Martin JagoAnimatronics · Puppets · SFX

Madagascar, The Musical

Showcase Group, New Zealand
May 2023 - March 2024

Martin co-designed and built the Penguins, Melman and Maurice puppets for the New Zealand and Australian tour of Madagascar, The Musical.

Puppet Supervisor - Martin Jago

Puppet Design & Supervision

Creation of the Penguin, Melman and Maurice characters for the 2024-25 New Zealand and Australia tours of Madagascar the Musical. Puppets co-constructed by Daisey Bingham. Penguin Fur by Jude Feickert.

Videos

Madagascar, The Musical poster

Behind the scenes

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  • Publicity artwork of four animated film penguins standing together on a plain background, used as the design reference for the stage puppets

    Penguin Movie Reference

  • Hand drawn notebook sketch of a penguin puppet with notes on skin fastening, eye hemispheres, a foam neck and composite plates

    Penguin Mechanical Sketch

  • Four black printed penguin maquettes with textured surfaces and thin wings standing together against a cream backdrop

    Penguin Maquettes

  • Large black foam penguin body with face and neck sections stapled together, standing in a paint splattered workshop with a tiny maquette at its base

    Penguin Scale

  • Penguin puppet body in black foam with large white eyes, a white beak and white feet, standing on a workbench in a teal workshop

    Penguin Face Mockup

  • Orange cast penguin feet with bolt studs, painted eyeball hemispheres and small printed eyelid mechanisms laid out on a workshop table

    Penguin Eyes & Feet

  • Penguin head mechanism held in one hand, showing blue eyes in black eyelid shells, an aluminium frame and a yellow beak over a cluttered bench

    Penguin Head Mechs

  • Martin in a beanie holding a black foam penguin body with white eyes and a white beak, smiling in a teal workshop

    Penguin and Me

  • A hand holding a curved black penguin wing in a salute above a foam penguin with blue eyes and a tan beak by a sunny window

    Penguin Salute

  • Jude and Daisey fitting white and black fur fabric over a penguin puppet body in a bright workshop, one pressing the head and one smoothing the chest

    Jude & Daisey Fit the Fur

  • Three finished penguin puppets covered in black and white fur with yellow beaks standing by a window, one with a black wing marked with a code

    Penguins with Fur

  • A man in a beanie fitting a yellow beak onto a furred penguin head, steadying it with one hand in a workshop with bookshelves

    Penguin Fitting the Beak

  • Four finished penguin puppets with white fur faces, blue eyelids, yellow beaks and open mouths posed close together against a teal wall, one with a tuft of black hair

    Penguin Roll Call

  • Stage photograph from Madagascar The Musical showing two performers in safari uniforms crouching with penguin puppets on a wooden set, with the show logo at lower left

    Penguins On Stage

  • White printed model of the Melman giraffe head with ridged supports still attached, sitting on a round white table

    Melman Print with Supports

  • Large black foam Melman giraffe head with cut out eye and nostril openings and two horns, with a small white print beside it on a workbench

    Melman at Scale

  • Black foam Melman giraffe head with green eyes, nostrils and a red tongue, pinned together on a cluttered workbench with a drill and rolls of tape

    Melman Head Mockup

  • Melman eye mechanism with green eyes and brown velvet eyelids clamped in a vice, beside a printed picture of the cartoon giraffe and a cream foam head

    Melman Skin Eyes & Reference

  • Melman green eyes with brown velvet lids and black eyelashes mounted on a metal mechanism in a vice, above a printed picture of the cartoon giraffe

    Melman Eye Lashes

  • Two fabric samples, butterscotch velour and soft brown velour polar fleece, laid on a white board with printed labels

    Melman Fabric Samples

  • Daisey stitching cream foam covering onto a Melman giraffe head on her lap in a teal workshop, with ears and pattern pieces on the table

    Melman - Daisey Stiches the Covering

  • Daisey leaning over a sewing machine as she sews the pink mouth interior of Melman, holding up a cream foam jaw

    Melman - Daisey Machine Sewing the Mouth Interior

  • Melman's white moulded dentures with blocky teeth sitting in a metal tray surrounded by a pool of spilled casting material

    Melman Dentures

  • Two hands airbrushing orange paint onto a taped up giraffe ear form standing on a can, with an air compressor beside it

    Melman - Daisy Sprays the Ears

  • Melman giraffe head with sprayed brown giraffe patches, a golden nose, an open jaw showing white teeth and a red mouth, resting on a workbench

    Melman - Artworked Head

  • Finished Melman giraffe head on a pole with green eyes, long lashes, pink ears and a toothy golden mouth, photographed against a green hedge

    Melman Photo Call

  • Stage photograph of Melman the giraffe puppet with a performer seated in a wheelchair as the giraffe body, between two performers in zookeeper uniforms against a city backdrop

    Melman Wheelchair

  • Small grey maquette figure of Maurice the lemur with orange eyes, large ears, a white chest ruff and a red stick, photographed from above

    Maurice Maquette

  • Black foam shell of Maurice the lemur with a round head, wide eye sockets, an open mouth and a stacked body, with a cardboard ear beside it

    Maurice Foam Shell

  • Maurice black foam head with large eye sockets and a white fur muzzle with a black mouth edge and pink tongue, held steady by an arm

    Maurice Face Fur Line

  • Carved pale wooden cane shape with wood shavings, a cardboard template and two metal armature plates with twisted wire loops on a workbench

    Maurice Cane & Feet Armatures

  • Daisey checking grey fur fabric and paper pattern pieces labelled Maurice upper body back and front over a furred form on a table

    Maurice - Daisey Starts Patterning Fur

  • A woman fitting grey and brown fur onto the leg of Maurice beside white hand casts and black sandals on a cutting mat

    Maurice Legs

  • Daisey painting the pink nose of the furred Maurice head, which has yellow eyes and a pink ear, resting in a wicker basket

    Maurice - Daisey Art Works the Nose

  • Finished Maurice lemur puppet with grey fur, white face and chest, orange eyes, large pink ears and a carved brown cane, standing on a timber floor

    Maurice Full Body

  • Postcard of the cast in khaki with the penguin, lemur, zebra, lion, giraffe and hippo puppets on stage at the St James Theatre, Wellington, the audience behind

    Wellington Audience Postcard

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