The lights go down, and the sound guy at the back initiates a clap, the show instantly delivers on the one thing I already know: this is a show for children. And I was never under any impression otherwise – but at least the original film was tolerable to any other age group watching it.
The show appears rooted in poor choreography and lazy, repetitive songwriting. Lyrics such as “he’s so crack-a-lackin’” work nicely as references to the original movie, but end up being an overused crutch on which to balance the characters perceived “coolness” on.
The production seems to rely on the idea of telling and not showing. We are told these four animals are best friends, yet the chemistry between them is not obvious and it takes multiple songs to tell us this instead. Many key moments of the show are trimmed to fit into its 1 hour 45 minute run time, including all scenes set on the beach, and any explanation of how the characters move between scenes.
Turning to my friend throughout the first half, I notice her fighting the urge to sleep. I quickly find myself doing the same. Nothing stands out, nor acts to capture the audiences attention until the second half of the show. This is the introduction of the true star: King Julien (played by Karim Zeroual), and the main reason we’re all there. The number “I like to move it move it” truly delivers one of the few stand out moments in the show.
Few faults can be found with the stage craft, the show makes full use of props and scenery, as well as the fun puppeteering of the lemurs, Penguins and the monkey. However, props are also used to cover up poor choreography, with the cast breaking out skipping ropes and limbo poles with no real justification to do so.
Between weak and cringe worthy attempts at humour, the cast seem to do their best to annoy the audience with their style of acting that seems more about getting a reaction, or a cheap laugh, than it does about telling a story. The script doesn’t help, seeking out to make even the most easily entertained humans avert their eyes in horror. This was showcased best in the regular interjections from Jarnéia Richard Noel’s Gloria who shouts “boom boom” in the most chalk-board scraping manner possible.
Madagascar – more like Mada-massacre!
