MUSIC THEATRE
Madagascar the Musical: Book by Kevin del Aguila, Original Music & Lyrics by George Noriega & Joel Someillan
Selladoor Worldwide Production based on DreamWorks movie
At Comedy Theatre, Melbourne until 15 Jan 2023 then Perth 19-26 Jan.
Reviewer: Kate Herbert
Stars: ***1/2
This review was published only on this blog. I'll do a radio review on Arts Weekly 3MBS on Feb 4, 2023. KH
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| Madagascar the Musical-pic by David Hooley - supplied |
Much of the joy in watching Madagascar the Musical is hearing the delighted reactions of the littlies that comprise much of the audience. They giggle and clap and dance in their sets during the finale, and each has a favourite character; the child beside us loves Gloria the Hippo.
The musical is based on the hit movie by DreamWorks but it chooses a select few of the animals that escape from their home in New York’s Central Park Zoo when Marty the adventurous Zebra (Joe Kalou) decides on his tenth birthday to take an overnight train to The Wild. His pals, Alex the conceited Lion (Andrew Papas), Melman the hypochondriacal Giraffe (Bryn Monk) and Gloria the sassy Hippo (Moniquewa Williams) pursue him, but all four friends end being captured captured in the middle of New York City.
They are transported in containers on a ship bound for Africa, but the four mischievous penguins, led by the wily Skipper (Cole Johnston) – He has the famously wry catchphrase, "Smile and wave boys!"– plan to get to Antarctica. They take over the ship and the other animals end up stranded on Madagascar, the realm of bombastic and flamboyant King Julien (Jonathan Martin), king of the lemurs.
Friendship is the core of this story. Even when Alex the carnivore is starving, he restrains himself from biting into his pal, Marty’s plump rump, then chases off the ravening enemies of the lemurs, the insidious, sneaking meat-eaters, the Fossas.
The songs by George Noriega & Joel Someillan are short and peppy with simple, cheeky lyrics and the styles range from pop tunes to R and B, Jazz and even Latin beats, all performed with accompanying dance routines that appeal to the children.
The lead characters are played by actors in costume while others are large puppets manipulated by a talented ensemble. The performers are all versatile and polished singer/dancer/actors, but special mention must be made of Martin as the hilarious, audacious character of King Julien. He has a rich vocal quality and his entrance singing the funky song, I Like to Move It!, is a highlight. Madagascar is chock-full of jokes and sight gags for all the family and Martin’s King Julien milks a fart gag for all it’s worth, sending the kids into paroxysms of laughter.
This is not a lavish musical production like The Lion King, but it is just the ticket for a summer indoor entertainment for little kids.
by Kate Herbert
Australian Creatives
Associate Director -Nick Purdie
Associate Choreographer - Fabian Aloise
Associate Musical Director - Mark Bradley
Original Creatives
Director - Kirk Jamieson
Choreographer - Fabian Aloise
Designer - Tom Rogers
Musical Supervisor - Mark Crossland
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