Madagascar Jr

Madagascar Jr is a show that is not often performed.  I don’t know why, because it’s full of fun and has some good songs, and in the hands of the talented and enthusiastic Top Box team it made for a fabulously entertaining show. As is often the case with Top Box shows, such is their wealth of talent, the cast were split into two Teams, who shared the four performances between them.  On the night of my visit it was Team Wild on duty, but I have no doubt that Team Free also did a great job!

Madagascar Jr tells the story of a group of animals seeking to answer the call of the wild as they plot to escape their confinement in San Diego Zoo.  But for the four friends, things quickly go awry as they find themselves stranded in Madagascar and pitched into a battle between the tribe of King Julien and the threatening Foosa.  Meanwhile a gang of Penguins are also in search of their homeland – will they abandon that quest to rescue the other animals from the island?

The show kicked off with a sequence of high-fiving animals, as we were introduced to the principal characters, who also showed off some fine dance moves during their first song ‘It’s Showtime’.  So we met Marty the Zebra (Venise M) – desperate to escape the Zoo; Alex the Lion (Skye D) – the leader of the pack; Melman the Giraffe (Eden O) – nicely neurotic; and Gloria the Hippo (Lucy J) – the positive influence.  All four performers did a great job in their roles, getting the characterisation over and singing very well.  I also liked the animal onesies that were used for their costumes – great idea! 

Also looking for a way out of their confinement were a quartet of Penguins, Skipper, Kowalski, Rico and Private (Tilly H, Phoebe M, George B and Mason S.)  These four were huge fun as the plotted their escape, acting like undercover secret agents as they sidled onto the stage, and quickly derailing the plans of the other animals as they sought a return to Antarctica.  Their song, ‘Penguin Sea Shanty’ was also very entertaining.  As this brought the first half to a close, I also really liked the use of streamers waved by members of the ensemble to represent water as the escapees were shipwrecked.

Into the second half, and we met King Julien the Thirteenth, played in ebullient style by Lily D, and her loyal advisor Maurice, played by Harriett E, who matched her partner for energy and character.  They were accompanied by a herd of cute lemurs, well depicted by the ensemble and continuing the strong costuming of this show.  There was a great opportunity for a solo number, as Alex the Lion rejected seaweed on a stick, hankering instead for ‘Steak’.  Skye did a great job with this number, I also really liked the T-shirts worn by the supporting singers for this song, depicting, of course, a juicy steak! Later on, Venise also did really well with their solo opportunity as they begged to remain ‘Best Friends’.

The creepy Foosa, in their sinister capes, were well represented by the ensemble, particularly as they stomped their way through the intimidating ‘Foosa Hungry’.  I thought this show was a particularly strong showing from the whole ensemble and other supporting actors portraying zoo keepers, various members of the public and others caught up in the animals’ antics.  ‘Relax, Be Cool, Chill Out’, for example, was full of great energy and movement alongside the singing.  It was also good to see that some of the younger performers weren’t afraid to get downstage and make the most of their time on stage. Well done to them all!

The show was very well staged, with Top Box creative team Tracy Anne Wright and Georgie Pearce once more at the helm.  There was lots of fun choreography throughout, which the cast delivered with gusto.  There was a good zoo backdrop and later a depiction of a ship, with crates to hold the various escaping animals.  A San Diego metro sign placed at front and centre was cleverly re-purposed as a ships wheel, although this did obscure our view some of the performers at times.  I also liked the snow effect which greeted the Penguins as they arrived at a chilling Antarctica to find it was not quite the paradise they were expecting.  The range and quality of costumes on display was also impressive.

Of course, our heroes were eventually rescued by the Penguins (having successfully vanquished the Foosa), and return home having learned that the grass is not always greener on the other side!  The final songs joyfully led us through to the end.  The energy and enjoyment of performance was very high throughout, and personified in the final song ‘Together Forever’.  It makes such a huge differences when performers smile on stage, and it was clear that the whole cast were having a whale of a time, launching into a fun reprise of ‘I Like to Move It’ to finish the show.  Well done everyone, and I look forward to seeing you all again soon. 

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