barney, the purple dinosaur.

My three children all loved that guy - and I can still remember wanting to pop champagne when the last child said, "Naa, I don't like Barney anymore."

Maybe it wasn't really Barney's fault entirely - after all it's not easy to watch a video - any video - 10 times a day. Barney just made it harder.

But every movie was hard when you watched it over and over-- Cinderella. Beauty and the Beast. You name it.

All except one, that is:

Shrek, my favorite ogre.

The characters of Shrek, Donkey and Fiona, and the other inhabitants of "Far, Far Away," have been featured in three major animated films.

I have probably seen Shrek more than any kid movie - counting Barney, I am happy to say.

Shrek just gets better each time. I love the humor; I love the underlying message about beauty.

And that's why I am so excited that it is coming to the 5th Avenue Theater in a brand new form. The world debut of the new "Shrek the Musical" runs here in Seattle from Aug. 14 to Sept. 21. And then it is off to New York, where it is sure to be a Broadway hit.

To celebrate this wonderful story, and to salute a story that I am always willing and eager to see again, I want to share five life lessons Shrek has taught me:

Beauty is only skin deep.

Women can be powerful and not just wait for handsome princes.

Handsome princes who appear to have it all can be beaten by ugly ogres who have good hearts.

Cleanliness isn't everything (this one calms in me in my more self-critical housecleaning moments).

People are like onions and they need to be peeled back before you know them.

With such a great story to work from, Shrek is sure to a musical delight, too. It stars an array of Tony Award winners and nominees, including my daughter's favorite Broadway singer, Sutton Foster. Also the show will feature a local girl, Keaton Whittaker, as the young Princess Fiona.

You can plan on my girls and me seeing Shrek the Musical - and my daughter plans on hanging out in downtown Seattle as much as she can, in case she has a chance to see her Broadway idol this summer.

It's an exciting thing, having a musical open here (Young Frankenstein did it last year, too.) Add that to a story that is as familiar as an old and well-loved toy? What a treat.

As for me, we have moved way beyond the days of Barney now. My oldest is deep into Friends reruns, and the other two are more into DS games, Webkinz and all of the other latest games.

And the other day, as I cleaned out the video shelves, I found a bunch of Barney videos. To my shock, as I put them in the donation pile, I felt a moment of nostalgia for my old purple friend and his dopey songs.

But it was just about 1.5 seconds. Then it passed.

Lauri Hennessey runs a public relations business, is a singer, and can be reached at lauri@hennesseypr.com For more information on the show, visit www.shrekthemusical.com