The exploits of former New York City Zoo residents on the tropical island of Madagascar are jumping off the cinema screen and into the Brighton Centre.

And fans of the Dreamworks animation will know one of the highlights of the movie is when streetwise lion Alex, hypochondriac giraffe Melman, mumsy hippo Gloria and adventurous (and tasty) zebra Marty encounter the court of mad lemur King Julien.

Taking on the role originally created by the UK’s own Sacha Baron Cohen – who expanded the character from a brief cameo thanks to some Robin Williams-style improvisation – is Detroit-based Bradley Frennette.

“He’s such a fun character,” says Frennette, taking a break from rehearsals. “He has no boundaries. When he first appears it is a moment of comic relief for everyone. He takes the ridiculousness of everything that’s happening to a new level.

“Sacha Baron Cohen is a comedy genius. We’ve kept the Indian accent he gave to King Julien but the directors of the show have been letting me bring some of my own stuff in too.”

He says fans of the original movie will find all their favourite characters present and correct but there are a few surprises along the way too.

“There are subtle character differences, new songs and scenes, as well as a lot of stuff people love from the movie,” he says.

“The penguins are totally represented too – I’ve just been laughing so hard during rehearsals for one of their scenes.”

Madagascar tells of four New York City animals who are shipped to Kenya after an abortive escape attempt led by Marty and a team of psychotic penguins.

Unfortunately, when the penguins attempt to commandeer the boat to take it to Antarctica, the four heroes end up shipwrecked off the coast of Madagascar.

As food supplies run out, the previously domesticated lion Alex finds his animal side coming out – and suddenly all his friends are in danger.

The 12 actors and show designers have quite a challenge ahead – not only of representing the hundreds of characters featured in the movie, but also the distinctive backdrops including a New York City subway, the titular island and the long ocean voyage.

“The actors playing the four main characters stick with those but the rest of us are playing a range of characters,” says Frennette.

His biggest challenge is the lemur costume, which he admits gets pretty sweaty.

“I read a little bit about lemurs on Wikipedia,” he says. “We give a much more exaggerated performance, giving human life to these animals. We are given a lot of freedom as to how we portray them.

“There are puppets – I get to do the character of Mason the monkey and have this amazing puppet which I’m learning to work with.

“We have a giraffe on stilts too – and plenty of craziness.”

  • Brighton Centre, King’s Road, Friday, January 25, to Sunday, January 27. Friday: 6.30pm, Saturday: 11am, 3pm and 6.30pm, Sunday: noon and 4pm, tickets from £20. Call 0844 8471515.