HIPPO! HIPPO! A Big New Musical Adventure.
Based on the international best-selling book series There’s a Hippopotamus On Our Roof Eating Cake by Hazel Edwards and illustrated by Deborah Niland.
Directed and adapted by Garry Ginivan. Musical direction and original score by Mark Jones. Original arrangements by Tim Smith. Set design GrahamMcGuffie. Lighting Designer Ben Howlett. Production Stage Manager David Kelly. Company Manager Andrew Dunne. A Garry Ginivan Attraction. Produced in association with Shows in Schools. The Canberra Theatre. Canberra Theatre Centre. June 11. 2016.
Reviewed by Peter Wilkins
Hippo has left the building! For
those lucky enough to have seen Garry Ginivan’s adaptation of the class
children’s story, There’s A Hippopotamus
On MY Roof Eating Cake, this colourful, lively and delightfully enchanting
production will remain in the imagination for a very long time. Hazel Edwards’
utterly engaging story of a young girl’s imaginings of a hippopotamus on her
roof, eating cake, vividly illustrated by Deborah Niland, is given a fresh,
musical interpretation by director Garry Ginivan and his team.
A small company of four actors
play out the family as well as a doctor at the hospital, jungle characters, her friend at school and
the teacher. Hippo (Andrew Dunne, mute and hidden in a costume) crosses the
stage from time to time as a new imaginary adventure begins. The talented
ensemble embrace the vitality and fun of children’s theatre. Eammon George is a
happy go lucky affectionate Dad. Rosie Blyth captures the character of the
sensible Mum and Dean Schulz is perfect as the bumptious, somewhat irritating
and childish Brother. As Girl a.k.a. Moppet to her Dad, Kaisha Durban entrances
as the central character of this wonderful musical version of Edwards’ and
Niland’s stories. Mark Jones’s songs, arranged by Tim Smith, are catchy, bright
and hummable, evoking the percussive rhythms of the African jungle, the
sentimental melodies of imaginative play and the joyous tap routine number
between Girl and Hippo (Just You and Me). The fifty minute performance all ends in a
happy and rousing chorus of Happy
Birthday.
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| Dean Schulz, Rosie Blyth, Eammon George, Kaisha Durban |
Ginivan’s reputation as a
producer of high quality adaptations of popular children’s books is supreme.
Previous productions of Possum Magic,
My Grandma Lived in Gooligulch and Wombat Stew have thrilled young
audiences and their families for many years, and Hippo! Hippo! Is no exception.
Colourful, simple touring sets, designed by Graham McGuffie and lit by Ben
Howlett set the mood and the brightly
designed costumes bring the story to
life for the excited and responsive young audience that sat enthralled
throughout the
performance.
Even this hardened reviewer
choked for a moment as Hippo and Girl hugged goodbye. Maybe I was not the only
Moanup, as Brother calls the big people in the house, to feel a little saddened
by the inevitable farewell of the imaginary friend. But then Hippo is never
really gone. The imagination holds him in Girl’s heart for all time. Every
children’s tale will have its moral, and this Garry Ginivan Attraction gently and tenderly introduces the classic
story’s salute to the wonderment of the imagination. Dropping character for a
while to let the actor play his part. Schulz leads the audience participation
in a musical routine to stress the importance of being sun-safe at the beach.
He also, engagingly, prompts the large Canberra Theatre audience, children and
adults alike, to hide behind their seats, don their imaginary jungle masks and
make an almighty noise when GIRL appears. I am cautious of audience
participation, but the company handles it with charm, a sense of fun and
controlled importance. There is nothing gratuitous about this production. The
performers play out their roles with genuine affection for the young audience
and with a vitality, devoid of patronizing characterization or token
participation. The audience responds spontaneously, laughing, staring wide-eyed
at the lovable Hippo and believing completely that there could be a
hippopotamus on the roof eating cake.
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| Andrew Dunne as Hippo in Out Of The Jungle. |
Hippo has left the building this
time, but should this production ever return or any Garry Ginnivan magical
adaptation of a favourite children’s story , be sure to take the family for an
adventure that
they are certain to remember for a very, very long time – as
long as there will be an imagination to brighten up their lives. Promise!