Thornton Academy Postscripts Alumni Magazine Spring 2020 | Page 9
BORN TO
BE WILD:
TAMS Presents
Madagascar
This fall, Thornton Academy Middle School turned
into a zoo! Lions, penguins, giraffes, and lemurs were
spotted running loose around campus. This was more
than just the typical antics of adolescents; students
and staff rehearsed and presented the annual TAMS musical
production of Madagascar: the Musical.
More than sixty students participated in the production of
Madagascar as actors, singers, dancers, and members of the
tech crew. The production, led by co-directors Alivia Cram
and David Stebbins, went up on December 18 th and 19 th on
the Garland Auditorium stage. The show featured singing,
acting, and dancing as the characters travelled the world
searching for friendship, adventure, and a sense of belonging:
perfect themes for middle school students.
Co-director Alivia Cram expressed that participating in
musical theater is very important for middle school students.
A production like Madagascar brings students together who
may typically have very different interests and gives them
one collaborative goal: to tell the story of the show. Cram
teaches dance and English at the upper school, but enjoys
the opportunity to work with middle schoolers through the
TAMS theater program.
“Middle schoolers are so candid and I find them hilarious.
They’re so genuine,” Cram said about the cast and crew of
Madagascar. Their candor and humor certainly came out
during the production of the show! The audience laughed
as the main characters Alex the Lion, Melman the Giraffe,
Marty the Zebra, and Gloria the Hippo travelled from their
home at the Central Park Zoo in New York City all the way
Know a student interested
in attending TAMS?
thorntonacademy.org/tams
email: [email protected]
Liberty Bove ’25 plays
the role of ‘Melman’
the giraffe with
hypochondria.
Jack Dumas ’24
acts as ‘Alex’, the king
of New York City!
One of the highlights of the
show, King Julian (played by
Hannah Kurkul ’24), king of
the lemurs, enters the scene.
to the island of Madagascar off the coast of Africa in search
of new adventure and friendship.
Eighth grader Jack Dumas played Alex, the lion and selfproclaimed
‘King of New York City.” When Alex’s best friend
Marty becomes disenchanted with zoo life and decides to
follow a group of penguins as they escape, Alex follows and
attempts to convince him to return to their home, the zoo.
Dumas participated in the musical as a 6 th and 7 th grader and
was thrilled to get a lead role. “The best part of being in a
TAMS musical is the people. I had a blast working with such
a friendly, talented group of people that all came together to
work out this great production,” Dumas said.
Five-day-a-week rehearsals for Madagascar began in
September. This year, the directors chose to do the full
version of the production, including the original score.
Often, middle school productions will perform the junior
version of a show, but the talent and experience of the
students at TAMS allowed for the full version. In addition
to the annual musical, TAMS offers other arts opportunities
for students, including art club, band, chorus, strings
program, and dance club.
Story by Katy Nicketakis · Photos Courtesy of David Hanright
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MIDDLE SCHOOL