Madagascar The Musical The Alexandra, Birmingham Review

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Thu 14 Mar 2024 - Sun 17 Mar 2024

The zany DreamWorks movie in which a group of animals escape from Central Park Zoo in New York in search of ‘The Wild’ translates wonderfully to the stage in this equally madcap musical.

The much-loved characters are brought to life with a mix of people in costumes and puppets in a fast-paced adventure story. Written by Kevin Del Aguila and with original music and songs by George Noriega and Joel Someillan, the stage version is easily recognizable from the film.

Friends Alex the lion, Gloria the hippo, Marty the zebra and Melman the giraffe escape from their cages for what they think will be an overnight adventure – but instead, they end up shipwrecked on the island of Madagascar. Here they meet the lemur leader King Julien who hatches a plot to keep them on the island forever.



Joseph Hewlett gives us a well-meaning Alex who believes friendship counts above all but without his daily meals from the zookeepers, he struggles with a rumbling belly and friends who could also be dinner.

Francisco Gomes is the dreamer Marty who wants to be free of the confines of the zoo and to experience the wild he has always pictured in his mind. Joshua Oakes-Rogers is hugely funny as the hypochondriac Melman and Jarneia Richard-Noel is a bubbly hippo Gloria.

Those familiar with the movie can’t help but wait for the advent of the hip-jiggling King Julien following the interval. At the Birmingham Alexandra press night, Connor Keetley understudied for Karim Zeroual and he was certainly relishing his moment in the role of the crazed leader of the lemurs. He was full of energy and his rendition of I Like to Move It was without doubt a highlight.

The puppeteers bring us a host of other characters from the devious penguins who head off to Antarctica only to find it is a bit too cold for their liking to the predatory Fossas and King Julien’s lemur followers. Designed by Max Humphries, the puppets and particularly the commando penguins are full of character and life.



Produced by Selladoor Worldwide and Theatre Royal Plymouth and directed by Kirk Jameson, the production trots along at a merry pace taking us across continents and hammering home the message that friendship conquers all.

The cast is certainly giving it their all which makes it a bit frustrating that at times the recorded music is so loud it drowns out their contribution – just a bit less volume would make a lot of difference.

But ultimately this is a fun adventure for the family. Prepare yourself for some uproarious entertainment. Purchase tickets here.

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