It’s always a different theatrical experience when a show is aimed at children; there’s a buzz around the audience, which is full of excited chatter (and, in this case, fuzzy giraffe and zebra headbands) as they eagerly await the appearance of their favourite characters on stage.
Based on Dreamworks’ much-loved animated movie and directed by Kirk Jameson ‘Madagascar The Musical’ adds energetic musical numbers and jazzy dance routines to bring the story to life on stage. It follows Alex the Lion, King of New York City Zoo, who, alongside his best friends, Marty the Zebra, Melman the Giraffe and Gloria the Hippo, delights in entertaining the zoo’s visitors with his ‘roarsome’ display. That is, until Marty makes a birthday wish to visit the wild and, with the help some pesky penguins, makes a grand escape which results in the four friends being shipwrecked on the island of Madagascar and captured by the wily King Julien and his tribe of lemurs.
The set (based on original designs by Tom Rogers) and costumes for this production are dazzling. An almost constantly moving set keeps the pace and energy high in the first act, alongside recreating a key moment from the movie with the four animals stacked in shipping crates. We are then transported to Madagascar in the second act, with vines, trees and greenery galore, and clever use of lighting to add to the tropical vibe.
The main four look great, with recognisable features from their cartoon counterparts – especially Melman the giraffe (Joshua Oakes-Rogers), complete with extendable neck and moving face designed to replicate the original character. Playing such iconic characters, especially cartoon ones, is always challenging, and the actors do well to add familiar nuance to their voices and movements to help bring the characters to life. They barely leave the stage, and belt out some impressive musical numbers to boot, all set to Fabian Aloise’s fun dance routines which have the children (and some of the adults!) in the audience almost jumping out of their seats. Solid performances from Joseph Hewlett (Alex), Francisco Gomes (Marty), Jarneia Richard-Noel (Gloria) and Joshua Oakes-Rogers (Melman).
The rest of the animals are brought to life in puppet form, and it’s clear that no expense has been spared in these fabulous creations, designed by Max Humphries and directed by Emma Brunton. The four penguins (brilliantly puppeteered and voiced by Connor Keetley, Brogan McFarlane, Ella Howlett and Laura Marie Benson) are instantly recognisable, as are the lemurs. However, it’s clear who the favourite is when Karim Zeroual makes his eagerly anticipated entrance as the iconically zany King Julien. He is every bit the lovable maniacal monarch the audience are expecting, and the company performance of ‘I Like to Move It’ brings the house down.
A colourful, energetic and fun afternoon out for all the family.
