For Immediate Release
Contact: Melissa Tillman
(601) 948-3533 ext. 226
[email protected]
1100 Carlisle Street
Jackson, Miss. 39202
Phone (601) 948-3533
A New Stage Children’s Theatre Presentation
JACKSON—New Stage Theatre presents the children’s theatre production of Madagascar—A
Musical Adventure based on the DreamWorks Animation Motion Picture, book by Kevin Del
Aguila, with original Music and Lyrics by George Noriega & Joel Someillan and directed by
Francine Thomas Reynolds. SchoolFest matinee performances are January 23-January 27 and
January 31-February 3 at 10 a.m., with public performances January 27 and February 3 at 7
p.m. and January 28, February 4 & 5 at 2 p.m. Ticket prices are $15.00 for adults and $10 for
children 12 and under. Tickets can be purchased at the box office, located inside the Jane Reid
Petty Theatre Center, charged by phone by calling the theatre at (601) 948-3531 or ordered
online at www.newstagetheatre.com.
Madagascar—A Musical Adventure is sponsored by Trustmark and the Sam E. and Burnice C.
Wittel Foundation.
“We are honored to be one of the first professional theatres to produce this brand new show,”
said Director and Artistic Director Francine Thomas Reynolds. “Based on the hit animated
movie, Madagascar – A Musical Adventure follows all of your favorite crack-a-lackin’ friends
as they escape from their home in New York’s Central Park Zoo. With high energy songs and
movement paired with familiar characters, this one hour show is fun for the entire family.”
It’s the Southern premiere of a new musical for all ages (yes, even parents) of the much-loved
madcap journey from New York’s Central Park Zoo to the beaches of Madagascar. See Alex the
Lion, Marty the Zebra, Melman the Giraffe, Gloria the Hippo, and the always-plotting penguins.
Join these crack-a-lackin’ friends and get ready to “Move It, Move It.”
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Madagascar—A Musical Adventure is directed by New Stage Artistic Director, Francine
Thomas Reynolds. Reynolds has been the artistic director at New Stage since 2006 and has
worked as a theatre artist for 28 years. She recently directed Our Town, Red, Who’s Afraid of
Virginia Woolf? and A Time To Kill. Recent portrayals include Dr. Katherine Brandt in 33
Variations, Polly in Other Desert Cities, Lucille in Dividing the Estate, and Edna Earle in
Eudora Welty’s The Ponder Heart. Reynolds is serving her second term on the Board of
Directors for the Theatre Communications Group (TCG), the national organization for American
theatre and is on the Board of Directors for the Mississippi Theatre Association. She was a
panelist for the 2016 TCG National Conference Theatre Nation and the 2016 Mississippi
Community College Creative Writing Association Contest. Other associations include
Leadership Mississippi Class of 2014, National Endowment for the Arts grants panel, Poetry
Outloud adjudicator, Southeastern Theatre Conference adjudicator, Mississippi High School
Drama Festival adjudicator, South Atlantic Modern Language Association national conference
presenter, and Mississippi’s English Speaking Union Shakespeare Competition judge. Reynolds
worked as a locations casting director in film and television for several years. Originally from the
Upper Peninsula of Michigan, Reynolds enjoys living in Jackson with her husband, Chuck.
The cast will feature all Jackson and Mississippi residents: Sharon Miles (Hattiesburg) as Alex
the Lion; Cameron Pitre (Jackson) as Skipper and Lars Lemur; Josh Harris (Flowood) as
Kowalski and Foosa Leader; Ben Sanders (Pearl) as Private and Mort; Chesney Mitchell
(Brandon) as Rico, Candy, and Lynn Lemur; Jenn Harris (Flowood) as Maurice, Zelda, Mason,
Old Lady, Animal Control, and Foosa; Chris Roebuck (Ridgeland) as King Julien, Zeke, Police
Officer, and Ship’s Captain. The show will also feature the New Stage Professional Intern
Company hailing from Jackson and Memphis: Christan McLaurine as Marty the Zebra,
LaSharron Purvis as Gloria the Hippo, and Jake Bell as Melman the Giraffe.
Public performances are January 27 and February 3 at 7 p.m. and January 28, 4 & 5 at 2 p.m.
Ticket prices are $15.00 for adults and $10 for children 12 and under. Tickets can be purchased
at the box office, located inside the Jane Reid Petty Theatre Center, charged by phone by calling
the theatre at (601) 948-3531 or ordered online at www.newstagetheatre.com. Box Office hours
are 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday. During performances Box Office hours are
12 to 3 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. The box office is located in the Jane Reid Petty Theatre
Center at 1100 Carlisle Street in the Belhaven neighborhood of Jackson.
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