“I’d like to move it, move it.” sang the cast of Adelaide Youth Theatre’s “Madagascar, A Musical Adventure Junior”. They certainly did that! The exuberance and energy of the 40 or so performers on opening afternoon was thoroughly enjoyed by the mostly primary school age audience for the “Steak cast”.
From the pitch black introduction by King Julian, to the final song and dance, all the cast held us entranced. There was lots of clapping and cheering in appropriate places, and also some laughter, even though we had heard them before, based on the animated movie Madagascar. A great beginning to a fantastic show. Noah Magourilos and Riley Mobbs’ set was simple but functional, seamlessly changing from zoo walls to island paradise to jungle.
As you probably know, it’s the story of four animals, (and four plotting penguins!) living in New York’s Central Park Zoo, who were meant to be shipped to Africa. They arrive on the tropical island of Madagascar, meet King Julian, the foxy lemurs and scary Fossas. Their adventures are narrated at times by A cheeky monkey or by King Julian’s advisor, Maurice, and accelerated by the conspirational Penguins.
Patrick Moore, as Alex the psychotic lion, was flashy and carried his part well.
Marty the bored and indecisive zebra, (am I black with white stripes or white with black stripes?), was cunningly played by Marie Fong. She had great vocals, both singing and spoken, and excellent dance actions.
Gloria, the hippie hippo, character by Maisie Lewis, gives a feminine voice of reason when things don’t go to plan, which is often!
Ethan Anderson was droll and dippy as Melman, the hypochondriac giraffe, complete with yellow Elton John glasses.
King Julian was energetically played and danced by Alejandro Jimenez.
The four penguins were Olive Maycock, Steph Lister, Milly Lewis, and Laura Szoboszlai, who waddled in and out of the story, well costumed in black and white, looking like the Blues Brothers.
Noah Magourilos’ debut Direction beautifully created a fun and energetic experience for audience and cast, alike, assisted by Riley Mobbs.
Excellent choreography by Kyle Mobbs and all the excellent dancers who showed that lots of practice went into each dance number for them to be in step and in sync.
The Musical Director was Elliott Purdue, bringing the songs to life. However, the microphone sound was a bit patchy at times. I’m sure Elliot and Lucas Magourilas will fix that for remaining shows.
The colourful costumes were a credit to the wardrobe team of Diane Kilpatrick, Kylie Mobbs, Catherine Kilpatrick and Heidi Allen; and the props tam of Renee Swift and Nicole MFarlane, eg Alex’s curly wigs and gold suit, Marty’s luxurious fur, Melman’s giraffe suit, the lemurs’ furry onesies and the animal print of the Fossas’ costumes.
It’s a short season, well worth attending, especially for families, at the Arts Theatre from 23-25 April.
