Levin Performing Arts Society’s latest show, Madagascar, suggests musical theatre in Horowhenua has incredible young talent, but also that the arts are flourishing.

LPAS always puts on quality shows and its latest offering was a credit to a talented young cast aged between 7 and 17, many of whom were on stage for the first time. Their performances were polished and delivered with an energy that had the audience on their feet with appreciation.

We’ve all seen and loved the story, made famous by the movie of the same name. The four main characters, Marty the Zebra (Myah Snow), Alex the Lion (Adrian Gilbert-Amor) Melman the Giraffe (Ezekiel Taylor), and Gloria the Hippo (Maia Wilton), led a stellar cast of penguins, lemurs and foosas in this delightful journey from the New York zoo to the idyllic Madagascar, throwing in a ship voyage and a trip to Antarctic along the way.

A crowd favourite was the appearance of King Julien (Annabel Edwards) with perhaps the most well-known song of the show, Move It.

The entire cast deserved the accolades they received for their performance and the pleasure it brought to the mainly full houses the show attracted each night.

A simple set complemented by some clever artwork and lighting effects elevated these scenes to a new dimension – I must admit watching the penguins wrapped in scarves and shivering on their landing at the Antarctic made the evening suddenly seem a little chillier.

Full credit and a big round of applause must go to director Stephanie Greenslade, vocal coach Pam Skerman and choreographer Bronya Davies – and LPAS for continually bringing such quality shows to Horowhenua.