Thursday, April 19, through Saturday, May 12
Circa '21 Dinner Playhouse, 1828 Third Avenue, Rock Island IL
One of the millennium's biggest animated-film hits enjoys a raucous, colorful, and tuneful stage presentation when Rock Island's Circa '21 Dinner Playhouse presents the area debut of Madagascar: A Musical Adventure, a family treat, running April 19 through Mar 12, reuniting audiences with Alex the Lion, Marty the Zebra, Melman the Giraffe, Gloria the hip-hip-Hippo, and all of their other Dreamworks favorites.
Madagascar finds Alex the the king of the urban jungle as the main attraction in New York's Central Park Zoo. He and his best friends Marty, Melman, and Gloria have spent their whole lives in blissful captivity before an admiring public and with regular meals provided. Not content to leave well enough alone, though, Marty lets his curiosity get the better of him and makes his escape – with the help of some prodigious penguins – to explore the world. Filled with outlandish characters, outrageous situations, and an upbeat score, Madagascar: A Musical Adventure was described by the Chicago Reader as “a zany, more kid-friendly riff on The Lion King,” with Chicago Theatre Review adding, “theatre-goers of all ages are bound to go wild for it.”
Directing Madagascar is Brad Hauskins, a longtime veteran of the theatre's performing wait staff of Bootleggers who has also appeared in such family musicals as A Year with Frog & Toad, Fancy Nancy Splendiferous Christmas, and Diary of a Worm, a Spider, & a Fly. Alex the Lion is played by fellow Bootlegger and venue actor Nicholas Munson, with Michael Penick, Jeff March, and Joanna Mills respectively cast as Marty, Melman, and Gloria. And 25 additional Madagascar roles are collectively enacted by a half-dozen performers: Becca Brazel, Bret Churchill, Janos Horvath, Jordan Ray, Cydney Roelandt, and Kirsten Sindelar.
Madagascar: A Musical Adventure runs on selected Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturday from April 19 through May 12, with tickets to the 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. show-only performances $8.50 per person or $7.50 each for groups of 12 or more. For more information and to reserve, call (309)786-7733 extension 2 or visit Circa21.com.
