7 most toothsome things about ‘Enormous Crocodile’ musical

The reptile has landed, even if it’s only to take off again to the stars.

The British musical adaptation of Roald Dahl’s “The Enormous Crocodile” is making its festive North American premiere at the Children’s Theatre Company.

The 55-minute one act orbits a hungry reptile that wants to fill its tummy with, gulp, children. When kids on a field trip decide to go exploring, the croc uses traps and disguises in attempts to lure them into its mouth.

Told with theatricality and wit by a six-member cast accompanied by music director Ben Kubiak, the show has fetching puppetry, catchy songs and snappy performances.

Here are the seven most toothsome things about “Crocodile.”

It’s a party: Patrons are met with bubbles, disco lights and throbbing beats as they enter CTC’s Cargill Stage. That fun carries over into the fluidity with which director Emily Lim has staged the show, the glee and delight with which the performers sketch their characters, and the rhythmic joy in Ahmed Abdullahi Gallab’s syncopated, soca-suffused score.

Many of the songs will have you tapping your feet and wanting to jump up and dance, giving “Crocodile” the feel of a carnival fete.

One of the interior ballads, “If I were brave,” finds a trio of forest creatures — Humpy Rumpy the Hippopotamus (Ryan Crellin-Simpson), Muggle-Wump the Monkey (Siobhan Athwal) and the Roly Poly Bird (Alison Arnopp) — trying to summon the courage to confront their greatest fear.

This cast, wow: Ming is a font of fun as the title character. She delivers with charismatic delight and carbonated relish. And she has a witty evil laugh. Nia Stephen’s Trunky the Elephant has lumbering power but also a lightness and agility. Arnopp’s Roly Poly Bird sings as if she were raised by Mary Poppins. Crellin-Simpson’s Humpy Rumpy also is emotionally resonant. And Athwal’s Muggle-Wump proves to be a tireless dancer.

It’s interactive, yo: Ushers hand out faux peanuts that come in handy when the story enlists the audience to defeat the croc. Oh, that audience is not made up of children and their chaperones. At least that’s what it looks like to creatures in the forest onstage. To them, human tykes may be amphibians, birds or even, eek, river hogs. Grunt-grunt.

Eye-catching design: Co-director Toby Olié and Daisy Beattie have crafted expressive puppets that are worthy of “The Lion King.” They include the title character, an 18-foot wheeled contraption that Ming manipulates with poise. The puppet design is clever and witty, including the diminutive wayward children thrown over the bodies of adult actors. The set and costumes, by Fly Davis, are similarly transporting.

Say what? From time to time, you’re reminded that “Crocodile” is a British import. That’s because of some of the idioms in the writing as well as the occasional thickness of the performers’ accents. (The cast also uses Patwa and other Caribbean inflections.) These attributes show the story’s global reach and deepen its charm.

When: 7 p.m. Thu.-Fri., 11 a.m. & 2 p.m. Sat., 2 & 5 p.m. Sun. Ends Nov. 23.

Where: Children’s Theatre Company, 2400 3rd Av. S., Mpls.