Marking a milestone: Cardboard Playhouse staging 'Madagascar Jr.' as its 100th show

Nineteen years.

This is the amount of time Cardboard Playhouse Theatre Company has been around producing children’s theater.

Within the nearly two decades, the company is preparing its 100th production, “Madagascar: A Musical Adventure Jr.”

The play will be staged at the KiMo Theatre at 7 p.m. Friday, April 26 and at 2 p.m. Saturday, April 27, and Sunday, April 28.

“It feels pretty cool and exciting that we’re heading into our 20th season next year and we’ve put on 100 plays,” says Kristin Berg, Cardboard Playhouse Theatre Company co-artistic director. “It’s been great to see the children grow up in the theater scene.”

“Madagascar Jr.” is based on the DreamWorks animated film of the same name.

It follows Alex the lion, Marty the zebra, Melman the giraffe, Gloria the hippo, and, of course, the hilarious, plotting penguins as they bound onto your stage in the musical adventure of a lifetime. The story focuses on the friends as they escape from their home in New York’s Central Park Zoo and find themselves on an unexpected journey to the madcap world of King Julien’s Madagascar.

Berg and Doug Montoya, the co-artistic director, wanted to stage a lighter show for its 100th.

The company most recently staged “Anastasia.”

Berg says “Madagascar” is a show the company has never staged before.

“It’s so silly and light-hearted,” she says. “It’s about friendship and letting your friends grow and change. It’s about being there for them throughout their changes. Coming off ‘Anastasia,’ we needed to do something fun.”

Berg says the cast has 42 members – which is a typical size for a Cardboard Playhouse production.

The ages of the actors range from ages six to 18 and Berg and Montoya are directing the show.

Auditions were held in February, with rehearsals starting in March.

“We usually do group auditions with about eight kids at a time,” she says. “What’s great about this show is that we have five actors who are SAG-AFTRA or SAG-eligible in the cast. They are working on a production right now and finding the time to fit in this production. It’s great to see how the children are adjusting to being in multiple projects.”

Berg says one of the greatest things to see is when many of the company members return as adults and take on different roles behind the scenes.

“We just started working with one of our past kids and we’re producing a cabaret show at The Box,” she says. “Then there are some kids who have gone in a completely different direction from theater. Some are teachers and nurses. It’s really rewarding and important to have been part of their lives in their youth. Doug’s son, Kelsey, has been one of the company members who has come back to direct projects as an adult.”

Berg says Cardboard Playhouse is starting to plan one play that will have adult theater members in the future.