'Madagascar' teaches the perils of FOMO
The Fear Of Missing Out is prevalent thanks to social media, exciting new experiences on television and the wonder of the travel channel.
FOMO fills Marty the zebra, who is afraid of what he's missing on the other side of the gate and uses his birthday wish to spring from the Central Park Zoo. When his penguin pals land him and three close friends on the other side of the world, getting home is all the quartet wants.
With characters, themes and excitement similar to that of "Madagascar" the movie, "Madagascar – The Musical" delights children with its songs, dancing steaks and theater-in-the-round fun at the Marriott Theatre for Young Audiences.
Don't worry if your kids somehow haven't yet seen the animated feature film, its sequels, the New Year's Eve or Christmas specials or the animated series featuring just the penguins of Madagascar, the play won't disappoint. The play's short one-hour run time is perfect for youngsters to get their feet wet in the arts scene.
Choreographed to use the whole theater and stage, the penguins and lemurs as puppets are delightful and the main characters embody the fun of a lion, zebra, giraffe and hippo with New York roots as tourists abroad.
In addition to picking a favorite character, parents can talk to their kids about a few main themes from the play: loyalty, observation, teamwork and friendship.
Alex the lion remains loyal to his best friend, Marty, despite his fish-out-of-water feeling as a zoo animal stuck in the wild. The four friends – Alex and Marty are joined by zoo pals Gloria and Melman – stick together and learn to survive as a group while navigating the subway, traveling by crate and eventually on the plains of Madagascar.
While King Julien has his own plans for the four animals that washed up on the shore of his island, his right-hand-lemur Maurice sticks around to watch how the scene plays out as the four friends spend more time in unfamiliar territory. His approach of observation and hypothesis can help kids learn about the scientific theory.
In teaching the perils of the FOMO fear, "Madagascar – The Musical" serves up kid-filled giggles and fun for all ages. Be sure to stick around after the show to ask questions of the actors in a Young Audiences' Q&A.
