Musical Madagascar comes to life on stage
StoryBook Theatre likes to move it, move it.
In each season, including the company’s current one, there are always old standbys like The Wizard of Oz, Mary Poppins, Huck Finn and Charlie Brown but artistic director JP Thibodeau is always looking for the latest family shows.
This is the case with Madagascar: A Musical Adventure which is running in the Beddington Arts Centre until Nov. 11.
It’s a new family friendly musical version of the 2005 DreamWorks animated feature Madagascar, which featured the voices of Chris Rock, Ben Stiller, David Schwimmer and Jada Pinkett. It tells the story of a quartet of animals who break out of New York’s Central Park Zoo and find themselves on their way to the jungle in Madagascar ruled by Sacha Baron Cohen’s Julian, king of the lemurs.
There they learn to move it, move it.
It’s a story of friendships and of the families people make with likeminded friends.
It’s a tale 17-year-old Alex Smith knows well and not just because he saw all of the Madagascar films growing up. Smith, who plays Alex the Lion, has found his own large, loving, accepting family at StoryBook Theatre. Back in 2014, a 14-year-old Smith auditioned for and became part of StoryBook’s Summer Intensive production of Les Miserables.
That experience led to roles in such StoryBook Productions as Busytown, Willy Wonka, The Ur- ban Jungle Book and all three of StoryBook’s Secret Musicals, The Secret Garden, Titanic and In the Heights.
“Being part of the StoryBook family, I grew up remarkably fast. I have gotten to work with young people who, like me, are super passionate and also with working professionals who have dedicated their lives to the theatre.”
“People in the StoryBook family all need theatre in their lives. That’s why we’re here. StoryBook has allowed us all to do what we love.”
That commitment is being recognized as Smith recently received an award and scholarship from the Alberta Foundation for the Arts as an influential emerging artist. “I would never have been considered for that award were it not for StoryBook.”
In Madagascar A Musical Adventure, Alex the Lion is a narcissist who must learn the value of friendship and how to accept others for who they are.
“This is a great message for the kids who will be coming to see the show. They need to know if you make good friends, you’ll never be alone,” says Smith, who attends Central Memorial High School.
“That applies if you’re in Grade one or in Grade 12.”
This 60-minute musical follows the plot of the original Madagascar movie but also features some original songs, including Alex the Lion’s Steak which Smith describes as a “jazzy, Ratpacky, Michael Buble kind of song.”
Madagascar is directed by award-winning actor and direc-
tor Elizabeth Stepkowski Tarhan, who told her young cast that theatre can change lives.
“It certainly changed mine. Pursuing a career in theatre is no longer a dream,” said Smith.
“It is a plan.”