Talk about an invasive species, sheesh.
Madagascar, an isolated biological hotspot like few on the planet, with more than 90 percent of the wildlife there found no place else on Earth, is about to be invaded by a pack of particularly wild New Yorkers in the upcoming Bainbridge Performing Arts Theatre School’s summer production of “Madagascar – A Musical Adventure Jr.”
Based on the hit 2005 DreamWorks movie, the musical follows four friends from the Central Park Zoo — Alex, the superstar lion; Marty, the excitable zebra; Melman, the hypochondriac giraffe; and Gloria, the hippest hippo around — who unexpectedly find themselves stranded on the island of Madagascar after an ill-fated attempt to get to “the wild,” based on the advice of a fearsome foursome of militaristic penguins bent on reaching Antarctica.
Once there, they meet a tribe of lemurs, led by the mischievous King Julien, discover the wilderness isn’t exactly what they imagined, get embroiled in the more savage aspects of the food chain and have their friendship tested as they set about trying to stage a triumphant return to the civilization.
This year’s BPA Theatre School’s annual summer production showcases nearly 40 local students in the fourth through 10th grades from the Intermediate Intensive class, which meets June 26-30, and the Production Camp, which meets July 5-28.
The show runs from Thursday, July 27 through Saturday, July 29, with performances at 7 p.m. nightly and a special 3 p.m. matinée on Saturday.
Tickets, $12 for adults, $8 for seniors, youth, military and teachers, are on sale at www.bain bridgeper formingarts.org. There is also a special “Family Fun Price” package option, at a cost of $8.75 per person, for families of four or more.
“Madagascar – A Musical Adventure Jr” is directed by BPA’s director of education Liz Ellis, with musical direction by Reece Sauve and choreography by Heather Dawson.
The musical version of the film, which inspired a sequel and spin-offs, is obviously less well know, Ellis said, but the perfect show for the BPA school.
“I can’t really find a ton of evidence of it having been staged except in theater for young audience settings,” Ellis said. “It clearly didn’t have a big, wild Broadway run — but the music is fantastic.”
Both Olivia Opalski, 11 (who plays Gloria), and Hailey McCulloch, 11 (Melman), said they were unaware of the musical, though they’d really enjoyed the movie.
They both chose the iconic dance-inspiring “I Like to Move It” as their favorite number.
It’s an obvious crowd-pleaser, Ellis agreed, and one she at first feared might dominate the show.
“‘I was worried when I first started looking at it that ‘Move It, Move It’ was going to be the big number and it wasn’t going to be enough of a musical for us to do, but it’s full of great music.”
Olivia and Hailey said what they enjoy most about their characters are how different they are from themselves.
“I like how sassy but sweet [Gloria] is,” Olivia said. “I get to do a lot of hip actions with her, which is really fun.”
“What I really like about being Melman is that I get to be basically afraid of everything,” said Hailey. “So there’s no moments where I don’t know what to do, because I’m afraid.”
Ultimately, Hailey said, the story’s about camaraderie.
“I think it’s all about friendship; that you need to stick together,” she said.
“It’s a really up, fun show,” Ellis agreed. “That’s kind of the big takeaway at the end, is that friendship and loyalty overcomes your baser instincts.”
Along with the great music and fun story, the show was the perfect pick for the theater school, Ellis said, because it had so many good roles.
“We have a lot of mouths to feed,” she said. “We want to be able to have like 40-something kids [in the show].
“But it can be really disappointing when there’s a few leads and other people have sort of made-up parts. So it was really important to us to find a show that had a large number of real parts, where there was something for everybody to do, and this show really met that need.”
Both Olivia and Hailey said they’ve seen the benefits of being involved in theater in other aspects of their life.
“Every show here is amazing, you make so many friends,” Olivia said. “For me it’s kind of like a dream once it’s over, but the shows turn out absolutely amazing.”
“It definitely makes you more open and outgoing,” Hailey agreed. “I used to be a shy person, but when I did theater it turned out I wasn’t shy anymore. I was kind of outgoing and happy.
“It really gives you a place to be free and be yourself.”
