Madagascar The Musical Review

Reviewed by Gemma at Royal and Derngate in Northampton
Tickets were gifted for an honest review

We like to move it, move it!

The cast of Madagascar The Musical. Photo by Phil Tragen.

With a toe tapping score, hip hop enthused choreography & four fun loving friends front & centre, Madagascar will have you wanting to move it, move it in no time. Adapted from the 2005 film of the same title this fun filled musical follows Alex, Marty, Melman & Gloria, along with a few special guests, on an impromptu adventure out of their New York zoo & into the wild. While maintaining enough original details to delight fans of the film, this stellar cast bring the animal kingdom into a new decade. Injecting elements of rap & commercial hip hop dance into otherwise dialogue dominated areas of the narrative, to give each character a new lease of life & touch of sass that is guaranteed to keep all the family engaged. 
 
As a screen is lifted to reveal the urban animal enclosure beyond, you are immediately drawn to the vibrant costumes of the main characters. Offering enough realism to accurately portray the animals, each costume has a simplicity that allows movement & facial expression to take centre stage in creating the characters personalities. Francisco Gomes & Joseph Hewlett capture Marty & Alex's chemistry from the get go & successfully build on this bond as more characters are introduced throughout the first act. Clever maneuverability of key set such as zoo enclosure railings contribute to highlighting the contrast between the characters confined or vast environments. This is aided by smooth lighting transitions that mimic the zoo lighting & passing of time via the sky in the natural world. With harsher lighting changes embodying the former & warmer tones indicating the move into the wild. 
 
Karim Zerouel captivates the audience as King Julien, capturing the cheeky yet authoritive nature of the character perfectly & offering moments of light humour that keep the audience engaged throughout. Although giving longer moments of travel a slightly clunky appearance, the stylistic choice to have King Julien at kneeling height ensures proportionality & gives the character an amusing movement quality when dancing. The cast's puppetry work is outstanding throughout, bringing the animals to life. A particular highlight being Mason the monkey & the regiment of penguins, whose cameo appearances offer humour to those with a quick eye. 

Gemma with the cast after the show.

Blink & you might just miss some of these cameos if you are positioned to the left of the auditorium. With characters & set appearing from behind hidden flaps of the static set, predominantly to the right of the stage, the other side is often left unused. Which can leave the scene feeling slightly unfinished at times.
 
One area always occupied however, is centre stage. With act one concentrating on character & narrative building, act two is reserved for music & dancing. And with big dance numbers filling the stage with movement & colour, it would be hard to miss any of the action. While some group numbers in the first act caused certain characters to get slightly lost vocally, solo songs demonstrated individual strength & tone with Jarnéia Richard-Noel a stand out as Gloria. Combined with tight choreography & a strong ensemble cast, act two is as technically clean as it is entertaining. 
 
As Madagascar concludes with an energy fuelled encore, prepare to boogie your way out of the theatre to the sounds of the wild. 
 
An uplifting, fun evening for all the family.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Madagascar The Musical runs at Royal and Derngate in Northampton until Sunday 21st July 2024. Tickets are available from https://www.royalandderngate.co.uk/. The tour continues with dates booking until 24th August. For dates and venues visit https://www.madagascarthemusical.co.uk/

Karim Zeroual as King Julien. Photo by Phil Tragen