Bigfork Playhouse Children’s Theatre has a wild time with ‘Madagascar, the Musical’

The Bigfork Playhouse Children’s Theatre unleashes its wild side in “Madagascar, the Musical,” which opens Jan. 30 at the Bigfork Center for the Performing Arts.  

Adapted from the hit DreamWorks film, the stage production follows the journey of a lion, zebra, giraffe and hippo who escape their captivity at the Central Park Zoo in New York and find themselves in Madagascar — figuring out what friendship and home mean to them along the way. 

Alex the lion, Marty the zebra, Melman the giraffe, and Gloria the hippo (played by Noah Gibson, Renzo Spencer, Keira Evans and Macie Jackson) find themselves on an unwanted adventure when Marty expresses a wish to run free in the wild. With the help of some sly penguins (played by Ryder Meler, Jack Ford, Harrison Hallock, Gavin Thompson and Jace Weist), Marty and his friend find themselves in the concrete jungle of New York City and eventually on a ship headed for the wild overseas. 

Their trip is cut short by some poor steering, and they find themselves on the island of Madagascar. The lemurs, led by King Julian (played by Zoe Kreiman) see the opportunity to have protection from predators with a lion on their side and quickly befriend them. 

Will their new tropical life be enough, or will the heroes wish to return to the life they knew back in the city? Friendships will be tested, battles will be fought and party pants will boogie. 

Performances will be held at 7:30 p.m. Jan. 30-31 and 2 p.m. Feb. 6.