“Foosa hungry! Foosa want food.”
The interaction of the hungry lioness and lemurs (that’s how you know you’re in Madagascar) is just one of the antics of the animals who end up getting lost from their comfortable confines of a New York zoo, and finding new adventures in Madagascar.
The Kilauea School Performing Arts Program invites the community to escape the zoo of life tonight and Saturday starting at 6 p.m. at the school’s cafeteria when the curtain rises on “Dreamworks Madagascar — A Musical Adventure Jr.”
“The saga follows four friends — Marty the zebra (portrayed by Ocean Amador), Alex the lion (portrayed by Ginger Hilliard), Gloria the hippo (portrayed by Bailey Contrades), and Melman the giraffe (portrayed by Sage Keller) — who are thrust into an exciting, high-stakes, international adventure at the moment in which they start to imagine the possibilities beyond the safe environment in which they live,” said Farrah Krovoza, the production’s director and choreographer.
“The Kilauea School students are on a similar journey as they experiment with new skill sets while venturing into new territory personally and creatively while forming new friendships through the shared experience of collaborating on this show,” she said.
Admission is $10 for adults, $5 for students kindergarten through grade 12, and free for preschool and under. Tickets are available at the door, or at the school’s office at 828-1212.
“Dreamworks Madagascar — A Musical Adventure Jr.” features original music and lyrics by George Noriega and Joel Someillan from a book by Kevin Del Aguila.
Marty, celebrating his 10th year at the zoo, longs to experience life outside the zoo’s walls, and after eventually escaping, is pursued by his animal friends into New York City, where they encounter escapades and police chasing them before being felled by tranquilizer darts.
Awakening in crates on a ship, the animals are thrown off course before being shipwrecked on the island of Madagascar.
“Ultimately, it is only in being lost that they can begin to discover where they really belong,” Krovoza said.
“Dreamworks Madagascar — A Musical Adventure Jr.” is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International. Jeremy Brown is the music director, Kayti Lathrop is the stage manager, Arnoud Tersteg handles lighting design, and Morgan Bowen heads the sound system.
The production crew expresses its mahalo for the support of Aloha Angels for funding the afterschool club program, the Squire family for the poster design, Karyn Vonzee for choreography support, and all the community parents and families for its help in bringing the show to life.
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Dennis Fujimoto, staff writer and photographer, can be reached at 245-0453 or dfujimoto@thegardenisland.com.
