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| the cast photo by John Buttel |
Click here for more information on this production that runs through November 19th.
"...family audiences attending Valley Youth Theatre’s new live presentation, Madagascar: A Musical Adventure, will be pleased to know that the show...is the origin story, the one that started it all, based on the original film, and that’s definitely a good thing....the story revolves around four New York Central Park Zoo animals who make their escape, only to be captured and shipped off to Africa. But something goes wrong. The animals end up stranded on the beaches of Madagascar where King Julien (Riley Thornton) and the Lemurs greet them. ...In truth, not a great deal occurs, and what does take place zips by at lightning speed. ...the real fun of the musical is not so much what happens, it’s the characters themselves and the script’s constant wit. ...In the movies, the scene-stealers have always been the four penguins, and it’s the same with show. Lead by Skipper (Abby Cardenas), and followed by Private (Sydney Vance), Kowalski (Kate Brink), and Rico (Cara Richman), the waddling quartet move around with the precision of a covert military force. ...There’s also the curious character of Mason the monkey (a funny Kylan Chait) who seems to have nothing to do with the story; he simply keeps appearing and walking across the stage, observing the antics and rolling his eyes at what he sees. ...Madagascar is aimed squarely at the young..The whole production is ablaze in vivid, eye-catching color, and even though the musical may feel somewhat smaller in scope, with its detailed, imaginative sets, its costumes, the effective kaleidoscopic lighting, the peppy choreography where characters bob and weave around each other, plus the overall energy of the young performers, Madagascar: A Musical Adventure rises to the standards of any VYT Herberger Theater presentation...." -David Appleford, Valley Screen and Stage (click here to read the complete review)
"The grass may look greener on the other side of confinement at the Central Park Zoo, but for the menagerie of fugitives in MADAGASCAR: A MUSICAL ADVENTURE, other unexpected perils await in the wilds across the ocean. ...There's ample room in Valley Youth Theatre's current production of MADAGASCAR for a bevy of young talents to strut their stuff and kindle a child's imagination. Raymond Cusick (Melman the Giraffe), Ira Hill (Marty the Zebra), Anastasia Rai (Gloria the Hippo), and Hayden Skaggs (Alex the Lion) bring flair and frivolity to their roles as they cavort from one crisis to another and discover truths about friendship, loyalty, and survival. Kate Brink (Kowalski), Abby Cardenas (Skipper), Cara Richman (Rico), and Sydney Vance (Private) are delightful as the mutinous and errant Penguins off to Antractica only to discover that the place is not as cool as they expected. The show kicks into high gear when a very hip Riley Thornton hits the stage as King Julien, the royal honcho of the island's lemurs, and rocks the house with an up-roar-ious exhortation to Move It, Move It! A cute and entertaining story that provides a showcase for some young and very promising song-and-dance talents, MADAGASCAR runs through November 19th at the Herberger Theater Center's Stage West. " - Herbert Paine, Broadway World (click here to read the complete review)
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