NT_040419

northbrooktower.com life & arts
the northbrook tower | April 4, 2019 | 25
HP Players’ ‘Madagascar’ features touches of Northbrook
Doug Rapp
Freelance Reporter
The lion, the zebra, the
giraffe, the hippo and some
penguins escaped the Central
Park Zoo and made it
to Madagascar — but now
they’re coming to Highland
Park.
The Highland Park Players
Theater for Young
Audiences is performing
“Madagascar: A Musical
Adventure,” based on
the 2005 animated film,
on April 6, 7, 13 and 14
at Sherwood Elementary
in Highland Park. Performances
are at 11 a.m. and
1 p.m. Tickets can be purchased
at highlandparkplayers.com
for $14. After
the show, children will be
able to interact with the
cast and take pictures.
Madagascar was chosen
because of its appeal to children
and adults, as well as
being a recognizable title,
said Highland Park resident
Carol Wax, one of the play’s
producers, along with Glenbrook
North alums Holly
Weis and Scott Schwartz.
“We researched and
read numerous scripts and
listened to a lot of sound
tracks,” Wax said. “It is
essential to find just the
right combination of great
music, simple storyline, a
wonderful message for the
kids, [and] enough humor
and creative dialogue for
the adults.”
Alex McGarry, a seventh-grader
at Northbrook’s
Maple School,
will play Rico, a penguin.
She said she’s worked with
Hart and Aaron Kaplan,
the play’s music director
and also a GBN alumnus,
in other productions and
auditioned when Hart told
her about this show. “I
like the movie,” McGarry
said, “but the musical is a
little different. We all add
our own personalities to
our characters. When it all
comes together, you still
have the musical Madagascar,
but with unique actors
portraying how they think
they best perform their
character.”
Madagascar tells the story
of a group of New York
zoo animals who end up
living in the wilds of that
east African island, but the
play’s creative team found
far more meaning.
“The true message of the
story is about friendship
and belonging, which will
appeal to even our youngest
audience members,”
Wax said. “The music is
imaginative, fun and energetic
with the famous “I
Like To Move It” [song] included.
Everyone will want
to get up and dance.”
Director Jeri Hart said
there are some challenges
when adapting animation
for live performance.
“One of the draws of
animation is that you can
make things larger than life
and amplify everything in
a way that is impossible
in a live show,” Hart said.
“While we can’t do everything
that animation can
do, we can create largerthan-life
characters and fill
in the magic with song and
dance.”
Hart, who has acted with
HPP but is directing for the
first time, said rehearsals
are going well with many
returning cast and crew
from previous HPP productions.
Performers from the Highland Park Players pose for a
photo following a dress rehearsal performance of their
upcoming production “Masagascar”. The production’s
cast and crew features several Northbrook residents.
Photos by Nicole Carrow/22nd Century Media
Allison Kasbee performs as Alex the Zebra in
“Madagascar.”
“Community theater is
so special because people
choose to take time out of
their busy lives to be here
and perform,” Hart said,
“and to be able to share
something we love so
much with children is the
greatest gift.”
Sabra Gerber will play
Skipper, another penguin.
She said she’s basing her
performance on an unlikely
source — her young son
Max.
“My 10-year-old son is
currently running lines with
me,” Gerber said, “and he’s
STARTS NOW
been coaching my performance.
I’m thinking his
direction is inspired by a
collection of things: the
movie, the Marriott Production
(that we saw last
year) and his awesome
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Please see Madagascar, 28