When "Shrek the Musical" opens up downtown this month, local actor Eric Petersen will take on two big roles: Shrek and first-time dad. The 29-year-old actor, who grew up in Carol Stream, says the best thing about returning to Chicago is that his wife Lisa Marie Morabito and baby Sophia Marie are going to join him on the road.

We talked with Petersen by phone June 11 as he prepared to move to Chicago while planning the logistics of a baby whose due date is the same day as moving day.

Q: Is it making you nervous to have two such big events happening together?
I look at it as just an overflow of blessings. I feel like I'm so lucky to be playing this part in a great show and I'm overjoyed to become a father. And the fact that they're happening together seems to be how my life always works.

Q: How's it going to work being in the show and being a dad?
It's going to be so exciting because not only are we bringing our little family to Chicago, we're doing this whole tour together as a family for the next year. That does make me a little nervous when I think about, I need to make sure the hotel in whatever city we're in has to be clean and I don't want her getting sick…but a baby, all they really need is a place to eat and sleep and poop. In the second half of the first year, we have a lot of one-week stops. Those are going to be a little harder.

Q:What are you looking forward to the most about returning to Chicago?
We're excited that when we're going to be brand-new parents, we're going to have not only my parents with us but also all my aunts and uncles and cousins, who have already offered to babysit.

Liz DeCarlo is the senior editor at Chicago Parent.

See more of Liz's stories here.

Contact Liz at ldecarlo@chicagoparent.com

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