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A review from 5D Music & Theatre writer Maria Robertson.
Official photos by Phil Tragen.
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Most people, with children at least, will have seen the DreamWorks movie where some animals from a zoo in New York go in search of The Wild and end up in Madagascar with the lemurs. The musical is no different, with the zebra and lion being the best friends who lead the hippo and giraffe on an adventure.
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My son was most keen to see this musical as we all enjoyed the film and often play the soundtrack with the iconic song Move It. He did ask if it was going to be people dressed as animals, or puppets, and we decided to wait and see rather than Googling it to find out in advance. When I asked him during the interval if it was as he expected, with some people just as animals and others playing the puppets he commented that it could not have been any other way. He certainly seemed to enjoy the show, although refused to act like an animal for a photo with the Madagascar backdrop at the end! Teenagers are just too cool for such tomfoolery.
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Joseph Hewlett played Alex the lion, in a skin tight onesie. Francisco Gomes was Marty the zebra, who wishes to escape on his birthday. Gloria the hippo was Ella Howlett and Melman the hypochondriac suffering giraffe was James Hilton-Foster. These four characters worked well together as the best buddies on an adventure. The 3 cheeky penguins who go on a side mission were puppets rather than full costumes but still had the same character and mischief as in the movie.
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Arriving in Madagascar we met King Julien, played by Karim Zeroual. This character was my favourite, the face was that of the actor, I believe he was on his knees so this lemur used his hands and arms but his lemur legs were on the front of the costume. This made for a comical way of moving, with the benefit of facial expressions – and just cracked me up! The other lemurs were adorable puppets with the actors behind them and the puppets resting on foot extensions so they moved with them. Maurice was played by Connor Keetley.
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Certainly a fun night out for the family, the young lad next to me was so excited and told me the show was starting when the lights went off with that super animated way that we seem to loose as we grow older. My teenager did enjoy the show, but in a less enthusiastic way, as is often found in his age group! If you want some light hearted fun, with a lovely underlying theme of being loyal to your friends, then this is the show for you – especially if you love cute fluffy animals!
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Further information: https://www.madagascarthemusical.co.uk/
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Maria Robertson is the Chief Music & Theatre Writer for the 5D Pop Culture Website and provides reviews & coverage of local Aberdeen music & theatre gigs. She’s an experienced writer for numerous sources and is a self-confessed live gig addict ever since seeing The Counting Crows at the Barrowlands in 1994.
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