It was opening night of Madagascar The Musical at Belfast’s Grand Opera House last night, and with an exuberant mix of songs, puppetry and costume the audience was transported to the lush jungles of Madagascar with the cast of well-known characters from the 2005 animated film. 

This was a lively show filled with action from the outset and with the help of original music and lyrics by George Noriega and Joel Someillan the story of DreamWorks’ Madagascar came to life on-stage.

Following the adventures of Alex the lion, Marty the zebra, Melman the giraffe, Gloria the hippo and a group of hilarious penguins as they escape from New York’s Central Zoo the energetic dance numbers, catchy songs and colourful costumes delighted the audience young and old.

Joseph Hewlett who plays the confident Alex the lion was made for this role, while the Penguins and of course, King Julien were audience favourites too. The party really got started with the hit song from the film, I Like To Move It, and we even got an encore of it at the end which got the audience out of their seats dancing.

A heartwarming story of friendship, courage, and the importance of being true to oneself, I was pleasantly surprised by Madagascar The Musical and would recommend it for any family looking for a night (or day) out at the theatre.

For more information or to book tickets click here, Madagascar The Musical is running at Belfast’s Grand Opera House until 9th March 2024.

Laura Caldwell

Author: Laura Caldwell

Hi, I'm Laura. I'm 30 years old and have a degree in Journalism with Photo-Imaging at the University of Ulster. I have an undying love for Belfast and all that it has to offer, an undying love for sleeping, Tegan and Sara, trashy tv shows, foreign snack-foods and being irresponsible with money. I also quite like origami, reading, jazz, hip-hop, dubstep, anything acoustic and Food Network TV. I've written for The Big List, Culture NI, Chatterbox and The Echo, as well as writing for BBC Across the Line.